The ‘new normal’ is ‘going to change everything we do in travel’ with travellers requiring structure and better control, but - above all - to feel safe when on the road

30 April, 2020

Adaptability is increasingly being heralded as the solution to the current coronavirus crisis for the world's travel and transport sectors and the 'new normal' that will form the basis of the industries. The Blue Swan Daily has already highlighted how the famous Charles Darwin Origin of Species statement that 'it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change' perfectly explains our current situation.

As we highlighted in that insight, while the strongest brands may have the equity to survive the crisis, the most intelligent leaders may be able to guide business through the chaos, it is those that are able to adapt to change that will be best positioned to succeed. And that doesn't just relate to the industries, but also all of us as travellers.

https://corporatetravelcommunity.com/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-survives-nor-the-most-intelligent-it-is-the-one-most-adaptable-to-change-famous-charles-darwin-origin-of-species-statement-cou/

As Bruce Finch, who has just retired from his role as senior director of global travel and meeting services at Autodesk, acknowledged during this week's inaugural Corporate Travel Community (CTC) Masterclass, most of us never believed we would be in situation we currently are. "There was expectation that once this was over it would last just a couple of weeks and we all would go right back to where we were," he said in the 'Towards the 'new normal' travel programme' discussions, the first of CTC's new fortnightly webinar series.

Instead, it is a widely held belief that the travel and transport industries that emerge after Covid-19 will look very differently than those that entered 2020 with optimistic outlooks. For Mr Finch the 'new normal' may actually represent a trip back in time to an "old normal where we had half empty aeroplanes for a while".

Eric Bailey, global director travel, venue source and payment at Microsoft, believes the 'new normal' is "going to change everything we do in travel" and the "way we connect is going to be completely different". He believes that business travellers will require additional structure and guarantees when it comes to off-site meetings as people are going to want to know what's going to happen and are not going to take chances.

"Everything will be much more controlled," he says, and that will make every trip "more valuable". "People are going to want to be safer and know everything about their trip… It's not about hoping a trip is going to go well, but knowing a trip is going to go well," he adds. He also acknowledges that the 'new normal' will be "very different for different people".

But, when will we get to that point? Peter Harbison, chairman emeritus of CAPA - Centre for Aviation suggests we may be facing a mindset reset that changes our viewpoint from we have always done it that way, to embracing a new outlook. "I think there is a lot of room for innovation and creativity," he says.

Corporate travel will bounce back and while it may not hit the same heights, and having adapted to technology a number of businesses will stick with it, but this will only likely substitute a small percentage of travel trips, perhaps up to 8% or 10%. Mr Bailey agrees that there will be a drop off in business demand. "You will see people skip a trip here and there. They will only want to get on the real valuable trips," he says.

Working for Microsoft, he knows first hand the increasing role of technology as a substitute for travel, but he says reading the subtleties of body language or facial expressions - essential in business relationships - "is not as easy to do on video". While we have all become regular users of video conferencing, face-to face remains an essential part of business. There's still something very special about meeting in real life.

Mr Bailey believes in the future it is about getting the balance between in-person and remote meetings. "I think we will see some hybrid. I don't know where it will be. I don't know exactly where we will land with this. But it will be some sort of hybrid that will help us connect better, more often, easier and more personally than we have today," he explains.

Right now the path to the 'new normal' remains unclear just when we will start to see the rebound remains anyone's guess. The Covid-19 crisis is like nothing we have seen previously so there is no benchmark to make assumptions against. This is unchartered territory.

"I don't know," acknowledges Mr Bailey. "I have no idea and can't guess at it." Similarly, Mr Finch believes it is still too early to tell how the 'new normal' will look. "It's going to be a day by day thing. We are just going to have to see how we get there," he explains.

With the current downtime for travel many businesses are looking more closely at their travel programmes, in some cases extensively rewriting them to adapt to the 'new normal' and fill any gaps and ensure a smooth transition. One big change will be with regard duty of care, says Mr Finch. "If you didn't have one included before, you will now, or at least should," he says.

Mr Bailey believes "there's going to be some big changes in how we look at things". He says that there will be an increasing balance in the future between managing the need for travel with safeguarding the health of employees, and all against a backdrop of the general economic situation.

It is ultimately about balancing risk. "It could be about asking staff to take the stairs rather than lift," he explains. On a larger scale it could be occupancy agreements with hotels based on exclusivity. He questions: "Can we ultimately deliver a touchless experience from door-to-door? Those are some of the conversations we are starting to bring up… We are certainly asking for much more detail in our RFPs... We are going to be much more demanding in what we expect."

But, he acknowledges that any one aspect across this travel ecosystem is not going to be enough. "It is about the whole ecosystem from the time you leave your house until you get to your hotel, the event you are going to and then get back," he says.

"We need to question how do we make safety and health the core of what people are doing while travelling? It is not acceptable to let people travel if it is going to be at the risk of their health," he adds.

Mr Harbison concedes that behind any return in corporate travel airlines will be fighting for their survival in what has been the toughest period of trading in their history. "Its going to be a very difficult period," he accepts. The consensus is that domestic travel will return before international travel and as such long-haul will look especially different than it does today, taking a much reduced form.

Airlines have fought to stand out from rivals by adopting new technology, enhancing product and service more than ever over the past decade, but Mr Harbison says that there now needs to be "considerable standardisation of product and procedure," especially when airlines with their smaller networks seek to transfer passengers.

"That needs to come not just from airlines, but from governments who have a massively important role to play in agreeing some standards that are generally acceptable - travellers and corporate buyers need to have some input to ensure they are acceptable," he adds. You can learn more about the airline route to the 'new normal' in our review of one of CAPA's Masterclass sessions.

https://corporatetravelcommunity.com/v-u-w-or-l-there-is-lots-of-talk-of-what-the-journey-to-the-new-normal-will-look-like-for-the-aviation-indu/