cnt-fobt-final-1 The New Era of Work Travel

Jesse Ashlock & Katie Drummond

A Letter From The Editors

Mitch Moxley

How to Travel to The Most Remote Office on Earth

Commuting to Concordia research station in Antarctica doesn’t take hours—it takes days.

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Jaclyn Trop

For years, in-flight internet has been fine for email, not great for Zoom meetings. That’s all changing fast.

Airplane Wi-Fi is Now... Good?

Jaclyn Trop

Once a slightly fancy middle ground between first class and coach, business-class seats are getting serious upgrades. Caviar, anyone?

Business Class Ain't What It Used to Be. Don't Tell First Class

MITCH MOXLEY

For years, in-flight internet has been fine for email, not great for Zoom meetings. That’s all changing fast.

Airplane Wi-Fi Is Now ... Good?

ALYSSA SHELASKY

For many jetting around the world for their jobs, now is an excellent time to be single and traveling.

Seeking Hookups and Relationships on Work Trips

CHRIS DONG

Airport Lounges Are Sexy Again—if You Can Get In

The latest wave of premium airport lounges are harder to get into, but for big-spending business travelers, no amenity is off the table.

Hannah Towey

With a rise in “semiprivate” carriers, new booking tech, and commercial airline partnerships, it’s never been easier to fly private.

Affluent Travelers Are Ditching Business Class for Business Jets

PAUL JEBARA

For Today's Business Traveler, It's All About Work-Life Integration

With hybrid lifestyles now the norm, business trips have become more intentional, more mobile, and surprisingly more restorative.

The Best Tech Gear for Business Travelers

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Whether you’re looking for whisper-quiet wheels or the most durable of hard-shells, here are WIRED and Condé Nast Traveler’s essential carry-on bags.

Meaghan Kenny & Adrienne So

Global professionals can’t be stymied by dead batteries or flimsy gadgets. Here are WIRED and Condé Nast Traveler’s go-to essentials to help you survive any business trip.

Simon Hill & Jessica Chapel

The Amenity Kit Wars

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The Best Tech Gear for Business Travelers, According to Wired and CNT Editors

The Best Carry-On Luggage for Business Travelers, According to Wired and CNT Editors

The Best Carry–On Luggage for Business Travelers

Come for the Amenity Kits, Stay for the Flight

Airlines are wooing first-class passengers with elaborate complimentary products sourced from the most luxe companies—and getting influencers’ attention in the process.

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Business Travel Is Evolving Faster Than Ever. We’ll Help You Navigate It

It might feel like a distant memory, but in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic radically transformed how people lived, and specifically how they worked. At the time, plenty of health experts, CEOs, and publications (including WIRED) predicted that Covid would grind business travel to a halt indefinitely. If our day-to-day tasks and meetings could happen using Zoom, Slack, and other online tools, the logic went, then why not apply that same digital-first philosophy to work trips? But near the end of that year, Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, and a career United Airlines flight attendant, offered a prediction that proved prescient. “The virtual meetings have connected people in a new way,” she said, “but what we have seen in the travel industry is that the more people are connected by technology, the more they want to travel––because people naturally want to be together. And if you think businesses are going to say ‘Oh, we don’t have to pay those expenses, we don’t have to pay for those plane tickets and hotel rooms’––the first time somebody gets a deal because they went personally, it all snaps back again.” Sure enough, once vaccines became widely available and the threat subsided, company executives started calling workers back to the office in droves. They also began shelling out for those employees to get back into the air. According to a 2024 report from the World Travel & Tourism Council, global business travel has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels and was estimated to account for $1.5 trillion in spending last year alone. That’s why airlines now find themselves in an apparent arms race to offer the most glittering airport lounges (see, for instance, the first-ever Delta One lounge, which opened last year at JFK) and new business-class in-flight amenities (privacy doors; hyper-personalized service). At the same time, experience-craving millennials, eager to flex their spending power, created a boom in “bleisure” travel––extended trips that combine business and leisure. With that comes an increasing awareness that business travel can also be a social pursuit and conduit for personal growth. Business travel’s bounce-back also brings with it unprecedented technological innovation. Airplane Wi-Fi, once more of an unreliable punch line than an actual service, now works remarkably well. (Whether you use it to catch up on work or stream TikToks for hours, as one of us may have done on a recent business trip, is ultimately up to you). Airlines and tech companies are also taking advantage of advances in generative AI, supplementing everything from customer service to expense report software with tools that can provide faster answers or automate some of the drudgery inherent in a business trip. One day in the near future, AI may even book and manage your entire itinerary, tailoring its decisions based on your personal preferences and keeping you apprised of any last-minute changes. Consider this package a primer on where you can expect business travel to take you in the years to come. The teams of WIRED and Condé Nast Traveler have pooled their collective expertise to bring you thoughtful, deeply reported stories on everything from romance on the road to the tech that keeps planes in the air on the world’s longest flights. We also answer all your questions about how to do business travel better, from maximizing your hotel points to managing your expenses and, of course, the best luggage and gear to buy before your next trip. Business travel, like the world itself, might be moving fast, but a little well-curated information from the teams who know it best is all you need to be a master of the skies.

Five years ago, work trips looked nothing like they do today. WIRED and Condé Nast Traveler have teamed up to tell you all you need to know to actually enjoy working on the go.

Katie Drummond and Jesse Ashlock

Cards like the upcoming Chase Sapphire for Business are changing what small business owners should expect from travel rewards.

Carrie Dennis

A Small Business Owner's Guide to Choosing the Right Travel Credit Card

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A new wave of luxury wellness facilities are catering to travelers looking to maintain their health goals alongside high-powered schedules.

Breathwork, Biohacking, and Cryotherapy: The Wellness Buzzwords Business Travelers Are Relying On

JEN MURPHY

Want a Different Kind of Work Trip? Try a Robot Hotel

At Japan’s Henn na Hotels droids pretty much run the show, from greeting you at the door to adjusting the temperature.

Jaclyn Trop

The Internet's Biggest Travel Nerd Shares Pointers on Points

Gary Leff has been writing his blog on business travel for 23 years. WIRED asked him to share his most time-tested business travel tips.

Jaclyn Trop

Wide wingspans, more powerful engines, and high-efficiency materials are making super long flights more possible than ever.

The Tech That Keeps Planes Flying for Ultra-Long-Haul Flights

Mitch Moxley

9 Best Hotel Rewards Programs For Elevating Your Next Stay

A guide to earning—and redeeming—points at Hilton, Wyndam, and other top hotels, whether you're traveling for business or pleasure.

Paris wilson and michael calore

The Best Apps For Managing Your Travel Expenses And Receipts

Keeping track of your expenses while on a work trip can be frustrating. The editors of WIRED and Condé Nast Traveler pooled our expertise to find the most efficient and user-friendly apps for the job.

reece rogers and jamie spain

The Extravagant Rise of the Corporate Incentive Trip

From skydiving trips in Dubai to Michelin-starred meals in Paris, some companies are rewarding top performers with once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences.

anna silman

Recent developments and an escalating trade war have made travel to cities like Beijing challenging but by no means impossible.

What to Know About Traveling to China for Business

BY MITCH MOXLEY

The Business Traveler of Today Is Changing-and So Is Their Flight Map

A new era of work travel is taking entrepreneurs and creatives to Nigeria, Brazil, and beyond.

CHRISTINE OCHEFU

16 Golden Rules That Business Travelers Swear By

People who constantly hit the road for work share what they wish they'd known from the jump.

CHARLIE HOBBS

Commuting to Concordia research station in Antarctica doesn’t take hours—it takes days.

How to Travel to The Most Remote Office on Earth

Mitch Moxley

Business Class Ain't What It Used to Be. Don't Tell First Class

Once a slightly fancy middle ground between first class and coach, business-class seats are getting serious upgrades. Caviar, anyone?

Jaclyn Trop

The latest wave of premium airport lounges are harder to get into, but for big-spending business travelers, no amenity is off the table.

Airport Lounges Are Sexy Again—if You Can Get In

CHRIS DONG

A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Choosing the Right Travel Credit Card

Cards like the upcoming Chase Sapphire for Business are changing what small business owners should expect from travel rewards.

Carrie Dennis