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British Airways A380 (artistic impression) // © 2009 British Airways |
The recent Obama Administration Retreat, held at the end of July, was applauded by the U.S. Travel Association for demonstrating that face-to-face meetings are still crucial, even in today’s harsh economic times.
They’re not the only ones who think so.
In a global survey of 2,211 Harvard Business Review subscribers, conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 79 percent of participants viewed in-person meetings as a highly effective way to meet new clients to sell business. Despite the emerging popularity of videoconferences, teleconferences and Webinars, a vast majority of people still consider face-to-face meetings to be the most effective method for conducting business with key stakeholders.
In July, British Airways (BA) announced the launch of “Face-to-Face,” a multi-phased program that aims to keep entrepreneurship alive and drum up fresh potential for economic growth in the U.S. by focusing on tangible, human connections as a crucial driver of business growth. The program leverages insight from the Harvard Business Review’s study and will offer more than 1,000 business people the opportunity to travel overseas and conduct face-to-face business meetings in the fall. The second phase of the campaign, “Business Opportunity Grants” will give away 10 BA roundtrip, trans-Atlantic Club World business-class tickets for use in 2010.
John Lampl, BA vice-president of corporate communications, discussed the nuts and bolts of the face-to-face program as well as provided insight into BA’s future plans and destinations.
How did British Airways (BA) come up with the idea for the face-to-face program?
The idea for the program started six months ago when we were in the middle of the economic downturn. Many financial institutions were going bust and we were wondering what we could do to get people traveling on planes and doing business again. We wanted a promotion that wasn’t just a fare sale to attract people to BA and to really kick-start business and the idea of people going overseas. Teleconferencing, e-mail and video-conferencing are great technological advances and they work, but when you want to go and talk to somebody in London, Paris, Dubai or Mumbai, and two heads of the company want to seal the deal, body language and eye-to-eye communication are extremely important.
What does BA hope to accomplish with the face-to-face program?
We know that whether you’re going to visit friends or do business overseas, you want to do it face-to-face; you want to be there. That’s common sense. We decided to ask the Harvard Business Review and its business associates to go out and see if this is real — if most people still believe that face-to-face communication is how business should be conducted, and they came back and found that yes, 95 percent of the people who were polled fully agreed that that’s the way to go. We aren’t just trying to do what we think is right, but to support what the business population really believes.
How does the face-to-face program work?
We’re giving away seats to small- and medium-sized businesses to travel anywhere that BA goes. To start, we’ll offer flights from our three major gateways — Los Angeles, Chicago and New York — and provide free seats to London and other destinations, so that participants can complete their business, however long, and then bring them back. The going over will be on a particular flight but they can return at their convenience.
In the case of the first flight, which will depart New York on Sept. 15, participants will be able to attend a reception after their arrival. The next morning, there will be a power business breakfast featuring a couple ministers from the UK government, a CEO from British Airways and a couple other business people, giving participants the opportunity to discuss doing business in London and in Europe.
How will the winners be chosen?
In order to choose the winners, we’re promoting this competition where people apply online — they have to enter their name, the name of the company and why they want to go, as well as write a 500-word essay on what they hope to accomplish with this opportunity and what does face-to-face contact mean with regards to the positive aspects and opportunities for their particular company and organization.
We’re looking for people who can explain what their business is and why they feel that face-to-face communication with prospective clients is so important and what they hope to gain out of it — whether it’s a financial gain, or if they’ll expand their business to Europe or wherever they want to go — it’s really up to them. Originality is definitely key.
How was the judging panel assembled?
We have several partners to BA that are helping to organize this thing. We have the U.K. trade and investment organization, our own online promotion agency and BBH, our advertising company. All of us during the last few months have been reaching out and finding organizations that can assist us. There’s someone from Warner Bros. Music, as well as the president of the National Association of Television, Arts and Sciences.
Do you anticipate offering this face-to-face program in the future? If so, how often?
This is our initial launch. We’re in the process of developing a second phase which will be announced sometime in the fall. This whole thing may go on for a year or a year and a half; the second phase isn’t quite gelled yet. The economic downturn is not going to be over in a couple weeks, and there’s been talk about it hitting rock bottom and that we’re coming up again, but we don’t know that yet. Our chairman said that this could go on for several years. There may be a new business model and we’re going to have to abide by whatever that is. This program is really about being there and showing up — it’s our way to sort of kick-start the business, invest in communities and encourage entrepreneurship, especially among small and medium businesses. Yes, there are huge corporations in this country, but the small and medium-sized businesses all across the country are really the lifeblood of the country and we need them to get going again.
What onboard amenities will be available to the participants in the face-to-face program?
From Los Angeles and New York, it’ll be on a Boeing 747. From Chicago it’ll be a four-class aircraft. We will determine who gets first-class, business class and economy seats at the airport — it will probably be a lottery of some sort; that has yet to be determined. But onboard everyone will get the same meals and amenity kits — we’re hoping that those flights will be one giant networking session.
What other benefits does the face-to-face program provide?
We’re also seeking active partners for this program so that if a person needs a rental car, a cell phone or a hotel accommodation, we’ll find travel partners to donate these items to allay the expenses. That’s being actively pursued now. Whether it’s a hotel or car hire, they’ll be interested in people coming over because that will expand and promote their business.
What differentiates British Airways from other flight options in terms of assisting business travel? Why is British Airways a good choice for business executives?
We’re really focused on business travel. We fly to 80 or 90 countries around the world and we’re one of the world’s leading airlines. We have a long history of service in this country; we fly to more cities in the U.S. than any other carrier. Our new Terminal 5 in London is the most advanced terminal anywhere in Europe. Everything we do is focused on customer service — how can we best satisfy the needs of customers when they’re there, whether they are business travelers or otherwise.
Obviously the repeat business travelers are the bread and butter of any airline, and we’ve invested billions in lounges like in Terminal 5. In LAX, we also have a new lounge. Everywhere we fly, we’re building and updating new lounges and continuing to keep turning over a new leaf by providing new amenities for our repeat travelers.
Is British Airways currently offering any new flights?
We have a new flight from JFK to London City that starts on Sept. 29. This is a new flight that is going to be headed nonstop to the east end of London, where all the major financial institutions have their headquarters.
On Oct. 25, we’re starting a new service from Las Vegas to London. There’s a lot of interest in Las Vegas. We’ve been looking at that for years, and the timing is right — we need new sources of revenue. We think it’s going to be really good, because not only do the British love to gamble but we’re going to be the only flight operating from Heathrow to Las Vegas, so the possibility for connection from all over Europe, from the Middle East and anywhere else, will be terrific.
www.britishairways.com
