Advantage Business Travel

During a pan-European catastrophy, we should all rally round and help, right? Well, nice to think so but certain sectors of travel, notably airlines, think otherwise. Well, they will help…. as long as you pay.

During the recent British Airways strike or rather, non-strike, other airlines licked their lips with glee as desperate travellers would throw any amount of money at them, just to get home. “You can refund your ticket” “You can change to another date”

airlines said, helpfully. Yes, that is a really useful thing for some poor familly stuck miles from home with little spare cash.

What was most clearly missing was any apparent programme by airlines to re-book stranded passengers without them having to spend hours trying to call some off-shore, parrott staffed, call centre or queue for hours in a smelly terminal whilst the one person on the airline ticket desk tried to cope. For the business traveller, especially for those who used a human travel agent, life was a bit easier – they could just go to a hotel and await a call from their agent to say what had been arranged for them. Not so the familly of four who had taken advantage (say) of a cheap deal for a European break.

What was also evident was the Rachman style pricing. Yes, there is a seat available – but it will cost. Yes, you can have a hotel room – but it will cost. Rachman would, indeed, have been proud

With the volcano saga, unlike anything before, everything came to a halt – and I mean everything. The only advice was “call your airline” or call your agent” – and? The airline could (in all fairness) do nothing. If there are no ‘planes, there are no ‘planes. Trains are full. Hotels are full and even the ferry companies across the sea to Ireland and the continent of Europe have little or no space for the massive throng of humanity, of all creeds and colours, heaving their way, like refugees, across the expanse of Europe.

Why are there no contingency plans? Why is there no central point for advice or for help for those with maxed-out credit cards, no cash and no place to rest their heads? Whilst huge swathes of our – and other nation’s – population struggle to get home, our leaders preen themselves and worry if they should or should not use make-up for a television appearance.

Shame.