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NEW YORK - Oct. 9, 1998--Today's Road Warrior business traveler
is working longer, sleeping less, and waiting in line for a considerable
amount of time according to a new survey recently released by American
Express Corporate Services.
The American Express 1998 Road Warrior Technology Study, a recent online poll of 546 business travelers who take at least 10 overnight business trips per year, found that road warriors typically work an average of nearly 11 hours per day on overnight business trips compared to an average of 9.5 hours when back at the office. In fact, 78% of respondents "always or almost always" work longer hours while away. Practically everyone (98%) said they will "usually" work longer hours when on the road. Conducted by NFO Interactive, the study also revealed that the typical road warrior will spend more than an hour each trip simply waiting in line at the airport and hotel. The waiting period on business trips breaks down as follows:
Additionally, today's road warriors are burning the midnight oil, getting less sleep on the road compared to when at home. On the average, business travelers only get 6 hours of sleep per day on trips. In fact, the respondents listed that the only opportunity to catch up on sleep is on the plane ride, since the typical business traveler will spend an average of seven hours in transit. And there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel for exhausted road warriors as they expect to travel frequently over the next year. The survey uncovered that 66% of road warriors expect to take the same number or even more business trips over the next twelve months. Yet despite the hectic activity of the typical business trip, road warriors still find a little time for enjoyment. The respondents noted that they were able to squeeze in an average of 2.73 hours of leisure activity per trip including entertainment, shopping, sporting activities and tours. The survey also revealed that over two thirds of travelers stay in touch with home while away. Time away from home was labeled one of the worst aspects of business travel and 67% of road warriors surveyed always call home while away while an additional 19% will usually or sometimes call. The 1998 American Express Road Warrior Technology Study was conducted as a means of identifying trends in technology usage for the frequent business traveler, gauging the largest problems and improvements associated with business travel, and assessing satisfaction with current travel arrangement techniques. The study was fielded interactively from the NFO//net.source panel, a subset of the NFO (National Family Opinion) consumer panel. This nationally-projected panel is comprised of 170,000 households that are online users. American Express operates the largest travel agency in the world, recording $17.4 billion in worldwide travel sales in 1997. Through its Corporate Services group, the company counts more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500 as customers of its business travel and/or Corporate Card programs. More information on the full range of travel management tools from Corporate Services can be found on the website http://www.americanexpress.com/corporateservices. The American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance and international banking. |
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