Ongoing air travel chaos is prompting some business travelers to drive to meetings to avoid being delayed or, worse, stranded, The Wall Street Journal reported in a June 28 article, citing business passengers and travel companies.
The WSJ spoke with one business traveler, a neuroscientist, who drove six hours from Pennsylvania to Montreal. She chose to make the drive herself after delays during a previous trip caused her to miss a flight connection.
A travel management company told the WSJ that more of its clients are offering employees the time to drive to events rather than fly. Clients are also widening the acceptable window to drive to conferences, such as to four hours from three or to seven hours from five.
And more travelers are making alternative arrangements to avoid chaos at airports, rampant flight cancellations and hours-long lines. Flight cancellations and delays have been escalating throughout the summer – especially during busy holiday periods – as demand for both leisure and business travel surges to pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, airlines have cut their flight schedules or canceled operations to cope with staff shortages and delays.
Nearly 90% of business passengers recently had to make alternative arrangements due to difficulties surrounding travel, as reported in an April Survey from software company SAP Concur.
For more information, read the article here.
