Combining Business and Leisure Travel Is the New Normal

I hate the term bleisure, but it looks like it’s here to stay.

New research shows why business travelers decide to add leisure elements to their trips, and the reality is that more than half of business travelers will happily use business travel as a launching point for an opportunity to explore. This has serious ramifications for travel managers and others in charge of corporate spending. Check out the story below.

We also have news below on how the travel industry is slowly becoming more eco-friendly, and the latest on the struggles of various global airlines.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or tips, feel free to reach out via email at as@skift.com or tweet me @sheivach. Let me know if you’ve thought up a new, less-irritating term for bleisure.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Business Travel Editor

Airlines, Tech, and Innovation

Tech Workers Combine Business and Leisure Travel Most Often: The more information we get on the habits of travelers who combine business and leisure, the more obvious it becomes that the notion of the siloed, well-behaved business traveler is completely outdated.

Air France-KLM Names Interim CEO as Labor Disruption Continues: It sounds like this is very much a temporary measure but who knows? If interim CEO Frederic Gagey manages to turn it around, maybe he’ll be offered Air France’s top job on a permanent basis — whether he’d want it is another question.

New EasyJet CEO Is Making a Big Push Into Vacations and Loyalty: Given Johan Lundgren’s experience working at tour operator TUI, it’s no surprise to see him make a move into vacations at EasyJet. Up until fairly recently, it was an untapped area for low-cost airlines, but many have now woken up to the financial benefits of packaging up flights and hotels.

Gulf Carriers Are Challenged by a Capacity Glut: Western airlines campaigned for the U.S. to somehow level the playing field with Gulf carriers, which rely on fat subsidies. Their cries fell on deaf ears. But harsh market forces may prove a challenge for Qatar, Emirates, and others.

It’s Getting Easier to Redeem Frequent Flyer Miles: It’s becoming easier for travelers on many airlines to use frequent flyer miles. That’s the good news. But many airlines are only making the cheapest award tickets available on flights where the cash fare is low. In many cases, that means airline miles aren’t as valuable as before.

The Future of Travel

The Business of Passenger-Proofing Seats and Every Other Square Inch Inside a Plane: Airline passengers abuse nearly everything on an airplane. Sometimes, they do it because they’re jet-lagged or drunk. Sometimes, they’re just absent-minded. And on occasion, manufacturers say, customers probably abuse interiors for sport. But the good news: Everything is tested to withstand harsh treatment from passengers.

The Travel Industry Is Still Searching for Ways to Make Eco-Friendly Habits Stick: It’s not that most travelers don’t want to pitch in and do their part to save the planet. Travelers learn by example and more companies are understanding that it’s not so easy to train employees, who are also consumers, on how to lead the way.

Spirit Airlines Is Adding Super-Fast Wi-Fi as It Gets More Flyer-Friendly: Travelers love to hate Spirit Airlines, and considering the way the carrier treated its customers for about a decade, that makes sense. But come next year, Spirit will offer a decent experience to its passengers. Will that help it attract more flyers?

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Skift Business Travel Editor Andrew Sheivachman [as@skift.com] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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