Corporate travel with ease: experts outline steps to make your business travel plans go smoothly.

• Author: Pardes, Joan

For many Alaskans, conducting business in The Last Frontier means travel--and for some workers, lots of it. Whether it requires multiple trips to the North Slope, a quick visit to a small town out on the Aleutians, down to Juneau on political business, Outside, or an international jaunt, in the 21 century the Alaska work force is on the move.

"We do an average of 400 transactions a month," said Donna Boyles, a Carlson Waglonlit (a travel management company) employee who works as an in-house contractor for BP of Alaska. BP also employs a full-time employee to coordinate the company's travel needs. "The 400 transactions don't include travel to the Slope; we have a company that handles that travel," Boyles said. "The 400 monthly transactions are mostly for state and Outside travel."

While some of Alaska's larger corporations choose to employ full-time travel professionals, many lean on the expertise of travel agencies that in today's competitive market prefer to be called travel management companies. No matter how you book your travel (on your own, through your company's travel office, or via a travel management company), traveling around Alaska and Outside can be stressful-even for the most seasoned business traveler.

To simplify the process, here are a few tips on how to make corporate travel as smooth as possible.

* First and foremost, weather calls the shots when it comes to air travel in Alaska. So be prepared to be weathered in (a.k.a. marooned) by carrying your essentials in a carry-on bag. For some travelers, that may require an entire change of clothes, prescription drugs, toiletries, night wear, etc. For others, it may be as simple as a toothbrush and a good book.

* Another good rule of thumb (albeit an obvious one) is to check your itinerary as soon as it arrives on your desktop or laptop.

"An overwhelming amount of people don't even look at their itinerary until they're heading off to the airport," said Harry Gregson, owner of Easy Travel Service in Anchorage. "The business traveler really needs to look at his or her itinerary as soon as it's received to make sure it's exactly what he or she had in mind.

"Sometimes specific flights change or are not available and even if you tell people over the phone, they don't really listen," he added. "They have a specific plan in mind and they just assume that's what will happen. People really need to print out their itinerary and really look at it before the trip."

15 Steps to Easier...