British Airways Jump Starts US Business.

An interesting and enticing initiative is being put forward by Britain’s flagship air carrier, British Airways, in an effort to “jumpstart” the US corporate economy and to give small to medium-sized operations a clear incentive to get out and meet potential clients.

Dubbed “Business Opportunity Grants,” the program is an extension of an already successful idea put forward by the airline and its partners in an effort to stimulate global business. British Airways is well aware that businesses have cut back on travel significantly during the recent recession and is surely aware that this trend may continue for some time. Many organizations may not realize the importance of face-to-face meetings with clients and prospects. Such meetings can be critical to establishing and building relationships and can often make the difference between a commitment or otherwise.

The aim of this project is to help reassure and to incentivize small to medium size corporations, to tell them that it is once again time to travel and seek out good opportunities. In a study with the Harvard Business Review, BA found that 87% of professionals believe face-to-face meetings to be essential for sealing the deal, while almost all of those interviewed agreed that long-lasting business relationships depend on this type of interaction.

British Airways will offer one of their Business Opportunity Grants to each of 100 companies and they are soliciting applications accordingly. Each grant consists of a year’s worth of business-class travel to anywhere the airline flies, worldwide. This translates to 10 round-trip Club World business class flights, which may be used during calendar year 2010.

To make the prospect even more enticing, BA has teamed up with partners to flesh the deal out. $1000 is being put towards accommodation by hotel group Courtyard by Marriott, Regus Businessworld Gold Cards will allow access to business lounges worldwide, Canon is giving one of their PIXMA MX860 wireless all-in-one printers and BA’s World Cargo operation is donating 5 free freight shipments of up to 500 kg to worldwide destinations.

“Connecting people globally is our number one objective and we’ve long known that it is the key to building successful long-term business partnerships through face-to-face meetings,” said Simon Talling – Smith, the executive VP for the Americas, British Airways. “Even after giving away close to 1000 seats during phase one of the campaign to help US entrepreneurs grow their businesses, we realized there was still more we could do. Our hope is that the “Business Opportunity Grants” help these businesses increase their revenues and reach important milestones in their strategic growth plans.”

Those who are interested had better move quickly, as they will have until midnight on September 30 to put applications in to the airline. A group of BA’s executives and partners will review each application and will notify winners by late November. To be eligible, US companies must have a valid federal ID and 500 employees or less. To apply, visit Business Opportunity Grant.

This program should present just the right incentive for those companies who have been sitting on the fence. At the very least, the grants provide a solid justification to initiate those pending engagements.

Adam Toren

Adam Toren

Adam Toren is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. He is co-author, with his brother Matthew, of Kidpreneurs and Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right (Wiley). He’s based in Phoenix, Ariz.