Less travel for corporate jetsetters

Illustration by Suneesh K.

One day in 1995, I went to meet the India head of a large consulting company. There was something about our names that often confused his secretary which is why she would put me through the moment I called even though he was a notoriously elusive person to reach, particularly for humble hacks like me. In the middle of our conversation he got a call and by the slight raising of his voice I guessed it was from abroad. This was still the era of MTNL phone lines with VSNL providing the international links. Over the next few minutes, the man planned an itinerary which left me a bit shaken: he would fly from Delhi to Mumbai via Dubai!

That summed up business travel in the era of plenty. An hour’s meeting in a different city prompted a flight, a night’s hotel stay, a limo on arrival and of course, generous use of the expense account at the best bar in town.

Don’t get me wrong. A lot was accomplished in those trips. Corporate travel was the bedrock on which business was built. In fact, the exercise began in the air itself. Top honchos flew first class so that they could run into other top honchos. The camaraderie that developed between two honchos as they sank into their plush seats spun many a deal on landing. Indeed, it is what sustained Kingfisher and Jet for a long time. The regulars formed an elite group and the airlines did everything to service that club, till they shut down under the weight of their expectations.

Cut to the post-pandemic world and business travel may be under serious threat. The twin objectives of cost and carbon cutting along with the availability of a whole host of video conferencing options is leading companies to re-examine the very need for executive travel.

Besides, most companies have figured that they seemed to have done just fine without the added cost incurred on travel. Indian companies registered a 70 percent decline in their travel costs through the last financial year without a commensurate drop in business. In fact, the IT industry where travel accounts for an average of 2 percent of overall costs, grew rapidly over the last one year even as its executives mostly worked from home. Conferences and trade shows, which account for a significant percentage of business trips, have seamlessly gone virtual, without taking away too much of the experience. In fact, many companies now say that the time saved on commutes and the money on travel and hospitality, allows them to invite many more high-quality speakers for such events.

There is also the realization that travel adds massively to environmental pollution. According to the US-based Center for Biological Diversity “left unchecked global aviation will generate an estimated 43 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2050, constituting almost 5% of the global emissions allowable to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.” Thankfully, after seeing the destruction wrought by Covid 19, many people across the world are beginning to take personal responsibility for cutting down on carbon-intensive activities.

A recent survey of 150 travel managers, executives with various titles and travel budget oversight, by Deloitte, reveals that while corporate travel is expected to pick up significantly in the second half of 2021, it will still sit well below pre-pandemic levels. An important finding of the survey is that for some travel use cases like internal team meetings, leadership meetings and trainings, as well as content-forward conferences, the pandemic experience has convinced companies that tech platforms often suffice.

So is it over for those 150-days a year travel schedules with back-to-back meetings through the day followed by a drink with the gang in the evening? Not quite. Business travel was always more than just about business. For most executives it was among the perks of the profession, just reward for moving up the corporate ladder. For other simpler folks it was also a window to some precious me-time. As Sandipan Deb wrote in a paean to being alone in a hotel room: “There is television, there is the book you brought along to read, and there’s room service. Shut the door, and the world vanishes.”