- Plan Twice, Book Once
Travelers can incur many fees for changes with airlines often charging $150 or more and hotels charging "no show" fees of $50 or more. Double-checking to confirm appointments before booking can help you save on these potential added charges.
|
- Pack Light
As airlines move to unbundle services, travelers can minimize any costs by packing and checking the least number of bags as possible. For longer business trips, the cost of dry cleaning may be cheaper than checking extra luggage for additional shirts and pants. Overnight delivery and luggage forwarding services are also an option if you have a lot of materials or samples to bring on a business trip.
|
- Be Flexible To Find Savings
For travel to or from an area with multiple airports, ask your travel counselor to search alternate airports or use this option in your online booking tool. For example, in New York City, fares may be less expensive enough at JFK to offset the incremental taxi fare difference for a trip to LaGuardia.
|
- Watch for Waste
Millions of tickets go unused, even though most non-refundable fares are valid for travel for up to a year. While there may be change fees, travelers can still save money by not letting these unused tickets go to waste. There are various products available, like TicketTRAX for example, which can help travelers keep track of and re-use these tickets.
|
- Big Ticket Items Can Mean Big Savings
Complex international itineraries can offer opportunities for significant savings. Having travel counselors plan these trips for you saves you time (which you can use to focus on your business) and allows you to take advantage of their knowledge on the best airlines, fare classes, specials and more to ensure you get the lowest fare.
|
- Oldies But Goodies
The "classic" opportunities still exist for travelers, and some are even more common now with higher airline loads. Whenever possible, you should look for opportunities to get "bumped" for a free voucher, select destinations that are "off-season" (e.g. for team meetings) and be flexible with your travel dates.
|
- Go Mobile
Instead of jotting your parking location on a scrap of paper, which can get misplaced, take a picture of the parking location sign with your camera phone or digital camera. ~Joanne Grisham, Executive Assistant, Dallas/Fort Worth
Source - American Airlines
|
- Go Mobile
Take a digital photo of your luggage, itinerary and record locator so you can reference your flight information quickly and identify your luggage. ~Renee Cloutier, Domestic Sales, Tucson, and Erica Carter, Reservations Agent, Raleigh/Durham
Source - American Airlines
|
- Feel Your Best, Look Your Best
Lightweight, natural fabrics for clothing are excellent choices, as they allow skin to breathe and retain shape better. Hot water with a slice of lemon helps to relieve congestion, prevent dry throat, and helps you get to sleep. ~Jan Boyd, Flight Attendant, Dallas/Fort Worth
Source - American Airlines
|
- Pack Practically
Don't tie ribbons to the same handle that holds the baggage routing tag; ribbons often confuse the automated baggage sorters and can cause a baggage delay. ~Richard Tillema, Facilities Manager, Los Angeles
Source - American Airlines
|
