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MICE means meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions. Attending MICE events can be difficult, but MICE air charters have 7 key benefits that can make the whole thing a breeze.
MICE is a quick way of referring to any large event that brings together a group of employees from a company into one place – think team bonding day, a trade show, or staff AGM. Business travel companies like Skyllence are often used to bring people together for MICE events, and companies that want to attend will sometimes charter private air travel for this reason.
These events can come in lots of different forms, though, so to properly understand MICE and why chartered private air travel is the best way of helping employees to get to MICE events, we have to look at meetings, incentives, conferences, and events individually.
Once we’ve looked at what MICE events are and how chartered flights work for MICE travel, we’ll look at the kinds of businesses that use MICE charters and the 7 key benefits that chartering flights can bring to the table when your company is attending MICE events.
Meetings
Meetings are pretty straightforward, right? We all know the drill: 100 people come together in a room while one person speaks and three fall asleep. Good meetings – those that involve lots of dialogue and the exchange of ideas – can be key to a successful business. Want to make sure your employees arrive at the meeting refreshed and alert, ready to contribute? A MICE air charter for a meeting can take the stress and fatigue out of travel for employees.
After getting stuck in security, waiting in line at the gate, and then being kicked in the back by someone’s special little angel for 2 hours straight, anyone can be forgiven for having a quick snooze whilst we go over marketing strategy. A chartered flight for your staff will ensure that the team are on top of their game throughout the event, and guarantees that meetings are productive.
Incentives
This might be alien to those of us who’ve worked for less, shall we say, professional employers, but successful businesses sometimes reward staff for their performance. Some even incentivise good performance by organising MICE events before key work periods. This can build team spirit, increase confidence, and contribute to the feeling that the company cares about its employees. These incentives – staff days out, weekends away, or even informal visits to other company sites – can be difficult to organise, as everyone wants to come but nobody wants the hassle of organising travel arrangements.
MICE air charter for incentive events can remove this stress, enabling employees to enjoy themselves without worrying about the logistics. If you’ve worked in an office before, you’ll have been invited to some kind of event. Attending even the simplest event is always weighed up against logistical difficulties – yes, I’d like to come for drinks after work, but I really can’t be bothered trying to get a taxi home. If your company is putting on a relaxing spa weekend to thank your staff for their hard work, do you want people saying no because they’re put off by the thought of having to get through the hassle of an airport?
Chartered MICE travel allows businesses to make it easy for their staff to attend incentive events – they can even organise transport to and from the airport. This way, staff are taken door-to-door, and their only worry is remembering to pack their swimwear.
Conferences
Conferences are a great way to promote networking and the exchange of ideas within an industry. If a company wants to keep its products and services fresh, vibrant, and cutting-edge, the best way to ensure this is to have staff regularly attend conferences. As with meetings, chartering MICE air travel for conferences can keep staff in top form so that they get as much out of the conference as possible, but there’s another key benefit to using a business travel company to charter your flights.
Imagine the perfect place for the spread of COVID-19. You’re probably thinking of thousands of individuals from around the country, all sat close to each other, frequently talking (or yawning, potentially), eating in the same places – maybe even shaking hands. You’ve just imagined a conference. That’s not to mention the fact that everyone there has to mix with over 100 other people in close proximity just hours before attending when they were crammed in next to them on a commercial flight.
MICE air charter, and air charter for conferences, in particular, can reduce this risk, as you’re in full control of the COVID-19 precautions on the aircraft you charter. Want one person per row? No problem. Require a PCR test before boarding? Your call. Turn off all the air conditioning vents to stop the spread of germs? It’s all up to you. If your employees are attending a MICE event, why increase the risk of them falling ill – and costing the company thousands in the time they miss from work – by not using a chartered flight from a business travel provider?
Exhibitions
Ever been to a trade show, skills fair, or industry expo? If you have, then you’ve been to an exhibition – the final type of MICE event. These gatherings are the perfect way to show off what you’ve achieved, attract new clients or applicants to your business, and even get a look at what your competitors are doing. MICE air charters can be a great way to get your staff to an exhibition, as these events are the perfect way of increasing the visibility of your company.
If you’re going to show off in front of your peers, you want to make sure that the best version of you is on display, right? Just like when attending meetings, chartering a flight for an exhibition ensures that your employees arrive ready to represent you in the best possible light. Like conferences, exhibitions are often huge gatherings that involve thousands of people. Chartered air travel for exhibitions can reduce the risk of COVID-19 and other infections, a clear advantage going forward in the post-pandemic world.
A unique benefit of chartered MICE travel for exhibitions is branding. These events often contain hundreds (it can feel like millions) of companies, all of whom work in a similar industry and all of whom are trying to stand out. One easy way to make sure that your brand sticks out from the rest is to use a business travel operator to charter your flight. If you use the right provider, your brand will be the talk of the exhibition (‘did you see how they arrived?’), increasing your reputation within the industry.
MICE chartered flights give another key advantage for branding that no other mode of travel can hope to match. Let’s be honest, if we’re flying on a private jet to attend an exhibition, you’d better believe it’s going on the ‘gram. Since you control the flight, you control the details. Putting your logo on the inside of the aircraft – headrests, seat covers, even in-flight goodie bags – is a great way to increase exposure on social media. Every single like and retweet is free organic marketing for you, and there’s even viral potential if you do it right. Air charters for MICE expositions, as well as being a practical solution for your staff and a barrier against COVID-19, are a great way to pick up some free social media marketing at the same time.
That’s great – but who actually uses MICE charters?
‘We’re just going to charter a private flight I think, nothing too fancy’ – said nobody, ever. Chartering a flight for a MICE event sounds extravagant and expensive, and most people assume that this is the sole domain of mega-corporations. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.
The accessibility of chartering private flights is increasing every day as the cost goes down, and many small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly using MICE air charters to get their employees to and from industry events.
From global corporations holding AGMs to businesses with single-digit staff numbers looking to reward them with a memorable bonding session, MICE air charters can be used by any organisation across the spectrum of the business world. By using chartered flights for MICE events, companies can access some key benefits that can make them more effective for employees and management alike.
The 7 key benefits of chartering a flight for MICE business travel
It’s time-efficient
‘Ok, my flight leaves at 8. I’ll have to get to the airport by 6; that means a taxi at 5.30; so, wake up at 5 – oh but the highway is closed, so let’s make the taxi 5 just to be safe’. We’ve all been there. Your time (and that of your business) is important, and travelling any distance can be a time-consuming and anxious affair – especially when we’re trying to remain professional in front of our colleagues and bosses.
Chartered travel for MICE events can remove all of these difficulties, greatly simplifying the entire process by providing a door-to-door service that removes the inefficiencies of commercial flight. Otherwise, passport control, security, and then fumbling your way through the labyrinth that’s been custom-built to guide you through every square millimetre of the duty-free shop (I’m not angry, I swear) can leave you stressed, annoyed, and short on time.
It can be cost-effective
Let’s be honest, ‘cheap’ isn’t a word I’m going to use here to describe MICE air charters; ‘fair’, maybe, perhaps even ‘reasonable’ would be more suitable. I might even go as far as to say ‘good value’ when you consider the other benefits that MICE business travel gives you for your money. Without getting too philosophical, value is abstract, and you could argue that spending a little extra for a flight full of refreshed, optimistic, COVID-protected staff is better value than saving the difference and ending up with a horde of frazzled zombies showing up at a MICE event.
Ultimately, this is at the discretion of the company attending the MICE event, but the phrase ‘if you’re going to do it, do it properly’ springs to mind. If your business is going to be represented at a meeting, incentive trip, conference, or event, then you want the best version of you to show up on the day. Whilst this might cost a little extra, if you attract more clients at a trade show because your staff are more engaging then you’ve achieved value, and MICE business travel could even result in profit.
It’s private
What is it with commercial flights that makes people behave the way they do? Examples are unnecessary here: we’re all thinking of the same sorts of things (seriously, get your hair off my seat). Private air charters cut this out completely, ensuring that your business attends MICE events free from those unwelcome intrusions along the way.
It can be tailor-made
Maybe you’ve got a surprise waiting for your team on the plane, you’ve hired a ridiculous limo to embarrass everyone on the way to the airport at 9 AM, or you just want to make sure the in-flight food is as good as it is in the staff canteen (surely not) – whatever your specific requirements, chartered air travel can cater to them. Good business travel providers will make sure that your journey to the MICE event is exactly as you plan it, and can even give tips and suggestions to make the experience all the more comfortable or special, depending on the nature of the event.
You’re in control
The flight lands at 2.30 and the event starts at 3: what do you do? Miss the first half? Take an earlier flight? The only other flight is 2 days later. Maybe you could land in a different city and take a train? If your event is in London or New York, this isn’t likely to be a big issue, but we’ve all been to those conferences that are a little way down the road-less-travelled. The process of chartering a flight to attend a MICE event goes like this: ‘we’d like to charter a flight to this location at this time, thanks’. Because you’re not dependent on the airline’s schedule when you charter a flight, you can go where you want, when you want.
The advantages of this are obvious, and relate to the other features of chartered air travel discussed earlier: you save time, arrive refreshed, and save money on connections and transfers. Far from being a luxury when attending a MICE event, then, chartered air travel can sometimes be the only logical choice.
It’s a luxury
I know, I know – I did just say it wasn’t always a luxury. But let’s not forget, while executives and upper management might be used to the idea of chartering flights and business travel, for other employees this might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It might not seem important, but making MICE events more memorable for staff can be a great way of increasing their emotional investment in your company and their performance at the event.
If staff feel like their employer takes good care of them, they give more back, so as well as being a great reward and incentive for employees in the short-term, chartering air travel for MICE events can have important long-term benefits.
You stick together
If 100 people take 100 flights, what are the odds that one is delayed? How many cars won’t start, taxis won’t show up, and buses won’t arrive on time? When you charter private travel, you greatly reduce the chances of these factors affecting your attendance at the meeting, incentive, conference, or exhibition by making sure that you’re all together along the way.
By keeping attendees together, you also get access to some other key benefits discussed above. Chief among these is the ability to control the COVID-19 safety of all attendees, which is sure to be a crucial element of MICE events in the post-pandemic world.
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These benefits make chartered air travel the perfect way of attending meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions. While private air charters can seem like a luxury – and at times this perception can work in favour of the business using MICE air charters – there are also cases where it’s the only logical choice. With prices decreasing and ever-more businesses interested in using MICE air charters, their benefits are becoming accessible to a much broader portion of the business spectrum.
The future of MICE air charters is promising, and not just because of their widening appeal. The privacy, customisation, and control that chartered flights offer for businesses are crucial in providing outstanding MICE experiences, and will only grow in importance in the increasingly epidemiologically-aware post-COVID world.
