Company travel managers can actually save their companies vastly more money than negotiating with travel suppliers. If someone flies economy instead of business, that's often worth about four tickets.

But the big company employee still holds a bag of tricks :

* Medical
* Schedule
* Late Booking
* Hotels
* Inefficient Systems
* Promotion

Medical grounds provide good excuses for upgrade. Did you hear the expression 'economy class syndrome' ? It refers to deep-vein thrombosis. This, undoubtedly unpleasant and dangerous condition, produces the biggest increase in business class upgrade requests. Many people actually hand over a medical certificate to support their claim… know any doctor friends ?

A good trick manipulates Schedules. This works well for people collecting air miles. Simply arrange your meeting so you can only get there using your preferred flight.

Book late, hoping economy sells-out early, and only business class seats remain. This common ploy usually fails if company policy requires an advance notice period.

Even if you can't get your preferred flight upgrade, a 5 * hotel will help soothe your disappointment. Although travel managers carefully monitor air travel and car hire, they're less likely to have local hotel knowledge. You can find yourself in a far superior hotel than company policy really allows.

Your company may run a strict travel policy. But inefficient systems prevent them actually detecting your abuse. Try to find out how your company checks its business travel. Does the travel agent provide reports ? Are you forced to use a corporate card that itemizes all your expenses ? Even if they do, not all companies actually analyze the data. Search for chinks in your companies travel policy armour.

Finally, if all else fails, get promotion ! Yes, if you get a senior management position you can ignore your own rules. Or you might finally be entitled to the standard of travel you feel appropriate to you.

Using these six ways, and any others you can think of, every business trip soon becomes a luxury you can look forward to.

Air Fare

The key to finding low-cost airfares is flexibility, know-how and even luck.

Some tips are given here for a chea air fare:

* Use insider language when you search for a flight

If you book directly through an airline, specifically ask for the lowest published fare. If you don't, you could get a higher fare on the same flight, same seat. In fact, tickets are classified by everything from restrictions on cancellation to numbers of days before flight time. A seat with more restrictions and a lower price is fine for the average pleasure or business traveler.

After asking for the lowest fare, inquire for any available promotions on that day or coming up soon.

* Use the Web to shop for cheaper flights

Comparing fares used to be a full-time job. No more. Frequent travelers can learn about fare wars online, via e-mail or by fax.

* Look for promotions

Special promotions are offered all the time by airlines, usually in concert with a credit card company or a retailer.

* Buy ‘APEX'

If you book directly with an airline, plan ahead enough to get an APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fare. Buy your tickets seven, 14 or 21 days before the flight and stay over a Saturday. Tickets are nonrefundable, but often can be exchanged for a $100 fee. On domestic flights, APEX costs about one-third or less than the regular fare. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic shave an extra $100 off if you book 90 days or 45 days ahead respectively. Airlines change fare policies quickly, however, so call airlines regularly.

* Book through consolidators

Consolidators are companies that buy blocks of tickets from airlines and resell them at a discount from 30% to 60%. The only catch is that you may not get frequent-flier miles and changing plans may be more restrictive. You can call directly or use a travel agent. Some airlines have their own consolidators.

* Look for creative booking strategies

If you like puzzles, you can book that $224 round trip special from Boston to Miami for mid-April, then fly to the Bahamas for another $193. The round trip from New York is about $501. You save $84. Especially for long flights or offbeat destinations, this can work wonders. But if the savings are relatively modest, then you must decide if convenience is worth the extra price.

* Consider charter airlines

Charter companies hire airplanes and fill them to the brim. It's not my favorite way to travel for several reasons.

* Companion fares for two

Airlines often offer special “companion fares” to induce you and your significant other to choose that carrier. The fares are often based on a higher priced ticket for the first traveler, but offer significantly reduced rates for the second passenger. The sum total is less than if you bought two tickets at even a discounted rate.

Flying for less is not a difficult task. Just because the person next to you paid full freight to fly in a crowded coach section of a cross-continent flight doesn't mean you have to share in that experience.