Long Haul Business Travel - Does anyone enjoy it?
Discussion
Got a friend who is just coming up to 30. He works for quite a large telco and has been offered a role that involves looking after Asia and is likely to require a minimum of 25-30 weeks travelling if he remains in the UK. He has also been offered a relocation package to Singapore, but wants to stay in the UK.
I advised him against it, trying to explain that although it might seem glamorous, he would be doing a job that most people don’t stick it for long and he would likely regret it and that if he really wanted the role, he should take the relocation package and go for it.
Like quite a few others, I spent a few years travelling extensively (long and short haul) on business, it seems to be a right of passage when you are younger. (46 now) It was sold to me as a chance to see new places, meet new people and appealed instantly, I just couldn’t understand why the more experienced execs didn’t want to do the same thing.
The reality for me and most others I know is that it very quickly turned into something I hated. The only thing I ever saw of the places I visited was the inside of a cab, a hotel and an office, with the occasional trip out to have dinner or visit a tourist trap and it wasn’t until I went back to some of these places on my own time, I realised I hadn’t really visited them at all. On top of that the timezones blurring into one, not seeing my mates because I never seemed to have a full weekend and almost never a free evening and the general coma I seemed to exist in really got me down.
I also realised, just how much I got sucked in with the airline and hotel loyalty schemes, spending excessive amounts of time worrying about status, miles, qualifying flights, codeshares, aircraft types, seating & lounge access. I never thought that being able to just book a flight to anywhere I want with my choice of airline, class and route, without having to worry about everything above would be so satisfying.
Thankfully, things worked out and I setup my own business, which has done very well and after many years I can now say I don’t mind flying again, so long as it’s on my terms.
I almost shed a tear when I’m in an airport lounge and I see the army of air warriors, who are about to board a plane they know, eat a meal they have already eaten and watch a movie they have already watched…..
For me the novelty wore off after 6 months or so, some of my friends have stuck with it for quite a few years, but I certainly know why the other guys in the office ran the other way!
Do any of you guys who are forced to travel all the time still enjoy it?
I advised him against it, trying to explain that although it might seem glamorous, he would be doing a job that most people don’t stick it for long and he would likely regret it and that if he really wanted the role, he should take the relocation package and go for it.
Like quite a few others, I spent a few years travelling extensively (long and short haul) on business, it seems to be a right of passage when you are younger. (46 now) It was sold to me as a chance to see new places, meet new people and appealed instantly, I just couldn’t understand why the more experienced execs didn’t want to do the same thing.
The reality for me and most others I know is that it very quickly turned into something I hated. The only thing I ever saw of the places I visited was the inside of a cab, a hotel and an office, with the occasional trip out to have dinner or visit a tourist trap and it wasn’t until I went back to some of these places on my own time, I realised I hadn’t really visited them at all. On top of that the timezones blurring into one, not seeing my mates because I never seemed to have a full weekend and almost never a free evening and the general coma I seemed to exist in really got me down.
I also realised, just how much I got sucked in with the airline and hotel loyalty schemes, spending excessive amounts of time worrying about status, miles, qualifying flights, codeshares, aircraft types, seating & lounge access. I never thought that being able to just book a flight to anywhere I want with my choice of airline, class and route, without having to worry about everything above would be so satisfying.
Thankfully, things worked out and I setup my own business, which has done very well and after many years I can now say I don’t mind flying again, so long as it’s on my terms.
I almost shed a tear when I’m in an airport lounge and I see the army of air warriors, who are about to board a plane they know, eat a meal they have already eaten and watch a movie they have already watched…..
For me the novelty wore off after 6 months or so, some of my friends have stuck with it for quite a few years, but I certainly know why the other guys in the office ran the other way!
Do any of you guys who are forced to travel all the time still enjoy it?
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