Accessibility helpSkip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer

Cookies on FT Sites

We use cookies (opens in new window) for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our Sites are used.
Manage cookies
Accept & continue
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
Open side navigation menuOpen search bar
Financial Times
myFT
  • Home
  • World
    Sections
    • World Home
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Middle East and North Africa
    Most Read
    • Shipping costs quadruple to record highs on China-Europe ‘bottleneck’
    • Mitch McConnell says Donald Trump ‘provoked’ Capitol rioters
    • UK vaccination rollout a rare pandemic success
    • Rishi Sunak risks clash with business over proposed corporation tax rise
    • How the far-right fell into line behind Donald Trump
  • US
    Sections
    • US Home
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
    • US Presidential Election 2020
    Most Read
    • Higher inflation is coming and it will hit bondholders
    • Mitch McConnell says Donald Trump ‘provoked’ Capitol rioters
    • Workers will be lured back to the office, says Brookfield chief
    • How the far-right fell into line behind Donald Trump
    • Joe Biden’s challenge: big, early victories in a toxic political climate
  • Companies
    Sections
    • Companies Home
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
    Most Read
    • Workers will be lured back to the office, says Brookfield chief
    • Hedge fund Elliott pulls out of Hong Kong
    • MGM walks away from Ladbrokes owner Entain after failed £8bn bid
    • Goldman chief executive says Spac boom is unsustainable
    • Boss of newly merged Fiat and Peugeot warns on UK investment
  • Tech
  • Markets
    Sections
    • Markets Home
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
    Most Read
    • Higher inflation is coming and it will hit bondholders
    • Markets approaching a boiled frog moment
    • Tunisia’s anger boils over as Covid batters economy
    • Sorry, but debt forgiveness is not going to happen
    • City of London bosses warn against post-Brexit deregulation
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    Sections
    • Opinion Home
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
    Most Read
    • Higher inflation is coming and it will hit bondholders
    • Zoom spy claims a warning for multinationals in China
    • The American republic’s near-death experience
    • Vaccines won’t get us back in the office any time soon
    • The minimum wage alone can’t save the US working class
  • Work & Careers
    Sections
    • Work & Careers Home
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
    Most Read
    • Vaccines won’t get us back in the office any time soon
    • The pandemic tests a new generation of graduate trainees
    • Can you succeed without being a terrible person?
    • How do I switch from corporate finance to public affairs?
    • How acts of leadership kindness make everyone better
  • Life & Arts
    Sections
    • Life & Arts Home
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
    Most Read
    • Big Tech needs to shake up the video call and end the Zoom gloom
    • Can I place assets into trust ahead of possible CGT changes?
    • Cool runnings: the best cold weather exercise kit
    • British business travellers face a bewildering return to the EU
    • The FT hair clinic
  • How to Spend It
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
MenuSearch
  • Home
  • World
  • US
  • Companies
  • Tech
  • Markets
  • Climate
  • Opinion
  • Work & Careers
  • Life & Arts
  • How to Spend It
Financial Times
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe

$50 for your first 3 months Get the print edition and steer from crisis to recovery

Subscribe now

Michael Skapinker

Contributing editor and columnist

Michael Skapinker is an FT contributing editor and columnist. He is also executive editor of Headspring, the FT’s executive education arm. Born in South Africa, he began his journalistic career in Greece. He joined the FT in London in 1986 and has held many positions, including FT Weekend editor, FT Special Reports editor and management editor. 

He received the Work Foundation Members’ Award for his contribution to the understanding of working life in 2003 and was named WorkWorld Media Awards Columnist of the Year in 2008. At the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards he was named Business Commentator of the Year (2012) and Business Ethics Commentator of the Year (2015).

Email Michael Skapinker @Skapinker (link opens in a new browser window)
Email Michael Skapinker @Skapinker (link opens in a new browser window)

Add to myFT Digest

Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox

  • Monday, 18 January, 2021
    Business travel
    British business travellers face a bewildering return to the EU

    It’s not just new rules that will cause headaches — but the fact they vary from one member state to the next

  • Tuesday, 5 January, 2021
    Business travel
    Even post-Covid, frequent flyers face more time on the ground

    Growing environmental pressure will clip the wings of many

  • Monday, 14 December, 2020
    Business travel
    Four lessons from a year of virtual travel

    In a new world of digital business meetings, is your online video platform a Ryanair or a Cathay Pacific?

  • Monday, 30 November, 2020
    Business travel
    Taiwan and New Zealand show business travel’s future

    The real boom will be in face-to-face training and sales — as you can’t close deals on Zoom

  • Monday, 16 November, 2020
    Business travel
    Can Boeing’s 737 Max regain passengers’ trust?

    The findings of an investigation into the plane’s development have shattered faith in the manufacturer and its regulators 

  • Monday, 2 November, 2020
    Business travel
    It’s time for paperless passports

    Our existing systems are not up to the task. The pandemic offers a chance for a rethink

  • Monday, 19 October, 2020
    Business travel
    How frequent-flyer cards protect airlines from their passengers

    Moves to prevent criticism and legal action risk aggravating loyal customers

  • Friday, 16 October, 2020
    Business travel
    Covid nostalgia for the days of taking wing

    Travellers grounded for months by lockdown can now become reacquainted with the airlines

  • Monday, 5 October, 2020
    Business travel
    Test before you board is the only route back to air travel

    Previous generations knew what it took to deal with infectious outbreaks

  • Promoted Content
  • Monday, 21 September, 2020
    Business travel
    The model plane that might be the future of flying

    The Flying-V raises the prospect of fewer emissions and more space (even though it’s only three metres wide)

  • Monday, 7 September, 2020
    Business travel
    When should we hit the road again?

    If your competitors start travelling, you might be forced to follow

  • Tuesday, 1 September, 2020
    ReviewHistory books
    Burning the Books — why memory matters

    In Richard Ovenden’s history when books burn, it is more than just words under attack

  • Monday, 24 August, 2020
    Business travel
    Excuse my French: learning a language in lockdown

    Podcast tutorials, foreign-language Netflix and international Zoom calls offer alternative ways to learn

  • Monday, 10 August, 2020
    Business travel
    Are we ready to travel on underground trains?

    From ultraviolet cleaning to crowdsourced apps — what the world’s subways are doing to get us back on board

  • Monday, 27 July, 2020
    Business travel
    The end of the jumbo jet era

    As airlines accelerate the retirement of their final 747s, Airbus is working on the final A380

  • Monday, 13 July, 2020
    Business travel
    Frequent flyer: why the world loves — and hates — British tourists

    A longstanding ambivalence has been accentuated by the UK’s handling of Covid-19

  • Monday, 29 June, 2020
    Business travel
    Frequent flyer: is business travel dead?

    Virtual technology is changing the way we think about conferences and meetings

  • Tuesday, 23 June, 2020
    Airlines
    What 9/11 can teach us about aviation’s post-coronavirus future

    Aviation bosses at the time of the attacks expect passenger confidence to return slowly

  • Wednesday, 17 June, 2020
    Travel
    Are we ready to fly again?

    From temperature checks to luggage, Michael Skapinker on the challenges that lie ahead

  • Monday, 15 June, 2020
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    The New Long Life, a manifesto for better later years

    Andrew J Scott and Lynda Gratton want us to reinvent our patterns of work and retirement

  • Monday, 1 June, 2020
    Business travel
    Frequent flyer: stories from the refund battle

    And the award for how not to handle readers’ refund requests goes to . . .

  • Thursday, 28 May, 2020
    Work & Careers
    Will ageism get worse in the post-pandemic workplace?

    New focus on older people as ‘vulnerable’ has serious consequences for over-60s at work

  • Monday, 18 May, 2020
    Business travel
    Frequent flyer: the battle for airline refunds

    Travellers have paid $35bn for cancelled flights — getting it back is not proving easy

  • Wednesday, 13 May, 2020
    FT Books Essay
    The humbling truth about the limits of innovation

    How do promises of rocket planes and ageing cures sit with our failure to stop coronavirus?

  • Tuesday, 5 May, 2020
    Business travel
    Frequent flyer: goodbye gold card, so long silver

    Grounded travellers are facing downgrades but some airlines are rewarding loyalty

Previous You are on page 1 Next

Useful links

Support

View Site TipsHelp CentreContact UsAbout UsAccessibilitymyFT TourCareers

Legal & Privacy

Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyCookiesCopyrightSlavery Statement & Policies

Services

FT LiveShare News Tips SecurelyIndividual SubscriptionsGroup SubscriptionsRepublishingContracts & Tenders
Executive Job SearchAdvertise with the FTFollow the FT on TwitterFT TransactSecondary Schools

Tools

PortfolioToday's Newspaper (ePaper)Alerts HubBusiness School Rankings
Enterprise ToolsNews feedNewslettersCurrency Converter
More from the FT Group
Markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2021. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice.
Financial Times

International Edition

  • Switch to UK Edition
  • Top sections
  • Home
  • World
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Middle East and North Africa
  • US
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
    • US Presidential Election 2020
  • Companies
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
  • Tech
  • Markets
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
  • Work & Careers
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
  • Life & Arts
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
  • Personal Finance
    • Property & Mortgages
    • Investments
    • Pensions
    • Tax
    • Banking & Savings
    • Advice & Comment
    • Next Act
  • How to Spend It
  • Special Reports
  • FT recommends
  • Graphics
  • Lex
  • Alphaville
  • Lunch with the FT
  • FT Globetrotter
  • #techAsia
  • Moral Money
  • FTfm
  • Newsletters
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • News feed
  • myFT
  • Portfolio
  • Today's Newspaper (ePaper)
  • Crossword
  • Our Apps
  • Help Centre
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In