Tips for flying for business professionals

Tips for flying for business professionals

While flying often might be a hassle for some business professionals, they might also take advantage of this frequency to save money, get preferable treatment and maximize comfort.

First of all, be loyal to businesses. The key thing for business travel is frequent flier programs. If you are loyal to a brand, you can get an elite status and have access to more perks and upgrades.

One hack every business international traveller should know is how to get served first on the plane. If you order a special meal - such as gluten free or vegetarian - you will get your meal before everyone else. This way you can eat straight away and then sleep for the rest of the flight, so you can be rested once you reach your destination.

Download your airline's app. If you do, you'll get real-time updates on gate changes and delays, and even paperless boarding at most airports. Therefore, you don't have to worry about sitting back and relaxing at the lounge with a glass of wine and missing the boarding call as you'll receive an update when it's time to board straight to your phone. It's like personal assistance.

Fly on a Boing 767 to maximize comfort and avoid flying on a puddle jumper whenever possible. If deciding between similar flights and one is on a Boing 767, go for the 767 every time as the plane has less middle seats than other air-crafts. To choose a comfortable site, go on seatguru.com so you can scope out up-to-date seating charts for every single flight and these will offer insight into which rows don't recline, which seats are too close to the bathroom or whether you have to option to get extra legroom.

If you are a business traveler, avoid layovers at all cost. If you are on a business trip going to and from meetings, it's a huge waste of time to take a day to get there and a day to get back because of layovers. Plus it can be extremely tiring and you want to be fresh for your meeting and fresh for work by the time you get back. Besides, even though flights with layovers might be cheaper, in the end, they are most costly as you might spend this money overpriced food at the airport, drinks, extra fees for the lounge or even in accommodation if the layover is overnight.

It is a good idea to book flights keeping in mind to earn more points, but just to collect points don't pass on cheaper fares on other carriers, as the difference in fares might not make it worthwhile and it might be better to just get the cheaper fare regardless of collecting points. So just keep in mind what is happening around to maximize your resources. However, if you are really focused on earning points, use apps to track your miles. They can be worth a lot of money depending on how you redeem them.

Finally, get upgrades on flights by booking an economy ticket with a Y or B booking code. This means that the ticket will be full fare but you will receive an free upgrade if there are open places in the next class of service.

Tips for business travellers at the airport

Tips for business travellers at the airport

As business travelers are usually on tight schedules and they want through the airport as quickly as possible, they might overlook some items that would make their stay at airports more comfortable. Granted! Business travelers are quick to buy a day pass for access to airport lounge or have access to some of them for free and these lounges provide them with food and drink, access to showers, WI-FI Internet and comfortable chairs.

However, when they are not staying at the airport for that long, they might be able to skip the lounges and for this it would be useful to pack some snacks in the carry-on or use an app like GateGuru to find out which shops and restaurants are available in each airport terminal to plan meals accordingly. GateGuru also provides weather reports, estimated security wait times, airport amenities and so on to avoid last-minute stress.

If you are a frequent traveler to and from the US, you might want to apply for Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States - it pre-qualifies certain travelers for expedited customs. Members enter the United States through automatic kiosks at select airports. Program members proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable passport or U.S. permanent resident card, place their fingerprints on the scanner and complete a customs declaration. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and exit. That easy.

If you get a combination of flying business class plus Global Entry status, you can just whiz out of customs and with your luggage right away.

Dress nicely even at the airport so you can get an upgrade or a seat. When flights are oversold, sometimes gate agents will pick people to upgrade based on whether they are dressed well or if they kick it off with someone at the desk. However, something as simple as elegant dress code - you should be wearing anywhere at risk you'd meet someone you are doing business with at the airport or on the way to the hotel - will maximize your chances to get a seat and even an upgrade for free so you can travel comfortably.

Airports may restrict the size of the liquids you can carry on, but what in in the container doesn't really matter. As long as it's under 3.4 oz, you can generally carry on any kind of liquid and that also includes mini liquor bottles. Enjoying your drink won't also take the edge off from how hectic and boring airports can be but it will also save you money in paying inflated rages for alcoholic drinks in the lounge.

Finally, as you make your way out of the airport, avoid long cab queues by detouring to departure. After collecting your luggage, avoid the massive queue outside arrivals by catching a cab in the departure zone where nobody is competing for cabs. As people are getting dropped off, jump in as they are jumping out.

How to Pack for Business Trips

How to Pack for Business Trips

Business travelers are notorious for being dressed impeccably for short national trips or to international business meetings, strolling across the airport with just a carry-on luggage for business travel and a laptop bag.

If you are a business professional who needs to travel for work due to a conference or a business meeting, you know that your luggage should store a range of elegant and stylish clothing such as the right suit, tie, dress, shoes, suitcase or bag, perfume or cologne, hygiene products, yet it must be straight to the point and efficient as it should all fit in your hand luggage and should be allowed as carry-on baggage. And this all must be less than the weight allowed by the airline.

Yes, you can take checked luggage, but this won't only result in being more expensive, but it will also be more time consuming and there is a risk your luggage won't reach your destination in time. Experienced travelers are aware of this danger and understand that hand-luggage is the only way to reach your destination completely reassured that you'll have the clothes the next day.

As you are in a rush to get to your meeting, you might have to wait and queue to pick up your luggage, then it is a hassle to carry it up and down the stairs or anywhere you have to go. If it is only a short trip, a hand luggage will prove to be way more practical. Besides, it will keep you from taking with you what is not necessary.

If you still need to check a bag, you can either use a full-sized hanger bag with room for several suits and shirts or an upright suitcase.

As the dress code is pre-determined, packing should be simpler and quicker as they are only meant for the business activity and the trip is not extended to additional activities int the city.

However, it is recommended to pack an extra outfit for an improvised lunch or dinner with a friend or colleague - it also works for emergencies. You can also pack some more comfortable clothes to get out and explore the outdoors if the trip allows it. These two outfits shouldn't take up much space in your luggage. Just an extra pair of comfortable shoes will suffice as they take up too much space.

As to the bag dimensions, you have to check that your carry-on luggage complies with the airlines requirements. This changes from airline to airline and if you have a connection flight and change the airline if you are going overseas, you might want to check that airline's requirements as well, so they won't push you to check it.

Currently, a bag that is 22 x 13 x 9 will meet all major airline's carry-on maximum limits. However, this is always changing so just double check all airline's current standards before purchasing a new luggage.

The most common carry-on style is a small rolling suitcase with stiff rectangular sides. The only downside to this rectangular case is that men's jackets are broader than the case and much longer, so there is not a right way to fold them to get them to fit.

A good business bag should be dar, somber and simple. Leather is dressier tan canvas, canvas is dressier than nylon and nylon is dressier than synthetic felts, furs or other clearly artificial surfaces. You don't want to run into someone you will be doing business with with a bright purple bag, no matter how practical it is.