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SMEs want flexibility in business travel

Cape Town - Small and medium businesses (SMEs) which shop around for the cheapest fares at the last minute and are then penalised if they need to change bookings, can end up paying over the odds for travel, according to Edward Frost, British Airways' commercial manager for South and East Africa.

Research by British Airways showed that SMEs think short-term and are always looking for the best deal, which would also include flexibility. Their travel needs differ from those of large corporates.

"Unlike large corporates, which can leverage their substantial global buying power to negotiate travel deals with airlines, small and medium business have limited scope to stretch their spend," explained Frost.

"Shopping around for the cheapest fares at the last minute is not the most effective way for SMEs to get the most from their travel budgets. Airlines typically want to encourage early booking so they can fill flights and discourage changes, particularly on discounted fares."

Traditionally British Airways considered the corporate market as the mainstay of its business sales, but began to realise the potential of the SME market, especially in new markets with growing economies and increasing demands for travel.

"We realised that SMEs kept on wasting money on last-minute travel and we kept missing opportunities," said Frost. "That is why we launched On Business, a programme that rewards companies for their loyalty, while taking into account some of the particular needs of SMEs. Based on the feedback from customers, we recently fine-tuned the programme even further to be more flexible and simplified."

It is estimated that those using the programme saved a total of about R680m last year.

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