TIME, AS THEY SAY, IS MONEY - SO SAVING it should be a priority. Now a Boston-based Internet company, TimeBills.com, is offering an innovative service that allows small companies to use the Web to handle their employees' and contract workers' travel expenses. The service, TravelExpenses, was designed to reduce administrative overheads, eliminate excessive information technology expenditures, and increase efficiency, the company says. Employees can create expense reports from any Web-enabled computer and submit them for approval. Managers are able to review employees' reports online to ensure rapid approval and reimbursement. TimeBills.com says TravelExpenses lets mangers analyse expenses sorted by employee, vendor, expense category, client or project to help control costs and increase productivity. Different users within an account can be assigned one of three roles, administrator, power user, or user. Each role has different levels of access to information and functionality. The service is free for the first five users per account. Each additional user costs US$3.95 per month. www.timebills.com
Air fares fly high and low
IS YOUR TRAVEL BUDGET BEING squeezed? Well there could be a good reason. Business Class fares have risen substantially over the past three years, according to the latest American Express Airfare Index survey.
The survey shows that Business Class fares increased 13.4% in the Asia-Pacific; First Class fares rose 12.4% and Economy fares were up 9%. Last year alone, First Class and Business Class fares in the region both rose an average of 2.8%, while Economy and Discount Economy fares rose 1.2%. And the bad news for air travellers is that, overall, fares in Asia-Pacific are expected to rise by about 4.5%. Amex put the fare rises down to an increase in demand and the fact that fuel-price rises were being passed on to passengers.
But it's not all gloom for travellers in Asia. Japan Airlines has announced a 25% cut in its domestic fares for passengers who book over the Internet. And those who book 21 days in advance could be eligible for cuts of up to 66%. The airline says the discount will be available on a trial basis from mid-May and will run for about a month. See www.jal.co.jp
No Need To Be Caught On The Hop
DASHING FROM CITY TO CITY, IT'S HARD ENOUGH KEEPING TRACK OF MEETINGS and presentations, let alone airline schedules. Now United Airlines has a handy tool that should help. Passengers can sign up to receive up-to-date information via e-mail on flight cancellations, delays and gate numbers. It can be sent to your PC, text-enabled cellular phone, or alphanumeric pager, meaning that you won't waste time while on the road. www.ual.com
Talk Of The Town
So you finally make it to your destination, jump in a cab and find you can't communicate where you want to go. Now Macau taxi drivers are making an effort to learn English - the universal language of business. Nearly all the 1,000 taxis in service in the former Portuguese enclave have taken up an offer of free bilingual audio-cassette tapes that teach simple English. The tapes have been provided by the Institute of Tourism Education.
A Killer Prediction
While we wouldn't want to alarm you, fatal commercial airline crashes are set to double to one a week by 2007, an industry expert has been reported as saying. Paul McCarthy, chairman of the accident analysis committee of the International Federation of Airline Pilots Association, said that while overall safety would improve, the increased number of flights would mean more likelihood of crashes. He predicts 50 fatal accidents a year by 2007.
All At Your Fingertips
Members of Cathay Pacific's Marco Polo Club and its frequent-flyer program, Asia Miles, now have access to a comprehensive online travel planner. The planner contains information from over 800 airlines on up to 600,000 flights and details of 68,000 hotels. Members can use the data - supplied by OAG international travel information provider - to plan trips, check itineraries and transfer times from anywhere in the world. Members can also access information on more than 200 destinations.
Broader Horizons
The Grand Hyatt Erawan has become the first hotel in Bangkok to offer broadband laptop connectivity in all 387 of its guestrooms and meeting rooms. Guests can use their own laptops and access the Internet at speeds of up to 10 megabits per second - more than 175 times faster than a typical 56k dial-up connection.
Down Under Deals
All Nippon Airways has a new deal for those travelling from Down Under to Europe. Until the end of the month, ANA is offering return Australia - Europe fares for A$1,430 (US$900). This includes a complimentary overnight stopover in Osaka, Japan and applies to departures from Sydney and Brisbane and arrivals in London, Frankfurt and Vienna. www.ana.co.jp
American Gets Roomier
While many airlines are busily cramming in more seats, American Airlines has made the welcome decision to remove thousands of coach seats from its fleet of more than 700 jet aircraft. American will remove about 7,200 seats - 6.4% of its coach capacity - increasing the seat pitch, or legroom, for more than 75,000 coach seats. The airline's chairman and CEO, Don Carty, says the move makes good sense in today's competitive environment. At 6 foot, 3 inches tall, Carty understands only too well the discomfort of crammed legroom.