B U S I N E S S
10
Edited by
James E. Ellis● The long-haul airline thrived
on pricey business travel.
Covid-19 could change thatUntilrecently,TarekSultaniMakhzoumitypically
spent every other week of the year on the road,
traveling from London to the U.S. or the United
Arab Emirates. Like many road warriors,
Makhzoumi, chief operating officer for health-
care technology company MAP Sciences, became
accustomed to the perks of constant corporate
travel—everythingfromrestaurant-classin-flight
mealstolie-flatbedsinbusinessorfirstclass—on
business-focusedcarriersincludingEmirates.
Butintheeraofshrunkencorporatebudgets
anda growingembraceofvideoconferences,
such extravagancesriskbecomingrelicsofa
globe-trottingpast.Moreover,manytravelers
arelikelytoremainreluctanttospendtimein
denselypackedlinesatairports,queueupat
temperature-measuring checkpoints, or sit for
hours in close proximity to strangers. “The pro-
cess of getting into a plane is going to be longer,”
Makhzoumi says. “And I have to look into my cash
flow more closely.” He plans to travel only “whenit’s absolutely worth it” and pack more meetings
into each trip when he does.
Any pullback among the bankers, consultants,
and tech specialists like Makhzoumi who’ve
long filled the front cabins of commercial airlin-
ersisbadnewsforcarriersthatcatertothem.
EspeciallyEmirates,whichboaststheworld’s
biggestlong-haulfleet.
Inparticular,theDubai-basedcarrier’sAirbus
A380double-decker—ithas 115 ofthebehemoths,
makingitthelargestoperatorofthejumbo—
celebratestheartoftravelinginthestyleofa
bygonejetera.Thereareshowerstorefreshfirst-
classpassengers in airborne private suites, a
stand-up bar at the rear of the upper deck where
business-class passengers can mingle, and fine
wines for premium-class flyers to wash down
freshly prepared food. The airline spent €120 mil-
lion ($130 million) on wine alone last year.
Such extravagances may turn out to be a tough
sell as companies try to return to business after
Covid-19 lockdowns. Since many will face either
slumps in demand or outright recession in key mar-
kets such as the U.S. and much of Europe, they’re
likely to spend cautiously. French bank Société
Générale SA, for one, expects to cut corporate
travel by 80%, according to a person familiar with