Expert Insights
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Corporate Traveller stays in close contact with clients for a safe journey home.
Our 24-hour assistance kept travellers in touch and informed during the ash cloud crisis
When Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted on 14 April 2010 and sent a massive ash cloud across Europe, few would have anticipated the chaos the event would cause to the global aviation industry. At the height of the disaster, more than 10 million people were stranded around the world as airports and airlines across Europe and the UK came to a virtual standstill.
International flight schedules were cancelled for days, with the Continental European airspace gradually reopening six days after the eruption. London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest hub, was the last to renew operations on the night of Tuesday 20 April.
The International Air Transport Association estimates the disaster cost commercial airlines about $A1.8 billion in lost revenue.
As the leading travel management company for SMEs in Australia, Corporate Traveller's robust duty of care ensured hundreds of corporate travellers were kept in touch, informed and safe throughout one of the most chaotic travel periods in airline history.
Around-the-clock assistance
While many travellers were prepared to wait for clearer skies, our travel managers worked around-the-clock to help customers who urgently needed to travel. Almost all of our travel managers worked extended hours during the ash cloud disruptions, ensuring each and every one of their clients who were either overseas or due to travel during that period was contacted.
Throughout the country, Corporate Traveller's teams stayed late into the night to contact their clients so they could be personally updated and advised, as soon as they woke up. For clients who were affected, our travel managers kept in regular contact with them or their nominated representative by phone or email – sometimes two to three times daily if required.
During this time our corporate teams:
- Contacted 1819 passengers
- Rebooked 478 travellers
- Had 87 teams work extended hours to assist travellers
Corporate Traveller's 24/7 Emergency Assist teams were also on hand, day and night to support our travel managers. From Friday 16 April through to Friday 23 April, our Emergency Assist team members took 2342 calls with the average length of each call about six minutes.
The latest in up-to-date information
Throughout the crisis period, our travel managers were kept informed by a constant stream of news and information. Corporate Traveller's emailed Travel Alerts provided the latest updates on news from around the world while our internal corporate communications team also sent through the latest industry updates on airport and airline activity.
Travel managers worked closely with their airline representatives and kept a close eye on airline websites to get the latest updates for flight schedules.
Finding the right travel options
For some customers getting to Europe or returning to Australia by a particular day was critical during the Icelandic volcano disruptions. Waiting for normal services to resume was not an option. In these instances, our travel managers typically organised for customers to travel overland, to airports that were open and to then fly to other airports en-route to their ultimate destinations.
In some cases, getting from A to B involved a combination of any number of planes, ferries, trains or automobiles.
Examples included:
- An Australian who needed to be in Spain the weekend of 17-18 April. He ultimately travelled via Dubai and Paris to make it to his conference
- A Melbourne couple on business in Paris and Amsterdam who ultimately drove a hired car to Rome to link with a flight back to Australia
- An Australian client who was staying in Monaco who was rebooked on a flight from Nice to Madrid, then on to Miami en-route to Australia
- A corporate client who needed to return to Australia to catch connecting flights to the United States. The travel manager secured train seats for the client from London to Barcelona, followed by one-way flights from Barcelona to Cairo and one-way flights back to Australia
Our people used creativity and wellhoned travel management skills to solve problems during this period, highlighting the value of a dedicated travel manager. Customers were able to pick up a phone 24-hours a day and speak to a travel manager for updates or to make the necessary changes or amendments to existing bookings.
Managing risk
As soon as Corporate Traveller teams were alerted of the ash cloud disruptions, travel managers immediately took a log of all affected flight bookings from the global distribution system to identify travellers who would need assistance. This process enabled travel managers to respond quickly, efficiently and contact as many people as possible within a short timeframe.
Because a vast majority of clients book with their travel managers direct, many Corporate Traveller teams knew immediately which clients would be affected by the flight disruptions.
Putting your travellers' safety first
It's a harsh reality that today's business traveller moves in an uncertain world. That's why the safety of your people can never be compromised. Corporate Traveller helps you manage risk through information and vigilance and provides traveller assistance 24/7 for safe and streamlined travel.
Your people are our priority, timing is everything and there is no second guessing.
