Emirates Will Really Miss Those Big-Spending Business Travelers - Bloomberg:
Until recently, Tarek Sultani Makhzoumi typically spent every other week of the year on the road, traveling from London to the U.S. or the United Arab Emirates. Like many road warriors, Makhzoumi, chief operating officer for health-care technology company MAP Sciences, became accustomed to the perks of constant corporate travel—everything from restaurant-class in-flight meals to lay-flat beds in business or first class—on business-focused carriers including Emirates.
But in the era of shrunken corporate budgets and a growing embrace of videoconferences, such extravagances risk becoming relics of a globe-trotting past. Moreover, many travelers are likely to remain reluctant to spend time in densely packed lines at airports, queue up at temperature-measuring checkpoints, or sit for hours in close proximity to strangers. “The process of getting into a plane is going to be longer,” Makhzoumi says. “And I have to look into my cash flow more closely.” He plans to travel only “when it’s absolutely worth it” and pack more meetings into each trip when he does.
Any pullback among the bankers, consultants, and tech specialists like Makhzoumi who’ve long filled the front cabins of commercial airliners is bad news for carriers that cater to them. Especially Emirates, which boasts the world’s biggest long-haul fleet.
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Airplanes operated by Emirates at Dubai International Airport on March 23. The airline has idled as much as 90% of its aircraft.
PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRISTOPHER PIKE/BLOOMBERG
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Until recently, Tarek Sultani Makhzoumi typically spent every other week of the year on the road, traveling from London to the U.S. or the United Arab Emirates. Like many road warriors, Makhzoumi, chief operating officer for health-care technology company MAP Sciences, became accustomed to the perks of constant corporate travel—everything from restaurant-class in-flight meals to lay-flat beds in business or first class—on business-focused carriers including Emirates.
But in the era of shrunken corporate budgets and a growing embrace of videoconferences, such extravagances risk becoming relics of a globe-trotting past. Moreover, many travelers are likely to remain reluctant to spend time in densely packed lines at airports, queue up at temperature-measuring checkpoints, or sit for hours in close proximity to strangers. “The process of getting into a plane is going to be longer,” Makhzoumi says. “And I have to look into my cash flow more closely.” He plans to travel only “when it’s absolutely worth it” and pack more meetings into each trip when he does.
Any pullback among the bankers, consultants, and tech specialists like Makhzoumi who’ve long filled the front cabins of commercial airliners is bad news for carriers that cater to them. Especially Emirates, which boasts the world’s biggest long-haul fleet.
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