TSB: How often do you go on business trips, and where do you travel to most often?
BP: I do approximately four international trips a year and some domestic trips throughout the year – most of these are across Europe. In this year I have visited Barcelona, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and I am off to Dublin next week.
TSB: Do you make use of any apps while travelling?
BP: To stay abreast of what’s happening and just to stay relevant I use News24, and another one is Passbook to coordinate all of my travels.
TSB: According to you, which airline is the best and why?
BP: This is a tough one; I enjoy Virgin Atlantic primarily because of the service and in flight experience. Unfortunately I am not always that lucky to travel with them, but I feel that they are the most progressive from a technology point of view.
TSB: Do you have any tips on how to survive those long-haul flights?
BP: It might sound stupid, but a decent travel pillow and some noise cancelling headphones are very important. Preparation is essential and having a decent tablet loaded with the latest movies and music is important in case the in-flight entertainment doesn’t live up to standard
TSB: Are there any special hotels you can recommend?
BP: The one I enjoy funnily enough is The Address – Dubai Marina.
TSB: Passport and airplane tickets excluded, what are the items that you do not travel without?
BP: A universal travel adapter and decent headphones.
TSB: Do you have a travel horror story you don’t mind sharing?
BP: I have travelled into various parts of Europe and my luggage always seems to go missing – it is a nightmare. The hotels are normally very good at sorting out the toiletry part of the deal, but because I am mostly in executive briefings and meetings I need to go and buy a whole new wardrobe and that is not always great.
TSB: Is there an interesting place/shop/museum/ restaurant that you’ve found that you just have to visit on your travels?
BP: For me it’s probably the case that every location has something that you can reference, but there is a place that has nothing special, it is affordable and generally just nice to go there and that is The Cheesecake Factory in the US. I always make a point to stop there on my travels to the US. Then there is a restaurant in London that I enjoy for a decent curry, called Needoo Grill