Business Travel Challenges and Solutions

Rising flight costs, sustainability, and artificial intelligence – challenges for travel managers.

The business travel industry is currently dealing with an incredible number of topics affecting office processes and collaborations with corporate clients, often overturning them. Once again, Daniel Wittwer and his team successfully selected some of these critical topics and put together an exciting program for this year’s Finass Business Travel Workshop at the SIX Convention Point in Zurich. At TravelBrain, we had the opportunity to support the content creation and lead one of the sessions ourselves.

Shortly after 2:00 PM, Daniel Wittwer welcomed the attending customers, sponsors, partners, and speakers and also presented the program itinerary for the following three hours. He also briefly introduced his co-organizer and deputy Marc Brunner as well as the other attending employees and members of the executive team of Finass Reisen. He wished everyone an exciting and entertaining afternoon. He then handed the microphone to Marco Ziegler for the introductory speech.

Should flying still be allowed and practiced in the future? This question has been posed for several years, not only by individuals before booking their vacations but also by travel managers and corporate leaders worldwide.

Marco Ziegler, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company in Zurich, also addressed this question. The challenges to almost completely avoiding emissions in aviation are significant, but airlines and the industry are working intensively on corresponding solutions. This is prompted not least by EU guidelines and regulations of various countries. EU rules stipulate that from 2025, at least 2% of the fuel for flights from EU airports must consist of SAF. By 2030, this proportion is expected to rise to 5%.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is an alternative fuel made from renewable resources that can help reduce carbon emissions within the aviation industry. SAF can be made from various raw materials such as plant oils, animal waste, and agricultural residues. Compared to traditional aviation fuel, SAF can reduce carbon emissions by up to 80%.

However, the availability of SAF is limited, and its price is currently up to four times higher than conventional aviation fuel. The aviation industry is nevertheless working to increase SAF production and reduce its costs. Some airlines have already begun integrating SAF into their fleets.

There are also other alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and electricity, which may play a more significant role in the future aviation industry. However, the development of these technologies is still in its early stages, and widespread adoption will take some time.

Using numerous impressive graphics and charts, Marco Ziegler demonstrated that in aviation, long-haul flights with extremely high emissions are the main climate culprits. Short-haul flights, however, have a relatively minor impact. This implies that the electrification of small and medium-haul aircraft would only make a small contribution to improvement. Thus, it is all the more important to promote the production of SAF and alternative fuels as strongly as possible.

Flight shame is therefore unnecessary—but companies and individuals should support initiatives aiming to green their flight operations as quickly as possible.

As the moderator of a panel discussion, I had the honor of discussing with Gregor Koncilja, Head of Account Management and a member of Swiss International Air Lines’ Sustainability Competence Center, and Sandro Montebove, a long-time European Travel Manager at Credit Suisse, about the rapid rise in flight prices and ways to handle it efficiently.

We are currently in a period of unexpectedly high price increases in the travel sector. Between 2022 and 2023, nearly unforeseeable cost hikes occurred in flights, hotels, and car rentals. Where a European route used to cost between CHF 100 and CHF 150 before the pandemic, today it often costs at least double. According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), prices globally rose by 12% compared to 2019, with increases for European departures reaching up to 28%.

Gregor Koncilja summarized some reasons behind the currently high prices. The demand for flight seats has risen dramatically, while supply has struggled to catch up. Many aircraft grounded during the pandemic remain inactive. Factors like fuel costs, seasonal variations, and market competition influence pricing as well. The introduction of Swiss’ Green Fares, which include CO2 offsets or the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel, further increases travel costs by 10–20%. Nevertheless, these fares seem to be gaining traction. Besides Green Fares, various other options exist for companies, such as purchasing larger volumes of SAF from airlines or Finass Reisen.

Sandro Montebove reported that the unexpectedly high prices have significantly impacted the budgeting and travel plans of large companies. Many companies are focusing on avoiding unnecessary trips and replacing them with virtual meetings. Additionally, the availability of special deals, using loyalty programs like the LH Group’s PartnerPlusBenefit Program, or entering specific agreements for frequently flown routes serve as cost-cutting options. Online Booking Engines (OBEs) offer another possibility—companies can reduce fees by allowing travelers or team assistants to book trips themselves. Optimizing processes around travel and expense management can also aid in lowering indirect costs. Real-time travel budget controls and, in some cases, complex travel approval processes additionally contribute to cost efficiency.

To conclude, I asked Gregor Koncilja about current and future developments in the aviation industry. He expressed optimism that investments and innovations (e.g., new fuel-efficient aircraft) could help stabilize or even reduce pricing, although the current trend points otherwise.

Finally, Sandro Montebove commented that it is also possible to control travel costs using the mentioned methods. He noted that consolidating appointments during travel planning could additionally yield economic and environmental benefits.

A positive note for attendees: price increases of only 2.3% are forecasted for the second half of 2023 and just 1.8% in 2024. By the way, I recently booked a flight to Hamburg in November with the Green Fare for just CHF 200!

After thanking the participants for the insightful discussion, I handed the microphone to Marc Brunner, who invited the attendees to take a break and visit the Travel Expo.

Whether ChatGPT and similar tools will change business travel is beyond question. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will influence most areas of our lives. Digital expert and Innosuisse coach Sanja Hauser explained to the audience what AI actually means and its various manifestations—from task-specific AI to general AI, and even Artificial Superintelligence, which surpasses human intelligence in every domain.

Using an example of a future business trip, Sanja Hauser showed where a virtual, AI-based assistant could support organization or even perform it autonomously. From planning the trip, booking the best possible flights, accommodations, and transportation services at corporate rates, everything can be managed within seconds. Even communication with a business partner’s AI, preparing a meeting agenda, reserving a location, or preordering refreshments is seamlessly handled based on past behaviors or user preferences.

Although much of this remains futuristic, companies like Microsoft, in partnership with Amadeus and Cytric Travel Easy, are actively working on the first parts of these developments.

The attendees were encouraged to explore AI opportunities and determine where tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing may already automate tasks.

At first glance, the easygoing 2-meter Bernese Marc Hauser might not appear to be someone capable of jumping from airplanes, hot air balloons, or setting speed records. But that’s exactly what this entrepreneur does, despite a fear of heights, even achieving world records. In 2012, during a parachute jump in Spain, he reached a speed of 304 kilometers per hour.

After losing his record in subsequent years to wingsuit jumpers, Hauser sought more speed. This led to the idea of jumping into a 140-kilometer-per-hour jet stream from a balloon over Australia. A daring experiment that nearly went wrong—just before reaching the planned altitude, his oxygen supply failed, and, to make matters worse, all balloon burners went out at around 8,000 meters above ground. Hauser jumped, knowing this was a critical situation for his colleagues in the balloon. He only learned after landing that they too had safely managed to descend.

Hauser’s experiment aimed to draw attention to the energy potential of high-altitude winds. If humanity could harness this energy, just 1–2% of it would suffice to solve our energy problems.

Through a witty and pointed presentation, Hauser captivated the audience from the first minute. Highlighting the importance of setting ambitious, sometimes utopian goals to drive progress, he concluded by blowing gold confetti into the air—a compelling close to a memorable presentation that earned him a deserved standing ovation.

The event concluded with an Apéro Riche, sponsored by Lufthansa Group, United, and Air Canada, during which attendees had the opportunity to discuss and reflect further on what they had heard. All speakers and panel participants were also available for additional questions and feedback.

The program, crafted by Daniel Wittwer and Marc Brunner, once again met high expectations. We at TravelBrain were delighted to contribute as well.

For more information on the event and presentations (if made available by the speakers), visit Finass’s page on the Business Travel Workshop 2023.

Mark your calendars: the Finass Business Travel Workshop 2024 will be held on October 29, 2024.

Adrian Matt for TravelBrain