Historically, September has always been an extremely busy month for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) bookings, with corporate events recommencing around the world following the summer holidays.

Our MICE charter enquiries are now back at the same high pre-Covid levels so we’re very confident that the market is buoyant once more.

We are, however, noticing some new trends with our MICE bookings. There are shorter lead-in times for bookings and companies are now opting to book shorter trips. Group sizes are reduced with companies clearly making more calculated decisions about the expense of company trips. 

We handle all our MICE enquiries from our global hub here near London Gatwick Airport and the MICE team has been busy booking charters all over the world, many not even departing from the UK. Our extensive relationships with the operators means we can handle any MICE enquiry quickly, no matter how late the request comes in.  

In the last month alone, we have arranged some considerable MICE charters for both regular and new clients. 

In July, we received a brief from a large corporate client which requested two charters for 60 passengers. The charters were to depart from Amsterdam in Holland around the same time and take the passengers on a secret trip to Zagreb, Croatia. The client required two charters as the senior personnel were not allowed to fly on one aircraft. The brief was insistent that the final destination had to remain confidential at all times. The high profile guests were not to be informed where they would be travelling to and we, therefore, set in place strict protocols which included briefing all terminal staff and flight crew to remain tight-lipped. The purpose of the trip was to take the control away from the personnel and take them out of their comfort zone. The secret flight was the first part of what they would experience in this unique team bonding trip. Whilst in Zagreb, they were pushed out of their comfort zones even further with some high adrenaline activities. We managed the most intricate details to ensure the charters departed flawlessly. From pre-checking baggage to catering requests, everything was handled with our expected unparalleled attention to detail. This client was so delighted that they have already booked another MICE charter with us for later on in the year. 

A world renowned motor manufacturer also approached us directly this month to book a 70 passenger charter from Ljubljana to Prague. This booking was for a very short trip and departed to Prague for an evening event, returning to Ljubljana the next morning. 

Mark Hawkins, Smart Aviation’s Managing Director said: “We are pleased that the MICE market is bouncing back and that companies see just how important in-person conferences and events are. The Smart team are back attending events too such as World Travel Market in London this November. The landscape and requirements for MICE charters has changed since Covid-19 but the seamless service from our accomplished team has not. We are really enjoying some of the more creative MICE enquiries we have coming through and are proud to be part of them in this new world of travel’.  

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Call or email us today – sales@smart-aviation.co.uk / + 44 1293 551244