Savings over six months
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has cut almost £1m in travel spend over six months in the UK by switching from flexible to restricted air fares, its head of business services, Mark Avery, said.
The new travel policy was put into place in January this year, and by the end of the company's financial year, in June, the consultancy had seen the substantial savings.
Mr Avery said: "Some 70% of our flights are under three hours, so by having a policy that our staff should take restricted rather than flexible fares we have saved a considerable sum."
PwC does not have a preferred carrier for flights less than three hours, he added.
The policy is likely to stay in place for the foreseeable future although where client meetings are concerned it may change sooner rather than later.
Travellers who wish to book outside this policy have to ask the board for approval which, Mr Avery said, is a good way of encouraging compliance.
"Businesses are continuing to keep a very tight reign on costs," he said.
"For us it's been about driving compliance. We've worked hard over a long period to encourage people to book through our preferred routes."
For longhaul flights PwC did not opt to downgrade cabins, but instead restructured existing deals, which, said Mr Avery, was seen as supportive by the airlines.
www.pwc.co.uk