Whose Business is It?

The airline industry is abuzz over the possible return of the business traveler. Since the bursting of the dot.com bubble, the economic downturn, September 11th, SARS, and the war in Iraq, travel suppliers (including airlines, hotels, and car rental companies) have come under enormous pressure as would-be business travelers have opted to stay home or "buy down".

Buying down occurs when people traveling on business act more like the folks traveling for fun. Gone are the days of fat expense accounts with the guarantee of a first class travel experience. How we all miss the laissez-faire, who-cares-what-it-costs mentality that once existed! We're in an age of corporate scandals, and the exposure of expense account abuse, combined with the proliferation of travel "deals" have managers pushing employees to save whenever possible.