Paralytic

A few comments on the Upgrading TA bookings thread, and in previous posts of a similar ilk, seem to assume that many/all business travellers are mandated by their employer as to which airline they have to fly.

That certainly isn't the case for me - we have a travel policy within which we work, and it recognises that a cheaper flight is not necessarily the best option. We are allowed to chose the most appropriate itinerary that fits within the policy, even if it is not the cheapest. I've never not been able to chose BA where that was my preferred option. This has been the same at all my previous employers (admittedly, at least one of those policies was self-defined).

So, a general question to business travellers who have to use their corporate TA to book flights:

Do you a choice to which airline you fly with or does your TA/travel policy dictate that you must fly with BA or another airline?

Not this is only for those that use corporate TAs. I realise many business travellers are allowed to book on ba.com.

Dan Dare

We can select any route, time or even carrier but if the cost is considerably higher then a justification must be given.

If its a reasonable request then its approved - this can include having airline status as I get lounge access etc which makes the journey easier or my status allows me to select the seat I want or take extra luggage.

stifle

We are expected to choose the cheapest full-service carrier or any other carrier that's cheaper. We are not allowed to let status influence our decision. Out of policy bookings are escalated but if there is a reasonable explanation they are allowed.

My previous employer expected us to choose the cheapest carrier (including LCCs). The booking system would allow anything to be booked, but would add you to a naughty list the top of which was sent around every month.

OrchardTravel

I refuse to use our TA after getting stuck in Warsaw 2 years ago, the BA plane landed too heavily on the inbound and was therefore 'broken'. Called the TA, utterly useless, couldn't/wouldn't do anything to help.

It was only by virtue of my BA silver card and lengthy stride that I got to the BA ticket desk number 2 in the queue and onto the later LOT flight.

From that point on I have booked all my own travel, saves the service charge and gives me more autonomy. My company have long since ceased moaning to me about this.

To answer the question, ET travel, the agency in question, always presented us with a list of flights to chose from, so we were never limited to one airline, though I always chose BA as my travel won't get me to a premium status on more than one airline.

Polomarc

Do most companies have the greater than 4h flight you get the WT+ or CW ticket? Heard due to cost cuts some have scaled down on that?
From someone who if ever travel for work it is accross London

Paralytic

Our official policy is business for 7.5h+. That is individual flight time, not overall journey, so an itinerary with two 6 hour flights would officially have them both in economy.

I believe the limit in in place to ensure all intra-NA flights are flown in economy (we're a US company) but inconveniently rules on the US east cost from the UK.

zkzkz

My current company is very flexible. But I've certainly seen companies before where you were required to book through cliqbook and it only showed you flights that fit some criteria. I think something like the cheapest plus up to n flights within x% of the cheapest's price. Some of the choices were ridiculous with long connections or crazy timing. I'm not waiting until 11pm on a friday to leave a consulting job!


It's not uncommon for a company to negotiate special rates with a carrier. In that case one of three things could be happening. 1) The company could figure by mandating people use the special rates they'll win more than they lose even if sometimes they're not the cheapest. 2) They might figure they'll be able to negotiate better rates in the future if they concentrate their volume with the one carrier even if sometimes they're not the cheapest or 3) The carrier might give them better rates in the negotiation if they agree to mandate purchasing from them in the travel policy.

darthlemsip

My company has the policy of fully flex economy, and you can pay the difference to upgrade to a premium cabin (tahnk you, how kind!)

I agreed with them that if I can get the flight for the same, or less, than the TA then I can book it myself and claim it back. Therefore I am a bit cheeky - I ask the TA for a fully flexible Y price, and then get a semi-flex W price from BA and will pay the difference if I ever have to change flights.

Finance are happy, I can use miles to upgrade and have yet to have to change my flight at any point.

I'm sure one day it will catch up with me, but for now everyone's a winner

Chris C

I am supposed to use our corporate TA and accept the flight that they designate to me. However since the TA says it is my finance dept. that should supply me with log in details to the TA website and my finance dept. says it is the TA's duty, I have given up and book my own travel. I balance cost with convenience but have to fly in the back.

OrchardTravel

I always fly in accordance with the individual client's travel policy, usually that's J in Europe, I rarely go much further these days.

dark_horse

We have a corporate TA who, basically, tickets the booking and that's about it. It suits the company because the booking engine enforces some quite sensible restrictions. It suits me because I can book directly and have control over how I fly.

The restrictions include such things as: the booking has to be the cheapest on a realistic route, plus a certain percentage / amount. There are a few methods to cheat and ensure that BA falls into that bracket, but in practice that usually isn't necessary; BA's flights are normally some of the best priced anyway.

Other restrictions include the one about length of time x seniority within the company = maximum acceptable class of travel.

Stez

In my sector of the industry, it is the cheapest possible ticket possible in the deepest darkest Y, regardless of route or airline.

If airlines sold tickets for a ride in the wheel well, I'm sure that would mandated by my employers.

I try to exert my choices, mainly be whinging and whatnot, and managed to stick with mainly BA and Qantas and showed there isn't a huge saving to be made.

We do not even have a single corporate TA, usually some random local TA depending on the country I am working in.

BA-Flyer

Remember when Qantas grounded their fleet late last year? It caused massive inconvenience for our CEO, who declared the company would never spend another dollar with them.

He has since backed down slightly, and we can fly them if they are the only option or they have a more convenient schedule than Virgin. The TA enforces this.

All domestic and NZ flights are economy. International above 6 hours is business.

matthewuk

We have a corporate TA but they tend to book what we request although the policy is 'cheapest flight'. I have to get manager's approval and I do tend to get whinging from him about the cost when it is over what he considers reasonable.

[Rant]For domestic flights this is a particular problem as people who don't travel regularly simply don't realise that a £250 EDI-LCY 07:45 flight is infinitely better than a £100 06:20 to LTN. Next time I'm asked to this I will call said manager when I get up (at 04:30 instead of 06:00) and ask him how well he slept. I'll also call him at 23:00 when I get home to see how his day was. [/Rant]

Long flights usually end up in WT (some manage to swing WT+) but our TA lets us pay the difference to upgrade. Still wondering if this is tax-deductible as a non-claimable business expense (anyone?).

toothy

We officially have to use them, but we are able to specify flights etc. As long as your choice isn't too much more expensive than other options, then it is never an issue. If it is a lot more expensive, then as long as the right person approves it, then it is ok too.

Officially no higher than WT+ without approval, but as WT+ is often more expensive than other carriers J, approval isn't too much of an issue as long as you show that you're saving money.

T