Business travel in the shadow of the fuel crisis. How can companies control costs despite rising prices?

Recent months have brought enormous uncertainty to the global market, directly impacting the budgets of Polish companies. The conflict in the Middle East, instability in the Persian Gulf region, and supply constraints have pushed average fuel prices to record levels. For airlines, fuel accounts for up to 40% of operating costs, so carriers like LOT Polish Airlines must respond to sharp fuel price spikes. Consequently, increases in airfare costs and restrictions on flight networks are inevitable. For companies where employee mobility is paramount, this represents a challenging new reality. Automating business travel processes is becoming fundamental to budget survival. Understanding the mechanisms that govern the fuel industry and implementing a modern travel management platform is the only way to better control travel costs and ensure employee safety in an unstable world.

The crisis in the Middle East and retail fuel prices in Poland

The main driver of the current price increases is the tense situation in the Persian Gulf region. The armed conflict has destabilized trade routes, driving up wholesale fuel prices. Even the Ministry of Energy intervened, introducing a mechanism to officially regulate maximum fuel prices as part of the Lower Fuel Prices (CPN) package. This allows the government to respond to dynamic market conditions. As a result, we see changes in fuel prices almost daily. The Polish economy relies heavily on transport and trade. Every product in a store must be delivered, and every service requires logistics. As a result:

• Higher average fuel prices directly increase supply costs.
• Transport companies pass on costs to producers, who then pass them on to consumers. The consequences can be inflation and price increases for almost all products and goods.
• The fuel crisis is also hitting airlines, which use a lot of fuel every day.

Companies where employees travel for business must look for savings where technology allows, as external costs resulting from the geopolitical situation will only increase.

Airlines are canceling flights and raising ticket prices

High fuel prices mean that airlines cannot remain passive and must take appropriate measures. What options do they have? We've outlined them briefly below.

1. Reducing flight rotation: Instead of eliminating entire destinations, airlines are cutting the number of flights. Where a city used to have three flights a day, it now has one.
2. Cancellation of low-occupancy flights: Every empty seat is a loss that is unacceptable given the current prices for diesel fuel (used in airport ground logistics) and aviation fuel.
3. Raising ticket prices: This is a natural consequence, as ticket prices must cover the airline's rising operating costs.

In such a dynamic geopolitical situation, airline flight networks can change from month to month. If you've booked a business trip well in advance, you should expect your flight to be canceled or postponed. You can read more about this in our Flight Cancellation Guide.

What is the difference between regular fuel and aviation fuel?

The main difference between regular car fuel and the fuel that fuels airplane tanks is their pour point and purity. Airplanes fly at altitudes where temperatures drop below -50°C. If you poured regular diesel fuel into them, the fuel would turn to gel, clogging the engines.

• Aviation fuel is a high-quality kerosene. It's more similar to what we know as kerosene, but it's undergone rigorous purification. Super gasoline and E95, on the other hand, are blends of lighter hydrocarbons.
• Jet fuel has a significantly higher flash point than gasoline. This is crucial for fire safety in aviation.
• Aviation fuel deliveries require dedicated pipelines and tankers. Therefore, wholesale aviation fuel prices react more quickly to geopolitical conflicts than nationwide retail prices at gas stations.

Travel management errors during the fuel crisis

During the fuel crisis, many companies whose employees travel for business are unwittingly exacerbating their cost problems by making repeated mistakes in business travel management. One of the most common mistakes is a lack of expense control and last-minute bookings. With limited flight availability, this almost automatically translates into purchasing more expensive tickets, often without the ability to optimize the route or fare.

Equally problematic is limiting oneself to one carrier, which in the current market realities significantly narrows the field of choice and makes it impossible to react to dynamic changes in prices and connection availability.

Companies also often ignore alternative means of transport – yet in many cases (especially when it comes to domestic travel), travelling by car or train may prove to be more cost-effective and predictable than flying.

Added to this is the lack of a coherent business travel policy that would regulate budget limits. The fragmented booking process is also a significant factor – when employees use different channels, the company loses not only control over the process but also access to data that could be used for optimization.

As a result, organizations not only pay more, but also operate less efficiently, which becomes particularly costly in the context of rising fuel prices and a limited network of connections.

How to optimize your business travel budget when fuel prices continue to rise?

A solution that will help optimize budgets is the modern worktrips.com platform, which allows employees to independently book their business trips. What are the advantages of this solution?

• Access to over 900 airlines: A wide range of carriers lets you find a flight that fits your budget. The platform gives you the freedom to choose between scheduled airlines and low-cost carriers. With such a wide range of options, even with rising fuel prices, there's always a cheaper alternative, allowing for maximum flexibility when planning business trips.
• Choosing alternative modes of transport: Optimization isn't just about choosing cheaper flights, but sometimes also about changing habits. For shorter routes, business travel by train can be a viable option, as it often proves more cost-effective. Importantly, worktrips.com allows for instant measurement of a given route's carbon footprint. This allows employees to make informed decisions about choosing the most sustainable mode of transport. This functionality directly supports your organization's ESG goals and builds the image of a socially responsible company.
• Full control over travel policies: Implementing a modern tool allows you to implement policies without having to manually review each request. You can be sure that employees are only booking options that fully comply with your company's policies. This eliminates the risk of excess costs and provides peace of mind for your company's finances.
• Loyalty programs: Integration of loyalty cards in the worktrips.com system allows you to collect points, which, in times of high prices, are a real currency that reduces costs.
• Process automation: Time is money. Automatic travel billing and real-time expense tracking help keep your budget in check.

Traveler Tracker on worktrips.com provides security in times of anxiety

Traveler Tracker is a feature of the worktrips.com platform that gives companies control over their team's safety. It's an interactive map that allows you to monitor the location of each employee on a business trip. If an incident occurs in a given region, the travel manager can take action. Additionally, WorkTrips agents are available 24/7/365. If a flight is canceled, employees aren't left stranded at the airport. Specialists will arrange alternative transportation, such as car rentals or booking alternative flights or accommodations.

By taking appropriate actions, you can mitigate the negative effects of price increases on your company.

The fuel crisis is testing the operational efficiency of business travel companies. A well-structured business trip organization process allows you not only to survive this period but also to optimize processes that were previously generating losses. By automating reservations, your company can control expenses and, above all, take care of its people. You can try a free demo of the worktrips.com platform and see what a structured process looks like. Curious about how the WorkTrips platform was implemented at a confectionery industry leader?

See the real savings they generated!

 

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe for the budget for employees to organize their own business trips?

Yes, provided it takes place within the worktrips.com platform, which has a built-in travel policy. All available flights, trains, and hotels are clearly marked for compliance with the travel policy. A self-booking solution that combines freedom of choice with financial rigor.

How much can you save when business travel is automated?

The savings are two-fold. First, direct, resulting from corporate rates, which can be implemented on the worktrips.com platform. Second, operational. Automated billing and integration with accounting systems reduce the time required to process business trips by nearly 80%. For finance departments, this means freeing up hundreds of hours of work annually, translating into tangible economic benefits.

Does organizing a business trip through the platform allow the use of loyalty programs?

Of course. The system allows you to save loyalty card numbers (e.g., Miles & More) in your traveler's profile. Points are automatically collected with every booking. In an era of rising fuel and ticket prices, these points become a valuable resource that can be redeemed for additional tickets, for example, providing an additional way to optimize your company's budget.