(London - July 11, 2001) --A unique online training course in Business Travel Planning is today launched by OAG, the global leader in business travel information. This new and innovative training concept makes comprehensive and interactive learning available on the Internet to organisations worldwide. It has been developed by OAG, with input from specialist Katie Johnson at London's City of Westminster College; its development has been fully supported and welcomed by the global industry authority, the International Air Transport Association, in Geneva. OAG said, "This course is a great breakthrough for training in business travel planning. It will appeal to a very wide audience, from colleges to corporations, by improving the skills, efficiency and effectiveness of anyone involved in the business travel planning process. "The potential is vast. The average European country alone spends around £2.5billion annually on business travel - much of which is arranged by a secretary or administrator in the first instance, and they are a prime audience for this course. "We see a large market for on-line training outside of the UK and Western Europe – the Middle East, Eastern Europe and China for example. And educational establishments everywhere have been starved of this type of product. It is very much a global product, with a special module for the US." Flexible online training for all organisations’ business travel needs The online Business Travel Planning course covers all aspects of travel planning for business, and is based on the highly successful business travel planning course already delivered worldwide by OAG Travel Training, a division of the leading travel organisation. The course is targeted at anyone involved in the business travel planning process, including students. With quality training from a pedigree travel organisation at such a highly cost-effective price (just £70 for the whole course), OAG expects the course to generate considerable interest. The course is flexible enough to suit any organisation and workload. There are 13 units which take up to five hours to study, and can be taken in any order and at any pace. The only restriction is that attendees have 30 days to complete all units. Its encouraging, interactive format will enable participants to study with complete confidence, and lead to a certificate on its completion. A password will be issued to each user to enable them to access both the training site and also OAG Travel Information System, the company’s industry-leading travel management and planning product. The learning content to save organisations time and money Business Travel Planning course trainees will learn how to select the best flights and most convenient hotels, how to keep to a tight budget and will discover new and helpful ways to plan itineraries using the tools provided. They will learn about today’s business travellers, what influences them and the variety of Frequent Traveller programmes available to them. Airline, city and airport codes are studied and guidance is given on how to seek general information for international travellers. The different fare types are covered in three separate units, methods of finding the best fares are revealed and there is a section on ‘how to understand air tickets’. There is also a unit on the different baggage systems and allowances, including excess charges. OAG said, "We hope to work closely with business travel agents or travel management companies in the area of travel planning, and this course is not designed to cut them out of the loop. Indeed, there is a unit dedicated to ‘building itineraries and getting the best from your travel agent’."
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