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Game-changing flight tips for smart business travellers

Whether you’re flying for business or pleasure, you don’t need to break the bank when booking your next transatlantic flight. As one travel blogger explains, there are ways to fly in style without forking out for a first-class ticket.

Published: 14 August 2018 08:43 CEST
Game-changing flight tips for smart business travellers
Photo: Vicki Garside, founder of the travel blog MakeTimeToSeeTheWorld

Since founding travel blog MakeTimeToSeeTheWorld three years ago, Vicki Garside has amassed a huge following of intrepid but time-poor explorers. Like Vicki, many of her fans have full-time jobs and need to make the most of their time and their money.

The Local has teamed up with Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air to bring you Vicki’s best tips for travelling smart, so that the next flight you book keeps your bank account (and your CFO) happy.

Book your next flight with Iceland low cost carrier WOW air

Scoring extra value for money

It’s no secret that everyone loves a bargain so when it comes to travel why is it that so many of us expect and accept the bare minimum? Vicki says if you know the right places to look, you can score extra comfort while saving your pennies for the final destination.

“I typically run my fight searches on multiple comparison/aggregator websites such as Skyscanner, Kiwi, Cheapoair using a private window,” says the savvy travel blogger.

Photo: Wow Air

Fare comparison websites display flights from a variety of different airlines side-by-side, helping you to narrow down the route, travel time and the all-important cost factor and spot the best deals. But the experienced traveller doesn’t stop there.

“Once I have narrowed down a fare/route, I go direct to the airline’s website to see if I can get it cheaper. I then look to see if the airline has a price match guarantee and book with whichever is cheapest,” she explains.

Get more for less with WOW premium

Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air connects Europe to North America and Asia, so you can always get value for money on your transatlantic flights. With prices for upgrades to WOW premium coming in at under 200 euros, make sure to book your next flight directly on WOW air’s website.

Getting your hands on elusive upgrades

Photo: Wow Air

Certain airlines auction off their pricier seats to customers who already have economy tickets on the same flight, a trick of the travel blogger trade that recently helped Vicki to stumble on gold. After bidding through an airline system two weeks before departure, her bid was unexpectedly accepted and she got the (for many) once-in-a-lifetime chance to fly in style.

From the complimentary lounge access to the incredible service, Vicki describes her first-class journey as her best ever flight experience.

“There was champagne on arrival, a huge comfortable seat which reclined into a fully flat bed, as well as beautiful food complete with table cloth, cutlery and paired wines. I can easily see why turning left when you step on the plane is just a magical experience,” she says.

Like Vicki, most travellers have to rely on sheer luck or superhuman skills of persuasion to land an upgrade but with Icelandic low cost carrier WOW air, you don’t need to have luck on your side. You can travel business class without the business class budget by choosing WOW premium, getting all the perks of an upgrade at minimum cost, including two checked bags, fast-tracked security, priority boarding, extra space and comfort, pre-bookable menu and no change fees.

Maximising space

Photo: Gaudilab/Depositphotos

Utter the words ‘low cost carrier’ and you probably think of neck aches, long legs crammed into small spaces and contorting yourself into pretzel-like positions for a moment of relief. Nobody wants to fly across the world for a business meeting to find their entire body has seized up along the way!

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be like this.

You can now book WOW air’s premium or comfy seats and put this stress behind you. WOW comfy offers allocated seating and extra legroom and WOW premium takes this extra space to the next level with a generous baggage allowance (a combined checked and cabin allowance totalling a whopping 62 kg).

Hopping off the flight well-rested and ready to go straight into a meeting makes the upgrade instantly worth it.

Making the most of your time

While Vicki has an extensive list of travel essentials, she shares her top cabin necessities.

“I cannot travel without my Sennhesier Noise Cancelling Travel Headphones, my Smartphone (Google Pixel 2) which has an amazing camera, and a pashmina or scarf in case I get a little chilly or want to use it as a pillow to lean on or cover my head/face if on a budget airline or if I want to try and sleep”.

Get added comfort with WOW comfy

Make the most of rare uninterrupted time by taking your own customised inflight entertainment. Vicki recommends downloading all the TV series and movies you’ve been dying to watch ahead of time. And if you’re travelling for business, you could always get in a few hours of work preparing a presentation or finishing off a report.

“I also always have my laptop and portable USB hard drive with me for work purposes, that also doubles as a TV for watching movies and TV shows when I’m in need of a little down time,” says Vicky.

Booking a holiday inside a holiday

Photo: kavramm/Depositphotos

What traveller doesn’t love experiencing new places and cultures? As an avid explorer, Vicki is no exception.

“I think adding a stop-over to a trip is not only a great way to see an extra destination on your journey, but also great value for your money — particularly when traveling very long distance and without strict time constraints,” says Vicki.

She meticulously plans her stopovers to take advantage of the short time period, seeing as many sights as possible. She has written a top list of things to do in Iceland including off the beaten path alternatives.

“I plan walking routes, pre-book tickets for attractions/tours, plus research where or what to eat to make the most of the time I have. It may seem like a lot of work, but research and planning really is the key to really maximizing your holiday/vacation plans,” she advises.

WOW air flights all stop at Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport, so exploring Iceland just got a whole lot easier.

Whether you’re travelling for business or pleasure, after spending your stopover Reykjavik, soaking in thermal spas and taking in the spectacular Northern Lights, you will be refreshed and on top of your game when you reach your final destination.

Book your next trip with Icelandic low cost air carrier WOW air

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by WOW air.

 

TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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