Surviving the Friendly Skies

f you've recently moved into a job that requires more travel than you're used to-or you're a seasoned traveler looking for ways to make your trips less of a hassle-Roger Collis' The Survivor's Guide to Business Travel (Kogan Page Ltd., 2000) could be just what you need. Written in a breezy, entertaining style, the book is a compilation of the author's travel columns for The International Herald Tribune. The chapters are short, making the book perfect for reading at airports or other places with distractions and frequent interruptions.

Collis focuses on tips and strategies for international travel. One handy chapter offers tips for dealing with jet lag, including strategies for planning your meetings to ensure that you are working at your peak. Best of all, the chapter covers both eastbound and westbound trips. Rule of thumb: If you are traveling for less than 48 hours, stay on your home time.

The book explains how to shop for the best hotel rates and how to get the best airfares, with tips on exactly how to phrase your inquiries. In one example, Collis says, "Don't ask questions like, 'What rules apply to stopovers in London?" Better to say, 'I'm thinking of flying business class with you to Tokyo. What kind of deal will you offer me in London?'" For government travelers on tight budgets, Collis' information on saving money while traveling more efficiently could be especially useful.

Since the book was published two years ago, some of the information on using the Internet while traveling is a bit dated, particularly now that both wired hotels and Internet cafes are ubiquitous. The chapter on the euro is a similar victim of time and circumstance, and the changes in airport security and aviation policy since Sept. 11, of course, are not covered. However, the book more than makes up for it with timeless advice on everything from building itineraries to packing light to maximizing the use of frequent flier miles to doing business in other cultures.