No Saturday stop over so double fare?

Hi,

I'm set to travel to LAX in December but need to go on a Sunday and come back the following Friday. Having checked the fare's it seems that unless I stay over a Saturday night I have to pay double!

Can anyone explain this to me? I just don't get it...

[RichardMannion]

It's always been like that - if you don't do a Sat Night stay then you get charged full fare. You could always go via VH who won't enforce this....

[Decker]

It's a VERY crude way of ensuring that business pax who can afford to pay more actually do so on the grounds that if you are on leisure travel you won't mind being away over the weekend. What actually happens is that small companies like mine insist that people fly out on Saturdays.

Originally posted by Decker
It's a VERY crude way of ensuring that business pax who can afford to pay more actually do so on the grounds that if you are on leisure travel you won't mind being away over the weekend. What actually happens is that small companies like mine insist that people fly out on Saturdays.

Ahh and when on business if this is important what a better way to enforce one to stay in a nice city for a free day [:D] - mind you, that is if the no. 1 doesn't give me ear ache for spending more time travelling!

It is unfortunate that as someone who actually wants to get home at the end of a working week, rather than stay on for some sightseeing, I am penalised.

FM

[Decker]

As an employer? I want my people on time zone on Monday. Flying in on Sunday doesn't cut it.

Decker, so you suggest paying people for the weekend they travel?

[Decker]

Of course not. When they signed up they knew that they have to travel to work, be there on time and be in a fit state to do their job. Funnily people tend not to complain about a free weekend in San Fran/Vegas/Chicago/New York with all expenses paid.

Ah well you certainly have different terms to contracts to mine. If I am expected in New York for a week I will arrive on Monday afternoon and leave Friday afternoon. If I travel on a Sunday I will recieve a day off as a result.

I don't want a free weekend away from my familly.

Want to give me a job .

[HighFlyer]

You have it good Jimbob. As much as i despise either Richard or I having to work or being away at weekends, I think that when you get to a certain point in your career, or take on a role that involves travel, there is no such thing as a standard 9-5 and occasional weekend work is expected of you. You are generally compensated through your salary or other benefits.

Thanks,
Sarah

Well I follow your point but it has nothing to do with reaching a certain point in your career, just due to the culture and expectations within your firm, or industry.

But the point is we are not really talking about staff being asked to work weekends, just position themselves to avoid jetlag.

If I fly on a Sunday to NYC, I am certainly fully productive on the Monday, no need to fly the day before. Maybe I am lucky to have an easilly fooled body clock.

[preiffer]

It's always been one of the claims justifying Business Class flights - your staff arrive refreshed.

ie: I land in Shanghai at 8:50 in the morning, I'm EXPECTED to have slept overnight on the way, grab a shower and go to my first meeting. Believe me, it's not always fun (and therefore sometimes it's ME that forces my own day-before flight to give me time to adjust).

Originally posted by jimbob247
But the point is we are not really talking about staff being asked to work weekends, just position themselves to avoid jetlag.

If I fly on a Sunday to NYC, I am certainly fully productive on the Monday, no need to fly the day before. Maybe I am lucky to have an easilly fooled body clock.

Well said.

I don't have many problems flying on a Sunday to work Monday through Friday - as said I guess it is expected. But I do not think I would be too impressed if it was suggested that I fly out on a Saturday to get 'on Time Zone'. A free weekend in New York, Chicago etc. comes a poor second to being at home with the family.

Taking this to it's natural conclusion when should I fly to Australia - the middle of the week before I need to be in the office?

FM

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by jimbob247
Well I follow your point but it has nothing to do with reaching a certain point in your career, just due to the culture and expectations within your firm, or industry.

I'm not so sure to be honest - if you show a degree of inflexibility, then it's not going to look good at review time. There is the work/home life balance thing, but say you're needed in the US for a Monday meeting with 10 others, do you:

a) say sorry no, I will be flying out on Monday as I want to spend the weekend with my family so you will have to move the meeting.
b) Take the hit and fly out on Saturday or Sunday, and be ready for the meeting on Monday with the others?

I think it is a point of career thing, I know the layer above me are regularly away from home due to work, and to be honest the trips to Europe are the worst as it's an early start and a late return - they are long days.

I certainly wouldn't fly on the Saturday RM. And if I had to fly on Sunday I would expect to take some time off as a result. Nothing formal but I would expect flexibility with a half day here or there.

I don't mind getting up at 4am for a flight to Europe, it is a killer on a Monday, but I almost always structure my Europe trips as one day only so I am home.

Again, I understand others may be less fortunate with the choices they have made regarding their firm or industry, but I don't think anyone should expect that to be the case universally.

[Decker]

I don't expect anything universally. In a strongly unionised firm I'd be gob smacked if staff even flew weekends let alone did it without recompense. In an open market for a small firm there is little opportunity for the sort of feather bedding you describe [;)]. I'd expect it in a Civil Service job for example.

I work for a very small privately owned firm. Perhaps we just have more reasonable expectations on staff .

[Decker]

As an employer I'd say not, of course

Originally posted by jimbob247
Ah well you certainly have different terms to contracts to mine. If I am expected in New York for a week I will arrive on Monday afternoon and leave Friday afternoon. If I travel on a Sunday I will recieve a day off as a result.

I don't want a free weekend away from my familly.

Want to give me a job .

Err please do go to Decker, I'd like your job ... a day off in lieu of travel, gold mine [y]

Interesting topic. I try to avoid flying weekends on business if I can possibly help it but sometimes schedules dictate otherwise. I'm very fortunate that I work in a very results oriented area of my company, so as long as I produce my boss doesn't particularly care where I may be, which client I am in front of at a specific time or indeed when I got there.

The surprising flip side of that flexibility is that I routinely work extra/unsociable hours as needed but if its a slow day then I take a two hour lunch and am out the door at three armed with my PDA. I really enjoy working like this but you have to have solid performance criteria and a boss who enforces them without fail or it just dissolves into abuse (as my predecessor found out to his detriment).

[Decker]

Yeah I did kind of forget to mention the allowing productive staff to work from home to facilitate their family life, the sending people home early when the weather is bad so they don't get caught up in traffic, the routine flexibility with hours to allow for good parenting, the luxury weekends away in 5 star hotels for company parties plus the many other tangible benefits they receive for their flexibility on occasional overseas travel. In our industry we're competing globally with locals who don't have the international travel element to factor in, so given the appalling exchange rate (when you're selling services in dollars) the less impediments you can put in the way of sales the better.