Tips for Business Travellers Buying Air Tickets to Australia

Quenched by sunshine and glistering with jovial charisma, Australia is a sumptuous island continent. The alluring and profitable business market which acts as a gateway to international trade lures business traveller’s to book air tickets to Australia. Date : Friday, November 04, 2011

A fine blend of diverse cultures and fusion of enriching opportunities are much of the character for this affable melting pot. In recent time, Australia has focused on its economy and has emerged to be the foremost and sophisticated market economies in the world. Australia's most important financial, commercial and industrial cities are Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. These cities are home to Australia's largest corporations, multi-national companies, business headquarters and uber-modern office blocks with world-class business facilities, meeting rooms and conference centres equipped with excellent business amenities, including state-of-the-art communication technologies.

No wonder, travellers from business communities in the UK often book air tickets to Perth, Sydney or Melbourne for meeting, seminars or business deals. Read on to find some business travel tips for businessmen flying to Australia.

General Travel Tips

• Pre-check all the required documents to assure the correct spelling of names, dates, time of travel and flight numbers.
• Watch out for the cancellations or amended bookings that are generally subject to additional charges.
• Ensure traveling with a valid passport, genuine travel insurance and appropriate visa.
• Reconfirm reservations with the applicable airline.

Travel Tips for Business Travelers

• Consider alternative airports to make your journey more comfortable.
• Charge your equipments before boarding the flights. Airport waiting areas are often equipped with electrical outlets. Recharge your laptop and cell phone batteries while waiting for the flight.
• Check your wifi connection. Remote access the corporate network before leaving to make sure the remotely access email and network files work properly.
• Make copies of your passport to avoid any hassles from turning over the passport to customs officials for photocopying.

Traveling with Laptops

• Ensure packing the USB and hard-disks containing important files and information.
• Always carry an emergency hard disk maintenance program.
• Save all the important files or programs in some external device as a backup.

General Health Tips

• Ensure taking decaffeinated drinks and water to avoid dehydration.
• Consult a doctor with the latest medical update before heading for a business trip.
• Carry adequate supply of prescribed medication, if any, to last the duration of the trip.

In-flight Tips

• Eat and sleep in keeping with the local time of your destination.
• Business travelers taking long flights should dress comfortably and should use neck pillows, ear plugs and eye shades.
• Avoid consuming too much alcohol to avoid jet-lags.

Business Hours

The general business hours for offices and firms commence from 09:00 in the mornings to 17:30 in the evenings during the weekdays. Most of the leading banks in Australia operate from 09:30 to 16:30 Mondays to Thursdays and remain open until at least 17:00 on Fridays.

Money

It is imperative for the business travelers taking air tickets to Australia to change some money into the local currency before departing or on arrival. Changing foreign currency or travelers-cheques is usually an easy process at banks throughout Australia or at licensed moneychangers such as Travelex located in all the major cities.

Airport Transfers

It is very important for business travellers to always consider how they intend to get to their final destination. All the major Australian airports have shuttle services with pick-up and drop-off at loading areas located at the front of the airport terminals.

Accommodation

Accommodation options in Australia cater to all tastes and budgets. From back-packer budget dorms to 5 star luxury hotels and resorts, this country offers stupendous accommodation options. Travellers taking airline tickets to Melbourne or Perth may find both conventional and boutique hotels. Sydney usually offers lavish self catering apartments. Also business travellers with airline tickets to Sydney can choose to stay in one of the many luxury airport hotels. Once the lodging is booked, it's helpful to locate it on internet. It's essential to pre-determine the locations of nearby restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions. Whenever possible, business travellers should take either the airport cabs, or a hotel pick up and drop.

General Etiquette

For business travellers it's imperative to understand the business practices of this nation and value the business etiquettes followed here. It is worth spending some time to know the general business etiquettes followed here.

• Punctuality is the order for the day in Australia so appointments should be made well in advance and the meetings should commence on time.
• Exchanging business card is a very significant act.
• Men business travellers should wear conservative dark business suit and tie. However, women travellers are advised to dress simply but elegantly, wearing a dress or a skirt and blouse for business.
• Greetings are casual, often consisting simply of a handshake and a smile.
• Avoid overstated facial expressions or dramatic hand movement to avoid personal embarrassment.
• Avoid scheduling meetings during special holidays and week-ends.