The ambition of multinationals to fly less for business is still very much alive. Large companies such as ING, ABN Amro and Arcadis are aiming to halve the number of business trips.
news hour early just like the end of 2020 to the flight plans of twelve large companies after the corona crisis. They all expect to fly less structurally and are also making plans for this.
Clap for KLM
If the business traveler actually continues to fly less, this could have major consequences for KLM and Schiphol, says Ties Joosten, climate journalist for the website Follow The Money and author of The blue fable. In that book he describes how the airline KLM has been kept afloat for more than a century by government support.
Business travelers are important to KLM. Before the pandemic, about one in six KLM passengers had a primary business purpose. They even provided about 30 to 40 percent of the airline’s revenue. “They pay more per ticket than a normal traveler,” explains Joosten. “They opt more for first class, they buy extra legroom and they buy the ticket at the last minute. Then tickets are usually more expensive.”
At Schiphol Airport, one in three travelers even has a business purpose:
–
news hour
– –
Since March 2020, there has been considerably less flying. In 2019, Schiphol still transported 71.7 million passengers, in 2020 there were only 20.9 million. Last year, the airport bounced back a bit, but at 25.5 million, passenger numbers still dwarfed the years before corona.
–
One of the companies that wants to fly less after the pandemic is PwC, says Renate de Lange, director of the Dutch branch of that accountancy and consultancy firm. “Before the corona crisis, we flew a lot: about 8600 flights in 2019. In 2021 there were only 300.”
PwC permanently wants to fly 25 to 50 percent less than before corona. That is why the company tries to make the impact of their travel behavior as transparent as possible for employees. De Lange: “We believe that this helps them to travel more consciously and smarter.”
Other companies are following PwC’s line. Banks such as ING and ABN Amro, for example, have announced that they will fly 50 percent less than before corona. Engineering firm Arcadis also wants to fly half as many kilometers in 2025 as in 2019.
Why fly?
Companies can reduce flight movements in various ways, says Stichting Anders Reizen. There is already a clear trend change, says a spokesperson: “Where getting on an airplane was the standard, major employers and employees are increasingly asking the question: why fly?” Sustainability, cost savings and lessons from the corona pandemic play a major role in this.
The foundation sees more and more companies that determine how necessary flying is for each type of work. And many companies now operate with a minimum flight distance. This means that for all distances below, for example, 500 kilometers they do not fly, but opt for the train.
Rabobank allows staff who have to travel to London to travel by high-speed line as standard. At Arcadis they also travel by public transport for short distances. If digital is not possible and there is still a need to fly, then they try to stick together as many visits as possible and not keep flying up and down.
–
–
However, it is not feasible for everyone to say goodbye to flying. Some business travelers long to fly again. For example Stefan van den Nieuwenhof, director of a machine factory from Liempde in Brabant. He flew five to ten times a year for work. “In recent years I have been to Russia, America, Dubai and Australia, among other places.”
But since corona, Van den Nieuwhof has not seen a plane from the inside. For now, he has to make do with video calls with his foreign customers. “It is precisely the moments of contact that are very important to us.”
The machine builder hopes to finally be able to visit his most important customer in America again soon. “I’m happy if we can get back on the plane later. If it goes ahead of course. That remains exciting.”
He has yet to see whether companies will really fly less after the corona crisis. “I understand from larger companies that they will meet less and use fewer budgets. But in general I think that the business traveler will get back on the plane very quickly after the pandemic.”
‘Necessity is great’
KLM expects that too. The airline saw that the market picked up again as soon as more was possible and assumes that this will be the case again in the future. “We are confident in a sustainable recovery of business travel. Last year we saw that the will and the need to travel again is also great among business travelers. Physical meetings are essential in international business,” says a spokesperson.
Journalist Joosten is not sure that KLM will flourish again in the future. He thinks that KLM will still need money from the government in 2022. “That is essential for KLM. Without state support they would have simply gone under. They are still technically bankrupt. So money will probably have to be added again soon.”
– –
