Airlines around the world are ripping up schedules and bringing in new flights to cope with a COVID-triggered trend in corporate travel for executives like Jerome Harris — the scrapping of one-day business trips in favor of longer stays.
For Sydney-based Harris, exhausting one-day treks to Melbourne or Brisbane — meaning four taxi rides, two flights, extended waits and the risk of delays — are no more after a pandemic-driven reassessment of his travel habits.
Industry data shows business travelers are taking longer trips than before COVID-19, leaving airlines adjusting flight plans. Environmental concerns, rising ticket prices, increased flight cancellations amid staff shortages and a boom in online videoconferencing are all undermining the single-day trip option as an industry standard.