Airline staff travel
Encyclopedia
One of the perquisites that the airline industry provides to its employees is free or discounted travel. Since the traveller in this case is the "staff" of a particular airline, the benefit is widely known as "staff travel" and is either offered internally within a company or independent companies like StaffTravel.eu By and large, staff travel doesn't bring much revenue to the airline and is hence referred to as nonrev
in some parts of the world.
The airline industry sees staff travel
to be one of the most sought after motivational and retention strategies. On the flip side, most of the staff travel that happens in the industry is standby
. This would mean that a confirmed seat is not given to the staff member for this travel. (Rather, a listing and no booking happens for staff travel). This makes staff travel unpredictable and there are chances of the staff being "bumped off" from the flight, in case the flight is full and there are revenue passenger
s to be catered to. However, it is common practice for some gate agents to discreetly accommodate a friend hoping to travel non-rev by bumping another non-rev flier, or even a revenue passenger, from a full flight.
Since the staff travel is a privilege given to the employee, most airlines also maintain a policy for administering staff travel. The staff travel function generally comes under Human Resources
(HR) and in some cases under Customer Service
s or Marketing
. If the airline's employee size is big enough, a separate department is also maintained to cater to this process.
In most airlines the staff travel department (also referred to as Pass Bureau) also handles all the activities related to staff travel. Leisure travel (standby
and confirmed) for employees, spouse and dependants, companions and or domestic partners, Leisure travel for executives, Furlough
travel, retiree travel, travel for dependant
s of deceased employees - all of this comprise the regular activities of staff travel department.
Yet another major activities that comes under the purview of staff travel department is duty travel
(also referred to as business travel
). This would involve arrangement of flight, accommodation and car rentals (at times) for employees who travel on company business. These travel may be on own airlines or another airlines depending on the travel destination. Unlike leisure travel that the employee does at their own will, business travel
is more critical because (a) employees are travelling on business purposes and ensuring a smooth service to them becomes important (b) there is a cost involved and optimising it is critical.
Apart from this, the staff travel department also becomes responsible for consultant
travel (arrangements for visiting consultants to the airline - which may be grouped along with business travel
) and travel of temporary employees.
Other activities that may be done by the staff travel department include, Jumpseat Travel, Vendor Travel, travel agency travel, deadhead travel.
At times, the responsibilities related to staff travel for a partner airline may also be handled by the main airline's staff travel desk.
The touch points of the staff travel team within an airline organisation includes, HR
team, Payroll
, Revenue accounting, Finance and IT. The staff travel services get used by almost everyone in the organisation and the retirees too.
Being an internal service department, the staff travel team is often evaluated based on the feedback from the staff. Maintaining positive public relations
and keeping the employees happy remains one of the key goals of this team.
Some of the challenges that staff travel team faces include, the high Volume manual process, cost, resources (manpower
and material
s), having a proper form of payment
, revenue
analysis, employee relations and communication, and limited operating hours.
Some of the serious challenges where the team still tries to find out a solution include: the cumbersome refund processes associated with staff travel, assessing eligibility (or lack of), assessing applicable taxes, taking Credit Card and security issues sounding Form of Payment (FoP), Record Keeping, Interline Pricing
and taxes, Interline billing, Accruing IT help to automate the process and the development Cost in automating staff travel.
Nonrev
A Nonrev or Non-rev, in airline parlance, is short for a non-revenue passenger. Typically this refers to an airline employee, or family member of an airline employee, who is utilizing their travel benefits to fly on a standby basis at no cost, or at a substantially reduced cost. Subload is...
in some parts of the world.
The airline industry sees staff travel
Nonrev
A Nonrev or Non-rev, in airline parlance, is short for a non-revenue passenger. Typically this refers to an airline employee, or family member of an airline employee, who is utilizing their travel benefits to fly on a standby basis at no cost, or at a substantially reduced cost. Subload is...
to be one of the most sought after motivational and retention strategies. On the flip side, most of the staff travel that happens in the industry is standby
Standby (air travel)
On most modern airlines, flying standby occurs when a passenger travels on a flight without a prior reservation for that specific flight.- Why fly standby? :...
. This would mean that a confirmed seat is not given to the staff member for this travel. (Rather, a listing and no booking happens for staff travel). This makes staff travel unpredictable and there are chances of the staff being "bumped off" from the flight, in case the flight is full and there are revenue passenger
Revenue passenger
A revenue passenger is someone who has paid the transport operator for her or his trip. That excludes non-paying passengers such as airline employees flying on free or nearly-free passes, babies and children who do not have a seat of their own, etc...
s to be catered to. However, it is common practice for some gate agents to discreetly accommodate a friend hoping to travel non-rev by bumping another non-rev flier, or even a revenue passenger, from a full flight.
Since the staff travel is a privilege given to the employee, most airlines also maintain a policy for administering staff travel. The staff travel function generally comes under Human Resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
(HR) and in some cases under Customer Service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
s or Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
. If the airline's employee size is big enough, a separate department is also maintained to cater to this process.
In most airlines the staff travel department (also referred to as Pass Bureau) also handles all the activities related to staff travel. Leisure travel (standby
Standby (air travel)
On most modern airlines, flying standby occurs when a passenger travels on a flight without a prior reservation for that specific flight.- Why fly standby? :...
and confirmed) for employees, spouse and dependants, companions and or domestic partners, Leisure travel for executives, Furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
travel, retiree travel, travel for dependant
Dependant
This article is related to law. For the personality trait, see Dependent Personality DisorderA dependant or dependent is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income...
s of deceased employees - all of this comprise the regular activities of staff travel department.
Yet another major activities that comes under the purview of staff travel department is duty travel
Business travel
Business travel is the practice of people traveling for purposes related to their work. It is on the rise especially with foreign business markets opening up...
(also referred to as business travel
Business travel
Business travel is the practice of people traveling for purposes related to their work. It is on the rise especially with foreign business markets opening up...
). This would involve arrangement of flight, accommodation and car rentals (at times) for employees who travel on company business. These travel may be on own airlines or another airlines depending on the travel destination. Unlike leisure travel that the employee does at their own will, business travel
Business travel
Business travel is the practice of people traveling for purposes related to their work. It is on the rise especially with foreign business markets opening up...
is more critical because (a) employees are travelling on business purposes and ensuring a smooth service to them becomes important (b) there is a cost involved and optimising it is critical.
Apart from this, the staff travel department also becomes responsible for consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
travel (arrangements for visiting consultants to the airline - which may be grouped along with business travel
Business travel
Business travel is the practice of people traveling for purposes related to their work. It is on the rise especially with foreign business markets opening up...
) and travel of temporary employees.
Other activities that may be done by the staff travel department include, Jumpseat Travel, Vendor Travel, travel agency travel, deadhead travel.
At times, the responsibilities related to staff travel for a partner airline may also be handled by the main airline's staff travel desk.
The touch points of the staff travel team within an airline organisation includes, HR
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
team, Payroll
Payroll
In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons...
, Revenue accounting, Finance and IT. The staff travel services get used by almost everyone in the organisation and the retirees too.
Being an internal service department, the staff travel team is often evaluated based on the feedback from the staff. Maintaining positive public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and keeping the employees happy remains one of the key goals of this team.
Some of the challenges that staff travel team faces include, the high Volume manual process, cost, resources (manpower
Manpower
Manpower may refer to:*Human resourcesOrganizations:*Manpower Inc., an international employment agency, headquartered in the United States*Manpower Incorporated, a criminal enterprise in the Honor Harrington science fiction series...
and material
Material
Material is anything made of matter, constituted of one or more substances. Wood, cement, hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to...
s), having a proper form of payment
Payment
A payment is the transfer of wealth from one party to another. A payment is usually made in exchange for the provision of goods, services or both, or to fulfill a legal obligation....
, revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
analysis, employee relations and communication, and limited operating hours.
Some of the serious challenges where the team still tries to find out a solution include: the cumbersome refund processes associated with staff travel, assessing eligibility (or lack of), assessing applicable taxes, taking Credit Card and security issues sounding Form of Payment (FoP), Record Keeping, Interline Pricing
Interline travel
Interline travel refers to airline employee discounts for travel. Interline is a term used in the airline industry indicating travel between airlines...
and taxes, Interline billing, Accruing IT help to automate the process and the development Cost in automating staff travel.