travel grant

Take Your Business Places With One Of Five Corporate Travel Grants

by Client News

With corporate travel continuing to rebound, SMEs are valuing more than ever the benefits gained through visiting customers, partners and teams in person.

SMEs preferring the benefits of face-to-face interaction are now able to apply for a Corporate Travel Grant with Flight Centre Business Travel. There are over $40,000 in travel grant prizes available to successful grant applicants.

Flight Centre Business Travel’s Global Leader Cameron Harris said that many of their customers are looking to increase their travel in 2024 to maximise growth opportunities.

“Having once been a small business ourselves, we understand the unique challenges that SMEs face and know just how beneficial grants of this size can be,” Mr Harris said.

“This year, we’ll once again be awarding one business a Corporate Travel Grant, valued at over $30,000 to help support their growth and success, whilst four runners-up will share in $10,000 worth of travel credit.

“We receive so much positive feedback from SMEs applying for these grants and are delighted to provide these opportunities.”

Last year, social change and anti-bullying advocate Project Rockit was named the  major Corporate Travel Grant winner for 2023.

Project Rockit co-founder and CEO Lucy Thomas said winning Flight Centre Business Travel’s Corporate Travel Grant meant the world to their team by enabling them to expand their reach in person across the country.

“We’ve been able to reach schools all over Australia who otherwise would have completely missed out on joining the Project Rockit workshops at their schools,” Thomas said.

“Our core business hinges on sending passionate, highly trained young people out into schools all over the country to mobilise students against all forms of bullying and lead inclusive school communities.

“Winning the grant has not only enabled us to reach more schools, but also given our team a huge vote of confidence and galvanised morale knowing that we have such strong advocates in Flight Centre Business Travel.”

 

Project Rockit’s Lucy Thomas pitches to the 2023 Corporate Travel Grant judging panel, Candice Marsh, regional general manager, Flight Centre Business Travel, Clinton Hearne, global head of marketing, Flight Centre and Henry Coles, head of alliances, Virgin Australia.

One of the 2023 Corporate Travel Grant runners up, Emily Bobis from Compass IoT, has found great value in partnering with Flight Centre Business Travel as a result of the grant application.

“Having a reliable travel management company has saved us countless hours trying to coordinate trips and multi-person bookings. It’s removed the internal booking burden so that we have more time to focus on the things that move the needle for our customers,” Emily said.

To apply and be in the running to take their business places with a $30,000 Corporate Travel Grant, SMEs need to answer three questions online and ensure they’re signed up to Virgin Australia’s Business Flyer program.

Flight Centre Business Travel will then fly 2 representatives from the selected top five applicants to its Global Head Office in Brisbane, to present their pitch in person to the selection panel.

Four runners up will win a share of $10,000 in Virgin Australia travel credit and two Velocity Gold memberships each.

Flight Centre Business Travel Grant

  • To enter, simply complete the online application form by answering the following three questions, and sign up to Virgin Australian Business Flyer:

Q1. Your business story – tell us who you are, what you do and what makes your company great!

Q2. Business travel impact – how does corporate travel fit into your overall strategy and shape the bigger picture of your business?

Q3. Travel grant triumph – imagine the corporate travel grant in hand, what exciting doors do you see opening for your business, and how do you plan to make the most of this opportunity?

  • First prize worth $30,000 includes $20,000 travel credit with Virgin Australia; two Platinum Velocity memberships; $5,000 IHG Hotels & Resorts  accommodation credit; and $3,000 Hertz car hire credit.
  • Four runners up will win a share of $10,000 in Virgin Australia travel credit and two Velocity Gold memberships each
  • Entries close 5pm AEST, Monday 18 March 2024.

For full details, terms and conditions please visit:  https://www.flightcentre.com.au/business/corporate-travel-grant-2024

DD-8897_FCBT Travel Grant_Web Assets_PR banner_720x400

SMEs Can Now Apply For Business Travel Grant

by Client News

SMEs looking to grow their business in 2023 are now able to apply for a travel grant with Flight Centre Business Travel which could transform their operations through increased travel and face-to-face contact with customers and business partners.

Flight Centre Business Travel’s Corporate Travel Grant is back from a hiatus following COVID-19 with over $40,000 in travel prizes available to successful grant applicants.

Flight Centre Business Travel’s Global Leader Cameron Harris said with the world opening up many businesses are looking to increase their business travel to take advantage of opportunities.

“We know that face-to-face travel is extremely beneficial for our customers and SMEs across the board,” Mr Harris said.

“We understand the unique challenges that SMEs and start-ups face and know just how beneficial grants of this size can be.

“This year, we’ll be awarding one business a Corporate Travel Grant, valued at over $30,000 to help support their growth and success, whilst four runners-up will share in $10,000 worth of travel credit.”

Mr Harris said SME owners usually depend on human connections, so it’s unsurprising that Flight Centre Business Travel’s customers find in-person meetings to be more influential in building stronger relationships and getting a stronger sense of a client’s needs first hand.

The value of meeting face-to-face for business extends to the ability to have more productive and engaging internal company meetings and building stronger network and partnership connections.

‘Zoom fatigue’ is driving the trend back to more face-to-face meetings, where personal interaction can be less pressured and building rapport possible with more beneficial results for all parties.

“Online videos and phone calls have a place and are effective to a certain degree, but we’re seeing a strong willingness for businesses to get back to meeting in person,” Mr Harris said.

“We know that providing these grants and assisting with travel management can be particularly worthwhile to entrepreneurs who are already juggling a host of responsibilities and SME leaders and decision makers who are looking for cost efficiency.”

A previous Corporate Travel Grant winner, Almo Milk, said winning the grant was absolutely transformational for their business. It helped them grow brand awareness by exhibiting across Australia and Asia, resulting in a 200% increase in online sales.

To apply for the grant, SMEs need to simply submit a one to two-minute video outlining what travel means to their business, and how winning the $30,000 Corporate Travel Grant will help them.

Flight Centre Business Travel will then select the top five entries and fly two representatives from each business to its Global Head Office in Brisbane, to present their pitch in more detail to the selection panel.

Four runners up will win a share of $10,000 in Virgin Australia travel credit and two Velocity Gold memberships each.

Flight Centre Business Travel Grant

·         To enter, simply create a one to two-minute video pitch responding to these two questions:

Q1. What does travel mean to your business?

Q2. What will this travel grant allow you to do?

·         First prize worth $30,000 includes $20,000 travel credit with Virgin Australia; two Platinum Velocity memberships; $5,000 IHG Hotels & Resorts  accommodation credit; $2,500 Hertz travel credit; $1,000 Flight Centre Business Travel voucher and a $500 luggage voucher.

·         Four runners up will win a share of $10,000 in Virgin Australia travel credit and two Velocity Gold memberships each

·         Entries close 5pm AEST, Friday 31 March 2023.

For full details, terms and conditions and to upload your video pitch please visit: https://www.flightcentrebusinesstravel.com.au/corporate-travel-grant-2023 

 

About Flight Centre BusinessTravel

Part of Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT), Flight Centre Business Travel is Flight Centre’s corporate travel specialist for the Australian SME market. Created to meet the needs of SMEs who value a people-led, hyper-personal Travel Management Company driven by our number one promise being the value our Travel Managers can bring to you and your business.

ecommerce solutions

eWAY: Businesses Flock to eCommerce Solutions in Wake of COVID-19

by Client News

Many Australian bricks-and-mortar businesses have taken flight to eCommerce in order to bolster their sales following restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 virus according to the latest figures revealed by Australian eCommerce payments provider, eWAY.

In the six-week period following the announcement of restrictions on the retail and hospitality sectors, eWAY saw a 369 per cent increase in applications from the hospitality sector, a 380 per cent increase from groceries and supermarkets, and a 233 per cent increase from beer, wine and liquor merchants. 

These increases were compared to the six week period prior to the announcement of restrictions.

eWAY Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Mark Healy said, “A lot of the businesses we see coming online were those that had more of a bricks and mortar presence, but due to the restrictions announced, had to pivot their businesses and look for alternate ways to process orders and take payments. 

“Some of the businesses we’ve been involved with in establishing their online payment functionality include a range of restaurants and cafes, fruit and vegetable retailers and butchers.

“Most of these already had a web presence, but not a true online retail capability.”

Mr Healy said that non-traditional eCommerce businesses such as local butcher shops were turning to web solutions to continue to trade with their customers and offer online ordering and secure payment. 

“Many of these businesses are now offering local delivery services and click-and-collect,” Mr Healy said. 

“We expect that these service options will become permanent in a lot of cases as businesses adapt to the changed landscape.

“The business knows that payment has been approved, so they can pack orders and thereby minimise physical human contact as well.”

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers

One restaurant business which has adapted by using an eCommerce solution is Queensland’s Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, with dining premises at Paddington, South Bank and Southport. 

Co-founders Ben Cleary-Corradini and Theo Roduner built their business from a two-person market stall in Brisbane serving fresh handmade gnocchi.  

“When the COVID-19 restrictions came in we had to close our dining operations, which constituted about 50 per cent of our revenue,” Ben Cleary-Corradini said.

“We had to look for other ways to continue to operate and keep our staff on. We had spent a lot of effort increasing our current online experience for customers and took the opportunity to launch our own home delivery service utilising eWAY’s all-in-one payment solution.

“As well as clawing back some of the lost revenue and improving margins with the takeaway side of our business, importantly it has meant we’ve been able to redeploy some of our staff and hang on to some of those jobs.”

Cleary-Corradini said that Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers has benefited significantly by becoming takeaway focused and being able to serve the community and loyal customers that wanted to support them.

Since launching in 1998, eWAY has become the dominant player in the Australian eCommerce space, processing more than 1 in 4 transactions in the market for businesses both large and small.

eWAY seamlessly integrates with hundreds of leading eCommerce shopping cart platforms and a network of custom integration development partners, providing a competitive advantage for any business that wants to grow through accepting digital payments.

managed workforce group

Back in the Managed Workforce Game: Darren Lockyer and Grant Wechsel

by Client News

Large infrastructure, construction and resources projects expected to be fast-tracked for a critical post-COVID Australian economic rebuild will be the focus for Managed Workforce Group as it commences labour management operations in Australia.

Led by Grant Wechsel, who co-founded specialist mining services firm One Key Resources in 2010, and rugby league legend and experienced company director Darren Lockyer, the company will specialise in professionally managing large-scale blue-collar workforces.

Together, Wechsel and Lockyer grew One Key Resources from a start-up to achieving over $250 million in annual sales revenue before selling the business to an international buyer in 2016.

Managed Workforce Group’s services are delivered through three core brands: One Track Workforce, Mining Pro and Crew People.

Mining Pro delivers expert solutions to the coal mining sector while Crew People services the broader mining industry, both areas where the company’s executive team have a long history.

The group has also expanded its focus to major infrastructure and resource projects through its One Track Workforce business, with work beginning on major tunnel, rail and mining projects across Queensland and New South Wales immediately.

Grant Wechsel said: “We understand that managing large scale workforces is a specialty service that allows our client partners to focus on running safe, productive and profitable operations.

“We know what we do best, and we see a tremendous opportunity in the market in Australia.”

Wechsel said that many clients in the industries they supply are lacking service providers who innovate and consistently deliver.  He said, “We take ownership of our responsibilities, consistently innovate and collaborate with our clients and work hard to achieve positive outcomes.”

Wechsel is also excited to be reunited with Darren Lockyer.

“It’s great to have Darren on our team again,” he said. “He is the ultimate professional off the field; just like he was on it. We have worked together for over a decade now and built trusted partnerships with clients across Australia, so we are enjoying the opportunity to work together again.”

Darren Lockyer said: “I am excited to be on the Managed Workforce Team working with all the brands in the group.

“I have full confidence in Grant and our whole team who have the experience and focus to succeed.”

Wechsel believes that following a lot of consolidation in the labour hire industry that there is a gap there for companies to professionally manage large-scale blue-collar workforces, not just sourcing the personnel.

“We introduced the model previously to manage large scale workforces for our clients, so that they can focus on running their mine or project safely and profitably and not have to worry about all the workforce planning, HR compliance and management components.”

For more information on Managed Workforce Group and its services please visit: www.managedworkforcegroup.com

Cory Johnston

Cory Johnston – One of Australia’s Leading Commodity Trading Companies

by Client News

 

Meat and agri-products trader Cory Johnston is celebrating its 50th year of operation in 2018 and is confident about its future after a decade where turnover has doubled in size through a strong commitment to customers and a diversification of its product range.

 

Specialising in sourcing and supplying an extensive range of protein-based produce: chilled and frozen meats, grains, pulses, oil seeds, and various vegetable and animal protein meals, Cory Johnston is targeting the food service industry, smallgoods manufacturers and opportunities for growth through its grain and meals division.

 

Cory Johnston director Peter Shearer said domestic meat trading had been the main foundation of the business but that the company was looking at opportunities in new markets.

 

“International trade is expanding for us and we’re looking at new markets including in Latin America and Europe,” Shearer said.

 

Shearer said that grain and associated products, whilst making up about a quarter of the business, would look to expand as the company invests more resources into that part of the business.

 

He said that a focus on the supply of food products in the community was centred on quality and sustainable operations.

 

“People are becoming a lot more concerned about where their food comes from,” Shearer said. “We work closely with suppliers to get the right quality products to the right sections of the market.”

 

Cory Johnston was formed in 1968 after frozen beef retrieved from a distressed cargo ship – which had caught fire off the Queensland coast – needed to be sold in the domestic market on behalf of the insurance company. This opportunity lead to Douglas Cory and the late Don Johnston forming a partnership which lead to the creation of Cory Johnston Pty Ltd later that year.

 

The continued growth in business, as well as astute investments, allowed Doug Cory to diversify into cold storage which led to the establishment of the Doboy Coldstores in 1976.

 

Late in 1987, Doug decided to purchase Don Johnston’s share in the business. This resulted in Cory Johnston (NSW) which operated together with Cory Johnston for the next eight years. After that time the Cory Johnston (NSW) office was (by mutual agreement) divested.

 

In 2001, Doug decided to step back from his commitments and negotiated the sale of Cory Johnston to younger brother Trevor and long-time employee Peter Shearer. Under the direction of Trevor and Peter, the business has continued to diversify and prosper. In early 2012, Cory Johnston moved from its home of 26 years at Doboy Coldstores to new offices in the Metroplex Development at Murarrie.

 

Trevor Cory will be retiring from the business in 2019 and attributes much of the success of Cory Johnston to its staff and their market knowledge.

 

“Knowing what our clients need and making sure that need is filled coupled with our financial reliability has been the cornerstone to our longevity and in building successful relationships,” Cory said.

 

“We see opportunities to build the by-products part of the business, such as tallow, poultry oil and feather meal and to increase supply to stock feed manufacturers.

 

“Whilst I’m looking forward to retirement, the business is in very good hands with opportunities in the near term for continued expansion.”

 

For further information on Cory Johnston visit: www.coryjohnston.com.au

Zuckerberg

Facebook News Feed Changes Will Bring About A Rethink

by Blog

Facebook has announced changes to its news feed flagged last year which will have the effect of prioritising posts from friends and video content over posts from media outlets and businesses.

For news outlets and pages this will change the likelihood of their posts appearing in your news feed.

Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of News Feed wrote in a post that Facebook was built to bring people closer together and build relationships

He wrote: “With this update, we will also prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people. To do this, we will predict which posts you might want to interact with your friends about, and show these posts higher in feed. These are posts that inspire back-and-forth discussion in the comments and posts that you might want to share and react to – whether that’s a post from a friend seeking advice, a friend asking for recommendations for a trip, or a news article or video prompting lots of discussion. We will also prioritize posts from friends and family over public content…”

“Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.”

You can read Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement here in full:

So, what types of Page posts will show higher in News Feed?

According to Mosseri page posts that generate conversation between people will show higher in News Feed. For example, live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook – in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos. Many creators who post videos on Facebook prompt discussion among their followers, as do posts from celebrities. In Groups, people often interact around public content. Local businesses connect with their communities by posting relevant updates and creating events. And news can help start conversations on important issues.

If you still want to see all content from a favourite page or business, you will still be able to; you’ll need to change the appropriate preference setting to see posts from your favourite pages.

This change is a sure-fire reminder that Facebook is there to make money and not just to give a business or publisher a free platform to promote itself and drive traffic. Organic reach will continue to decline for them and necessitate a rethink on the sort of content they provide and the level of sponsorship they will need or future posts.

If you’re a brand and can generate engagement, discussion and sharing then you may still be able to generate organic reach. However, all brands will need to rethink their content marketing strategies and decide how important Facebook is to their marketing programs.

Facebook has introduced these sorts of changes before and now it’s up to users and advertisers to react and respond.

Hopefully one meaningful change to news feed will be the penalising of publishers who seem to thrive on clickbait-type articles and headlines.  We’re looking at you, Fox Sports!

Image copyright: grinvalds / 123RF Stock Photo

35881565 - sydney,australia - january 4: australias nathan lyon bowls on the last ashes test match at sydney cricket ground,australia on january 4, 2014

Bringing The Ashes Down Under, One Booking at a Time

by Client News

An England Ashes cricket tour to Australia is always one of the most highly anticipated sporting visits to this country.

The return of the English Men’s and Women’s cricket teams for their respective Ashes campaigns is the culmination of months of planning to ensure both series are a success on the field for players, spectators and for all stakeholders.

Planning commenced for the 2017-18 season some years in advance by Cricket Australia as the host nation with the England and Wales Cricket Board; and travel, transport and accommodation by sports and entertainment travel company Stage and Screen Travel Services.

With the England squads touring in Australia from October to February The Ashes series will ensure a highly attended summer of international cricket in Australia.

Tiziano Galipo, General Manager Stage and Screen Travel Services said, ”The Ashes is a long and complex tour to arrange and requires close cooperation between all parties involved.

“We started making bookings eight months ago as soon as the touring calendar was set and then look at fine tuning requirements as the tour unfolds.”

Stage and Screen are required to book over 8,800 hotel room nights across 12 different hotels with over 1,100 bags of luggage required to be transported. Transport arrangements include booking 36 internal flights and 270 vans, cars and coaches to move the teams and support staff around the country.

Additionally, the teams will use over 37 dozen cricket balls for training on top of the match balls.

The five-match Magellan Ashes Test Series commenced on 23rd November 2017 in Brisbane and is followed by five Gillette One Day Internationals and a Twenty20 Trans-Tasman Tri-Series involving New Zealand.

The Commonwealth Bank Women’s Ashes Series has been played in Brisbane, Coffs Harbour, Canberra and North Sydney from 22nd October to 21st November 2017.

About Stage and Screen Travel Services
Stage and Screen is Australia’s leading entertainment and sports travel company, widely respected for its people, credibility and discretion. The company lives and breathe sports and entertainment. Its long-standing client relationships have provided expert insider knowledge. Matching its Travel Managers with its clients, Stage and Screen delivers extraordinary travel experiences for Sport | Music, Touring & Arts | TV & Production | Film | Creative Industries.

Airfare

SME Travellers Remain The Winners Amid Airfare Fluctuations

by Client News

SME business travellers will face incremental airfare increases in 2018 but the passenger experience will be better than ever according to the latest 4D FOCUS – Australian Aviation and Airfare Analysis.

The report, produced by Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) 4th Dimension Business Travel Consulting (4D) team, includes a statistical outlook for 2017 and year on year benchmarking of corporate and leisure airfares from 2014 to 2016.

Corporate Traveller General Manager Jess Anscombe said despite some forecast increases on the most popular domestic routes, the uptick in airfares would be offset by the increased quality of the passenger experience.

“Qantas and Virgin Australia have shifted from capacity battles to focus on shoring up their product.  Both are vying for customer loyalty by introducing innovative new features on the ground and in the air,” she said.

“Two of the most important recent airline innovations was Qantas’ launch of its SME focused Qantas Business Rewards program and Virgin Australia unveiling its new Economy X Class.”

Ms Anscombe said the continued investment of both carriers to boosting their fleets and facilities pointed to the underlying value for money proposition being delivered to business travellers.

The report also suggested a shift from the long-held belief that booking 14-21 days in advance delivers the best fares on the busiest routes.

The introduction of Days of the Week fares in late 2016, which made certain fare types more expensive for travel on Thursdays and Fridays, being the clearest disruptor.

Ms Anscombe said the report also highlighted the continuing strong demand in key SME destinations of Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland with resulting cost increases for accommodation.

“Historically, airfares are still very competitive but using some professional expertise to match the market’s dynamic pricing is the best way to ensure you’re accessing the best airfares every time,” she said.

4D’s General Manager Felicity Burke said key international routes for SME travellers continued to show outstanding value.

“Flights between Sydney and Shanghai have dropped an astonishing 27 per cent in the last three years, the biggest fall of any major international route,” she said. “Sydney and Los Angeles were the next best performing flights dropping 16 per cent in the same period.

“Other major destinations for SME travellers including Auckland, Singapore and Hong Kong all fell between three and nine per cent.”

Business-Traveller

Flight Centre Travel Group & Airbnb Host New Options for Corporate Travel

by Client News

In an Australian and New Zealand first, Airbnb, the world’s leading community driven marketplace, has partnered with Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) corporate division to provide corporate customers with more options when travelling for business.

With five different corporate travel brands, FCTG corporate, offers the broadest range of travel management services for organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

The new partnership with Airbnb means that FCTG’s corporate brands will now have an unrivalled pool of accommodation options to offer its corporate customers.

FCTG’s corporate brands, including FCM Travel Solutions, Corporate Traveller, Campus Travel and Stage and Screen, will have access to Airbnb for Business.

The new accommodation offering will give FCTG’s corporate customers access to more than three million listings worldwide, which are available to be booked through the home-sharing platform.

Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb hosts have welcomed more than 180 million guest arrivals at Airbnb listings worldwide. Approximately 10 per cent of all travellers on Airbnb are business travellers, and in 2016, the number of business trips on Airbnb tripled.

Through this partnership, FCTG’s corporate travel brands will have access to Airbnb’s third party booking tool.

Additionally the travel manager and the employee who is taking the trip, will be able to see trip details, make changes to the reservation, and message the Airbnb host with questions about the listing or neighbourhood.

Andrew Flannery, FCTG’s Executive General Manager of Corporate Travel, said today’s agreement would bolster the company’s award-winning corporate travel offering.

“Customers’ needs and preferences in the corporate travel sector are constantly evolving, and this agreement will deliver interesting new accommodation options that will appeal to sections of our customer base, particularly those who are looking to experience something a little different to a traditional hotel stay,” Mr Flannery said.

“It will also benefit our corporate customers who are travelling to locations where there may currently be an under-supply of suitable hotel rooms.

“We are currently talking with a number of clients about the range of opportunities that Airbnb offers for travellers.”

David Holyoke, Global Director of Business Travel at Airbnb said, “We are thrilled to be working with FCTG’s corporate travel brands, in this sector of the travel industry, and look forward to helping Australian and New Zealand business travellers feel more at home while on the road.

“Airbnb for Business gives business travellers the ability to explore a city like a local, making it easy to travel for work without sacrificing the comforts of home.”

FCTG have run a trial with one of their clients over the last few months and they are already seeing a positive impact for their employees travelling for business using Airbnb, with employees included in the trial rating the experience 4.76 out of 5 stars and with an average daily rate of of $80AUD.

Airbnb listings will be available to Campus Travel and Stage and Screen in the coming weeks, and then progressively introduced soon after to FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Traveller.

29060438_m

Fare Reductions, Better In-flight Services and Loyalty Rewards Keep Corporate Travellers Chipper

by Client News

Corporates have rarely had it so good, with a recent airfare study indicating the price of corporate Economy Class tickets dropped on key international routes in 2016 and fell by as much as 7% on the top domestic routes, according to the latest 4D FOCUS – Australian Aviation and Airfare Analysis.

The report, which was produced by 4th Dimension, Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) business travel consulting division, includes a benchmarking study that compares the price of corporate and leisure airfares purchased in 2016 compared to airfares purchased in 2015 and 2014.

4D’s analysis of corporate and leisure tickets purchased through the FCTG’s staple of travel brands, demonstrates that Australian travellers continue to see excellent value from the price of their air tickets. Compounding the positive news for travellers is the fact that Australian airlines are heavily focused on improving the whole travel experience – from take-off to touch-down as they vie for customer loyalty.

Since 2014, Qantas has upgraded 100 Airbus A330 and 737 aircraft with new interiors, opened new lounges around the country and the carrier is also on the verge of introducing free high-speed Wi-Fi in the domestic market.

John Simeone, Qantas’ Head of Business and Government Sales, said in the report, “This year, we’re entering a new era with the introduction of free high-speed Wi-Fi in the domestic market and the arrival of Qantas’ first Dreamliner, opening up breakthrough routes like Perth – London.”

Meanwhile in the Virgin Australia camp – the brand has started a three month trial of testing in-flight Wi-Fi on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. These are but a few of the perks travellers now enjoy when travelling for work or play.

airfare

FCTG Managing Director, Graham Turner, said it’s been positive to see 2016/17 airfares remain competitive.

“Airfares are still extremely affordable for domestic and international travel and I think despite some of the distractions we’re seeing globally – the corporate and leisure travel industry will continue to perform throughout the rest of 2017,” Mr Turner said.

Below is a takeout of some of the key findings in 4D’s report.

Domestic Travel – CORPORATE Economy Class airfare benchmarking

(Based on 2016 fare benchmarking against 2015 fares)

  • Domestic Economy Class price changes for tickets purchased through FCTG’s corporate travel brands ranged from -7% to a 4% increase on key routes
  • Business travellers flying the BNE – MEL and the BNE – PER routes have enjoyed the biggest savings with average purchase price of tickets on both routes falling by 7%
  • Corporates travelling on the CBR – SYD and the MEL – SYD routes struck out on any savings with the average purchase price of tickets increasing up to 4% from 2015 – 2016

Domestic Travel – LEISURE Economy Class airfare benchmarking

(Based on 2016 fare benchmarking against 2015 fares)

  • From 2015 to 2016 the average price of domestic Economy Class leisure fares purchased through FCTG’s leisure division fell by 6%
  • Economy Class price changes for leisure tickets purchased through FCTG’s retail brands ranged from -10% to a 1% increase
  • Big ticket savings for leisure travellers were highlighted on the BNE – SYD route with a 10% reduction on the average purchase price, while tickets purchased through FCTG by leisure travellers flying on the HBA – MEL and the BNE – PER routes dropped by 9%
  • It was only on the MEL – SYD route, where capacity is tightly controlled by airlines due to the high volume of traffic, where travellers didn’t see a price reduction but rather wore a 1% increase on the average price of purchased fares.


Felicity Burke, General Manager, 4th Dimension Business Travel Consulting, said the outcome of the latest research into corporate and leisure fare movement painted an extremely positive picture for companies and smaller businesses, as well as holiday travellers, that have been booking their travel through a travel management company or retail travel agency such as those that fell under FCTG.

“Not only are FCTG’s corporate customers purchasing extremely well-priced fares but they are also getting all the additional value that comes with booking through a travel company such as 24-hour global traveller support, access to experienced consultants that manage their company’s travel policy, travel spend and activity reporting capabilities as well as access to our online booking technology,” Mrs Burke said.

“And the really good news is that this experience is about to get even better for travellers with the likes of Virgin Australia and Qantas both acutely focused on enhancing the traveller experience to grow market share and increase loyalty, particularly in the corporate sector.”

WHAT’S NEW AND CHANGES AHEAD IN 2017

Fare tracking conducted by 4D for first Quarter 2017 indicates a moderate increase of between 3% – 5% in domestic Economy Class fares across both the corporate and leisure buying groups.

Further to this, both the major Australian airlines introduced ‘Days of the Week’ fares late 2016, which has travellers on certain routes, with certain ticket types paying a higher price to fly on Thursday and Friday.

The data collected suggests a definitive shift away from the long-held beliefs of travel buyers – that booking 14-21 days in advance delivers the best deal on the busiest routes. With a likelihood of one in 10 tickets being changed by corporate travellers after a ticket is issued, 4th Dimension highlights that customers should consider the benefits of ‘flexible’ fares to avoid costly change fees.

The report shows the average cost of change charged by the airlines is $165. Internationally, the big changes in 2017 include:

  • Start of non-stop Qantas flights from Perth to London
  • Virgin Australia expanding to Hong Kong and Beijing
  • The opening of Qantas’ flagship international lounge due to open at London Heathrow
  • Qantas adding services to Beijing and Tokyo (Narita) and;
  • Virgin Australia reintroducing a Melbourne to Los Angeles service.

ACCOMMODATION

Strong demand for accommodation
4th Dimension research showed, that in the second half of 2016, there was strong demand for accommodation in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, as leisure and business travellers arrived in huge numbers for work, conferences and holidays.

The upshot in demand fuelled accommodation rate rises in those cities, with hotel rates increasing two or three times more than what the traveller paid for flights. Looking ahead to the second half of 2017 and into 2018, room bookings in these metro hot spots are expected to continue, causing demand to outstrip supply in some cases during peak periods.

FAST FACTS


1Source: BITRE, Aviation Domestic Airline Ontime Performance 2016 2Source: CAPA Centre for Aviation 3Published fare year-on-year benchmarking fare change 2016. Source 4D analytics