In there for the long haul

By VIKKI BLAND


Each year, businessman Tony Engberg boards about 65 planes. That's 65 in-flight safety presentations, 65 queues to get on the plane and 65 queues to get off. He spends an average of 20 weeks a year on international business trips, each requiring four or five flights to complete. He clocks up 130,000 flying miles a year and has been a "million mile" flier with United Airlines for eight years.

Engberg, 54, who is vice-president of research and development for customer information company Peace Software, says air travel is necessary for him to visit international customers and to attend management meetings. As a result, he knows a thing or two about balancing excessive air travel with the need to get work done.

Engberg says there is variable quality of service and facilities across the airlines and basic on-board hygiene and work-friendly factors like a laptop charger in his seat are what he looks for.

"I want to be comfortable. I want to be able to work. If I am flying to North America or Europe I want to be able to sleep."

Although economy, or express, classes are fine for short-haul flights, on long hauls it is "almost impossible" to get any work done, so he chooses to go business class.

"After long-haul flights I usually arrive in New Zealand at 5am and then go right into my work day.

"I find it better physically and I don't lose the day."

Engberg's business takes him mainly to Australia and North America and occasionally to Europe.

But how common is it for other New Zealanders to travel extensively for business? Isn't the airline industry supposed to be struggling?

Research tends to be country specific. The Travel Industry Association of America reports that while international arrivals to the United States declined by 4 per cent in 2002 and 2003, this is forecast to grow by 5 per cent by the end of the year to around 40.4 million arrivals.

An August story in the Herald reported that 168,960 New Zealanders went on short-term international trips in June.

The number was attributed to winter holidays and business trips and was 39 per cent higher than the numbers for June last year and more than double those of June 1994.

Engberg says that terrorism, Sars and the discomforts of air travel are not necessarily business travel deterrents.

"As soon as you start thinking about the fact that you are putting your body on a piece of metal that will be miles in the air, the possibilities of terrorism don't occur to you," he says.

That Engberg spends a large part of his working life in air transit raises some interesting questions about how career people cope when excessive air travel is part of the job.

Security worries aside, is excessive flying detrimental to the health of excessive business travel and does it affect social and family life? Engberg says his children have left home, but the constant air travel is hard on his wife.

"I enjoy travel and meeting people.

"But I spend a lot of time away from my wife and it is hard on her."

When they are together, the Engbergs are understandably ambivalent about flying anywhere.

So what happens to all those air points he gets?

"I use them to bring people back and forth between the United States and New Zealand, and to upgrade - the difference between a business class seat and a first class seat is huge."

Upgrades also help Engberg manage health problems exacerbated by flying.

"I don't suffer from jet-lag - I have been flying so long I know how to avoid it (see flying tips on this page). But I have had viral meningitis three times because the air cabin pressure aggravates a nasal condition."

Cabin pressure has also contributed to his getting middle-ear infections, one requiring a stay in hospital.

Engberg says most airlines provide excellent service to business customers.

He has found Air France the least comfortable to travel with and Singapore Airlines the best.

For crew friendliness, he puts Air New Zealand in the top spot. "If you get up and walk around on an Air New Zealand flight, the crew will engage you in a conversation.

"With other airlines, the crew is more switched off."

Rosie Paul, a communications manager with Air New Zealand, says long-haul flying can be demanding physically and mentally.

"The body deals with different time zones and disruptions to usual eating, sleeping and exercise patterns.

"For this reason, we provide regular in-flight health advice which we encourage our customers to follow."

Air New Zealand has identified three key flier categories and customer behaviours.

* Customers on domestic flights of less than two hours are willing to buy online and price is more important than other features, such as meals.

* Customers on short-haul international flights of less than five hours are less willing to buy online, and price and a reasonable level of comfort are important.

* Customers on long-haul flights of more than five hours require support with booking and airport procedures, and comfort and in-flight entertainment are more important than price.

Paul says that trouble-free airport processing, transit experience and inter airline connections also matter to the long-haul customer.

Engberg agrees. He says he stopped using one American domestic airline when it caused him to miss too many connections.

"And security checks are time-consuming and irritating. But there is little you can do about it. I'm an easygoing sort of person and that helps when you are travelling."

However, even Engberg finds it hard to be a "filling in the sandwich" passenger.

"I was once seated in a middle seat with two women on each side and both weighed at least 300lb [136kg].

"It was hot, neither of them used deodorant, and I am 6ft [1.8m] and weigh 210lb [95kg]. It was ugly."


Flying Tips


TONY ENGBERG

* If you suffer from airsickness, try to get a seat next to the plane's wings

* Look at the number of days you will be away and work out a schedule that allows you to fit in sleep, good food and exercise

* On long-haul flights, don't watch back-to-back movies or drink alcohol * Ensure you get enough sleep in a 24-hour period

* At your destination, get out into the sun and exercise in fresh air

AIR NZ


* Stay hydrated - drink water, juice, de-caffeinated softdrinks

* Avoid caffeine and alcohol

* Moisten your face regularly to prevent cabin air drying the skin

* Eat lightly to avoid indigestion

* Do gentle exercises for about five minutes every hour or so

* Don't cross your legs

* On descent, yawn or swallow to avoid ear and sinus problems caused by pressure changes