The Economist - USA (2022-06-11)

66 Business TheEconomistJune11th 2022

Airlines

Flyingstart

T

hepandemic deniedboth theplea­

suresand tribulationsof travel. The

urgetomakeupforlostholidaysandre­

unions with friends and families has

broughtthesortofairportholidaychaos

thattravellersavoidedwhilecovid­19scup­

peredtheirplans.A rushtotakeadvantage

ofschoolbreakscausedrecentmiseryin

Europe.Passengers queued for hoursat

airportsfromMallorcatoManchester,and

flightsweredelayedorcancelled.Ameri­

canswerefuriousafternearly3,000flights

werescrappedinthefourdaysaroundthe

MemorialDayweekendinlateMay.

Atleastthehordesofunsatisfiedcus­

tomersarea signthatairtravelisreturning

tonormal.“Pent­updemandfortravelis

becomingun­pent,”saysAndrewCharlton

ofAviationAdvocacy,aconsultancy.The

numberofseatsavailableonEuropeanair­

linesintheweekcommencingJune6th

wasonly9%belowthesameweekin2019.

InNorthAmericaitwasjust5.6%down,

according to oag, another consultancy.

Japan,whichwasineffectshuttotourists

for two years, saidon May26th that it

wouldstarttorelaxrestrictionsonvisitors.

WiththeexceptionofChina,wheresevere

recentlockdownssetbacka strongrecov­

eryindomesticflying,theplanesareback

intheairatclosetopre­pandemiclevels.

Bookingsalsolookencouragingforthe

summer.Airlinesarehavingtocopewitha

newuncertainty—atendencyoftravellers

tobuyticketslater,inducedbytherisk­

inessofplanningtoofaraheadduringthe

pandemic.Evenso,uptoSeptembersales

forinternationalroutesareat72%oftheir

levelin 2019 andthoseondomesticones

areat66%,accordingtoiata, anindustry

Airtravelistakingoffagainbutstill

facesheadwinds

Fancy of flight

Worldwide scheduled monthly

airline-seat capacity, m

Source: OAG

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

DNOSAJJMAMFJ

2022

2021

2020

201

Forecast

Corporatepsychedelics

The ultimate business trip

I

nhispenthousesuiteinLondon’sOld

Street, under the watchful gaze of a small

stone statue of a mushroom god, Christian

Angermayer recalls a life­changing experi­

ence  with  psychedelic  drugs.  It  was  many

years ago, on a tiny island in the Caribbean.

The trip was so meaningful for the investor

that he decided to back biotech firms using

psychedelics  to  treat  depression,  anxiety,

addiction  and  other  mental­health  condi­

tions. Such startups are increasingly cater­

ing to corporate clients. A growing number

of firms want to offer psychedelics to staff,

either for the sake of mental health or to or­

ganise a mind­bending corporate retreat. 

This surge in interest is being driven by

the  growing  evidence  of  psychedelics’

safety  and  efficacy,  when  consumed  in

controlled settings. Ketamine is already le­

gally available, both as an anaesthetic and

to treat depression in clinics across Amer­

ica  and  Europe.  Psilocybin  (which  gives

magic  to  mushrooms)  is  available  legally

in  Amsterdam  and  will  become  legal  in

Oregon next year. And America’s drugs reg­

ulator is soon expected to decide whether

to approve mdma(ecstasy) for use in treat­

ing post­traumatic stress disorder.

In February Dr Bronner’s, an American

soapmaker that has long supported efforts

to  loosen  laws  around  the  use  of  psyche­

delics  and  cannabis,  added  therapy  that

combines ketamine and counselling to its

employee  mental­health­care  plans.  Dan­

iel  Poneman  of  Beyond  Athlete  Manage­

ment,  a  sports  agency,  says  he  has  seen

psychedelic  medicine  be  extremely  effec­

tiveinhelpingclientsstruggling with per­

formance  anxiety,  pressure  and  isolation

from constant travel. Ronan Levy, co­foun­

der of Field Trip, a provider of psychedelic

experiences from Amsterdam, tells of nba

basketball players who were about to quit

and were put back on their career path. 

Psychedelics  have  corporate  uses  be­

yond  improving  workers’  mental  health.

Anne  Philippi,  boss  of  The  New  Health

Club, a German psychedelic­retreat outfit,

says  some  firms  are  also  experimenting

with  such  drugs  to  make  executives  more

empathetic, enhance team bonding, boost

creativity  or  change  company  culture.

Field  Trip  offers  a  weekend  retreat  for

“leaders”  to  allow  them  to  experience  “a

heightened level of consciousness”.

Care is needed to avoid misuse. Psyche­

delics  are  not  suitable  for  some  mental­

health  problems,  such  as  schizophrenia.

As  with  after­work  drinks,  not  everyone

wants to, or can, take part. An asset manag­

er  at  a  big  family  office  reports  agonising

over whether or not to accept an invitation

from  a  firm  in  her  portfolio  to  an  (illegal)

Ayahuasca  retreat  at  a  villa  in  California,

with  a  shaman  flown  in  for  the  occasion.

And  a  mind­bending  experience  can  lead

workers  to  question  everything—includ­

ing  capitalism  and  the  nature  of  work.

Keith  Ferrazzi,  an  executive  coach,  knows

of several business founders who quit after

a trip. As trippy options expand faster than

the  mind  of  a  ceoon  acid,  companies

would be wise to make any decisionsabout

their business use with a clear head. n

ANEW PLANE OF EXISTENCE

Bosses want to feed mind­altering drugs to staff. Are they high?