Dave Noble

Conversely I disagree. I do a fair bit of travel for work and I find it great to have a corporation picking up the tab for me to go visiting places or seeing friends. Just because it is for work doesn't mean it has to have long days/early starts etc and I make a point of not allowing it to do that . I also make sure not to travel overnight and only do it during company time

To me , it is not getting travel that people should not aspire to... what they should aspire to is not working long hours especially if not paid for them

uk1

I hated traveling on business passionately and as others have said traveling just to get to places you have selected - and if you're fortunate - as often as you want is a real luxury.

But FT is as important to a leisure traveller as it is to a worker traveller. In my view even more important because it's real sacred money, and real sacred time involved ie your time; your money.

Your time with FT will have transformed your knowledge on how to extract the most out of your travels and as you get older you ask yourself the dangerous question about the increased desire for familiarity and the terrible question that proves you're getting old ..... "as I have found so many lovely places I like returning regularly to ..... do I really need to add to them and to explore so many new places ......" Sad I know. But there's something about always getting the same suite in the favourite hotel ..... always aiming for the same aircraft seat ..... the hotel staff knowing about your foibles and greeting you as a friend .... and having your partner sitting beside you rather than you fretting and hating him/her being so far away.

When I became fortunate enough to only work and travel relating to things that interested me, I said to my wife that I wanted to get the travel bug out of my blood and to do that I'd be torturing her with too much travel and we'd be traveling for leisure far too often and until we were sick of it. It never happened. It's still so often first flight out and last back to extract most hours. And as previously said, if your leisure gets you at the pointy end or in a business seat for all your trips then status is simply comparatively irrelevant.

You're now in the lucky postion of only having to book a flight and a hotel when you want to go rather than when work mandates you to .... so enjoy!

And you get to meet some interesting people - including in my case Dave (above) in both Singapore and on a lovely balcony overlooking the ferries on Circular Quay in Sydney - and Hampsire. Only FT, leisure and travel provides that sort of enjoyment.

EuropeanPete

I'll join. I've just left a job with >50% travel to one with none. I figure I've got a few years of miles left, but even so the prospect of not travelling on a twice weekly basis is an oddly daunting one.

For the time being I'm compensating by booking leisure flights left, right and centre. I think I've got 10 booked for the end of August/ month of Sept already, which probably isn't either big or clever.

Sixth Freedom

^

LaydeeSarah

About 14 months ago I switched from a European wide role to a UK only job (in the same company) and promptly changed from being away a few days most weeks (either UK or Europe) to being office bound.

Did I miss the travel? Yes. Now and then I still do. But as others have said, you now get the chance to really travel, to see a place, not just fly somewhere for meetings. I'm doing a lot less travel these days but I think the travel I do is qualitative; I travel with friends or my husband and get to enjoy the destination. I also enjoy the flights more, when you are used to flying each week you do tend to find yourself looking for faults

I will miss my hotel status when they expire but as Jenbel points out, as I am not using the status very often (as I'm not in a Hilton or Marriott every week) I guess I wonder why I need them? Familiarity maybe? My waistline doesn't miss the excess of lounge food that is a staple part of the travellers diet, though.

You will adjust and get used to it, and probably find you enjoy your personal travel more, as there is no need to be fresh on arrival as us working travellers had to be. And if you need the 7am starts at LHR now and then... well, there are always TP runs

rossmacd

A little update on this thread, as I sit in the MAN lounge awaiting the departure of the BA1407 to LHR at 19:25.

This is my last flight for work purposes before I relocate to the North West this weekend. Afters weeks of watching my profile on BA.com dwindle to only 2 remaining trips (usually has about 10 returns trips as a minimum!), it feels extremely satisfying to not have to waste my own time in lounges when I could be elsewhere enjoying my "free" time. The last remaining trip is LHR-YUL return at the end of the month, which is purely a holiday trip

Whilst I have enjoyed the lounges at LHR T5 GC & GF, BD T1, MAN, GLA and EDI over the last couple of years, I will be glad not have to depend on them for meals and will not miss the relatively poor food available (let's face it, the quality of food is poor).

Another thing that has struck me whilst spending time on FT (predominantly whilst I'm in a lounge) - why do people turn up hours early in order to sit for a longer than necessary time period waiting for their flight? OK, I have never been in the CCR (yet), but still can't understand why people would choose to do so.

I have been doing my new job over the last few days, and absolutely love the challenge that I have in front of me. The knowledge of not having to travel is fantastic

If anyone is in the MAN lounge at the moment, please look out for the young-ish guy with a big cheesy grin

Let's hope there are no delays tonight

Edit - the BA1402 has just landed - so looks to be on time

CatchThePigeon

Good luck with your new job. I look forward to hearing from you on here in 6 months wishing you were travelling again and enjoying the delights of Lounge offerings. ^

Athlete95

Good luck with the new job rossmacd! My Dad doesn't like travelling much for work either- he has the option to go fly JER-LGW-JER for the day weekly in CE which would get him something like 4,000TP's but he wouldn't want to do that! Instead, he travels once a month for a few days to Moscow, Istanbul, Geneva etc and has the occasional day trip to London in CE, all of which managed to get him Gold this year.

Travelling for pleasure is something completely different than travelling for work, I'm sure those like Swanhunter will agree!

Macspreader

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (Android; Opera Mini/6.25174/25.894; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

Haven't flown ba since May,




2009. Managed 120 sectors in 2007, about 100 {flybe) every year since

Still check this board most days.

My excuse? Got a big miles balance, want to make sure it stays like that. Oh, and an NBO flight next week (NF i hope).

origin

It depends on connections and on peoples work. If the meetings finish early and they dont have late checkout of their hotels then its worth them going to the airport and rest, drink & people watch.

Good luck in your new job & life up North.

BA5E

Wow that is going to be a killer, you certainly will not know where you are especially with the cruel time changes. Happy flying, just think of all the miles and tier points you are going to accrue.

Swanhunter

It is. The work travel can also make the holiday travel more enjoyable, from sinking a couple of glasses of champagne in the F lounge before a weekend away through to contacts made on business helping you out with holiday experiences you'd not get as a tourist e.g. family dinner during a local festival.

By and large business travel is hard work. There are some who can regulate it sufficiently to ensure a high quality of life even while away but sadly most employers expect their pound of flesh. However it can work to your advantage - saving �1500 on an airfare means a Saturday in HK for me and chance to see the National Day fireworks over Victoria Harbour before scampering off to the airport.

origin

That sounds lovely. HKG was one of my fav trips.

Back on business I heard that the CFO for Regus left the company because the job demanded more travel and he wanted to spend time with his family.

Dave Noble

And that is where setting the employer's expectations is key. Ensure that they understand that travelling doesn't mean that you are going to work longer than normal and that travel time is the company's time not ones own

origin

Towards the end of my frequent travels I use to fly out a couple of days before and get ready for the meetings. But I had personal problems then which resulted in that.

The Sunday evening flights to JFK, HKG, SIN are normally full of business people. When going into BOS you can watch the boats return after their weekends sailing.