5 Flight Booking Tips for Corporates

 

For every business, be it big or small, savings come first. However, this is not always an easy feat to manage, especially with high-priced business flight tickets. This is an even bigger problem for SME flight booking as it can significantly overshoot the corporate travel budget, wrecking all financial planning. Here are some of the best ways to manage the challenges associated with flight booking that can help your business save more:

 

Booking business travel flights is accompanied by many challenges that every travel admin is well-versed with. Despite carefully making the bookings, there are several issues that often make it difficult to achieve smooth business travel.

 

It can be challenging to ensure that the employees are comfortable on their journey and that all their requirements are aptly met. Then there is also the problem of keeping track of each booking, taking care of last-minute reservations and changes, followed by managing expenses. However, the biggest issue arises in finding cost-effective corporate flights to ensure better savings. 

 

To ensure that these challenges are better-taken care of, here are 5 tips to help corporate travel admins better manage their employees' corporate air travel:

 

Many businesses end up spending a lot more on their flight booking every time their employees book flights based on the individual ticket prices. However, this can be avoided by negotiating discounted corporate rates on every individual flight booking or bulk flight booking. Companies can arrive at discount packages to secure the most cost-efficient rates on flight seats. This might be true for big corporates with a big name in the market, but even smaller businesses can get discounted flight travel rates if they regularly book tickets. These discounted rates might essentially depend on two factors-

• •  How often do your employees travel for work?
• •  How loyal are the business travellers to the carrier?

 

It can increase the savings on a business's travel budget by finding out about a loyalty scheme the carrier offers before booking a business flight ticket. Availing a membership of such a scheme often means-

• •  Lower ticket prices.
• •  Free in-flight meals.
• •  Reward points.
• •  Seat selection and upgradation.
• •  Lounge access.
• •  More baggage check-in.
• •  Priority boarding.

Such corporate loyalty programs facilitate a beneficial partnership between the business and the airlines. They can ensure rewards for each booking for an employee travelling for work. This can be further used to make future bookings, adding to the overall savings of the company on corporate flights bookings.

 

There is a misconception that flight ticket prices go down as the date of departure approaches. This may or may not be one of the tactics to employ to book business air tickets. However, it is certainly not the most effective strategy to ensure savings because, more often than not, seat tickets tend to get more expensive for those who prefer to book at the last-minute. On the contrary, it will serve your business better if you were to plan in advance and make the bookings well ahead of your business commitments. It will make sure that you get-

• •  Lower pricing for tickets.
• •  Have more seat options to choose from.
• •  Better meal selection.

 

Even though it may not always be possible, bigger corporates and SME flight booking should be flexible. It is best to always check for alternate dates with regard to the business travellers' date of departure and the date of return. Such minor alterations in flight booking can make a huge difference in savings. Hence, if there is a possibility to be flexible in your business travel, make sure to take advantage of it. This can be further facilitated if you plan in advance, thus cutting down on last-minute flight booking expenses. 

 

Utilizing the services of an ideal TMC can make it extremely easy to book corporate flights. It will serve as a single platform for searching, booking, as well as managing flight expenses, saving valuable time and money simultaneously. It can effectively take care of all the points mentioned above, giving you control over your business travel costs alongside an overview of the spending trends on your employees' overall expenditure. This visibility can further help businesses make informed decisions, enabling them to save better on their future business flight tickets.

 

myBiz is the right business travel partner for hassle-free flight bookings as it offers a large inventory for booking corporate flights eliminating the need to visit multiple booking portals. Its single integrated platform is all you need to automatically integrate your bookings with the company's travel policy and generate real-time reports and efficient expense management, offering visibility and control over costs associated with flight bookings. Assured GST invoices are another benefit that gives rise to higher company savings. Owing to these features, myBiz offers an unparalleled business travel experience to both the employers and their employees. 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

 

Q1. What is corporate flight booking?

Ans. Corporate booking in flight is made on behalf of businesses to achieve company goals. It could be travel associated with employees venturing out on meetings, conferences, offsites, etc.

Q2. Does a TMC offer corporate flight international booking?

Ans. Yes, businesses can book international flights for employees travelling outside the country with a TMC.

Q3. Is last-minute flight ticket booking business cost-effective?

Ans. It may or may not be. However, usually since carriers have already booked the majority of flight seats, prices tend to go up. Hence, advance bookings are more lucrative for savings.

Q4. Can we get discounted rates on bulk flight booking?

Ans. Flight carriers can offer customized rates on group bookings. However, these rates may vary depending on the number of bookings. Hence, partnering with a TMC like myBiz ensures that businesses get discounted corporate rates every time.