The ultimate guide to corporate flight bookings 

Common challenges for corporate travel bookers

Challenges you may face when arranging corporate flight bookings can be both qualitative and quantitative. Some of the factors to consider include:

Managing corporate travel budgets

Are there several airfare options within your budget, or are you going to have to balance other factors, like multiple stops? Booking early saves money, but many companies still book flights just 30 days or less before business travel. 

The reality is that for some industries, booking corporate flights last-minute is an unavoidable part of doing business.

Navigating flight changes and airline fees

Is the travel date set in stone? There are two ways to figure that out:

1. What's the reason for travelling? For conferences and other confirmed events, changes are unlikely, while client meetings are often delayed or shifted. 
2. What if something goes wrong? When there are travel-related delays and disruptions, anything can happen.

Based on these two questions, think about flexible fares and if they should be a primary part of your approach to corporate airline bookings.

Accommodating traveller preferences during bookings

Travellers often have preferences for seat selection, like more legroom, having a restroom nearby, or being next to a window, so they can sleep during their flight.

It's not just a question of comfort. Some of these factors are essential for business travellers on long-haul trips. Are you aware of air travel preferences for all of your travellers? Can you access this important information in your online booking tool (OBT) or another central location? 

Ensuring compliance with corporate travel policies

While you want to ensure travellers get the accommodations they prefer, business flight bookings must stay within your set travel policies.

Having preset travel policies not only helps bookers and arrangers stay compliant and within your budget. Some flight booking tools, like Melon, allow you to automate approvals to save time and energy, without sacrificing policy compliance in the process.

Use travel policy and past booking patterns to guide decisions

Understanding your travel policy in as much depth as possible is important to maximizing its efficiency in your travel program - especially when it comes to flight bookings.

Ask yourself some important questions:

• What does the travel policy say about air travel?
• Are there spending caps, class-of-service restrictions, or specific approval workflows? 
• Which airlines do your travellers prefer or fly most often?

Identifying these patterns can dramatically reduce time spent comparing the benefits of corporate flight bookings - especially when you’re booking for repeat destinations or high-volume routes.

It can also make a strong case for:

• Negotiating preferred rates with airlines, especially if you consolidate your air travel spending across fewer vendors.
• Integrating preferred vendors directly into your online booking tool (OBT) helps enforce policy automatically alongside a shorter booking process.

The more informed your booking strategy is, the more efficient and cost-effective it becomes.

Use airline loyalty programs to maximize travel savings

Loyalty programs lead to rapid rewards. With flight tickets for frequent flyers, these programs are a must. But even if your travellers aren't regularly on the road, the savings can be significant. You can also get access to top travel perks like priority boarding, free upgrades, and other exclusive deals.

Did you know that TMCs can offer exclusive negotiated rates that can be stacked with loyalty programs for even better rates? You won’t lose any existing loyalty points with a good TMC, so it’s a winning solution.

Airlines also have their own loyalty programs (in a way) with alliance programs. Airline alliance programs give you the perks and benefits of a loyalty program, but they span multiple airlines. These are some of the most popular airline alliances for business travel:

• Star Alliance includes Air Canada, Eva Air, Lufthansa, Air New Zealand, ANA, Singapore Airlines, and others.
• SkyTeam includes Delta, KLM, Air France, Korean Air, AeroMexico, and others.
• Oneworld covers American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas, Japan Airlines, and others.

Loyalty programs can unlock new levels of savings and upgrades for your travellers - even infrequent flyers. What's not to like about that?

Now that the traveller details and data are piling up, let's take a look at travel tools for booking corporate flights.

What to include in your corporate travel policy for flight bookings

Business travel policies are built around two core goals: operational efficiency and a positive traveller experience. Striking the right blend between controlling costs and ensuring your employees arrive on time and ready to work is a crucial balancing act.

A well-crafted policy also reduces ambiguity, cuts down on last-minute questions, and empowers your team to make smart travel decisions within clear boundaries.

Seat selection guidelines

Airfare tiers have become more complex. Beyond the traditional economy, business, and first-class tiers, airlines now offer multiple levels of economy, including:

• Basic economy
• Standard economy
• Flexible economy (sometimes called ‘economy plus’)

Each tier comes with different rules for change fees, baggage limits, and seat selection options. By allowing a predictable expense for early seat selection, you avoid uncomfortable or inconvenient options, like a non-reclining seat or sitting next to the restroom on a long-haul flight.

Choosing the right economy class

Make sure your travel booking policy and tools reflect this new multi-tiered reality for flight tickets. Encourage travel bookers to choose the most cost-effective tier that still aligns with their needs and the purpose of the trip. For example, a one-day trip might justify basic economy, while a multi-day international trip could require more flexibility and comfort.

If a traveller wants to book a seat with extra legroom or upgrade their seat tier, you can outline an approval process or spending cap. The goal is comfort and clarity for travellers, but without adding unnecessary costs for flight bookings on your corporate account.