Air smiles

Air smiles

AT the Commonwealth Games Business Conference in Glasgow, Sophie Dekkers, director of the UK for easyJet, revealed that the airline has benefited from an increase in business travellers since the financial crisis, including from bankers who were no longer flying first class.

Host John Humphrys said it was a comforting thought bankers were having to trade down before asking whether Ms Dekkers made sure the financiers were still charged more than other customers. She answered "of course" before laughing.

We think she was joking.

Born for the job

RETURNING to one of our favourite themes, The Bottom Line hears of another executive seemingly born to serve the company they are employed by.

The latest example is Gerry McSherry, managing director of JG Distillers Group, the Paisley-headquartered whisky blender, bottler and exporter.

We'll drink to that, Mr McSherry. Hic …

Marriage failure

BACK to the Commonwealth Games Business Conference. A panel discussed whether people whose companies fail should still be supported.

Lord Haughey suggested most entrepreneurs did not need a safety net and would pick themselves and start again.

However Rahul Mirchandani, founder president of the Commonwealth-Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs, raised chuckles from the audience when he suggested the worst part of being associated with a failing business in Asia is no-one wants to marry you.

Property game

FAMOUS board game Monopoly has been recreated in a move which shows the London property bubble is not being felt all over the UK.

Liverpool has replaced Old Kent Road in the real life version of the game designed by eMoov.co.uk, the online estate agent.

But while the brown location is the cheapest property to buy on the board game, in the real world, that honour goes to Dundee in the new version.

The average one-bedroom property in the city of Discovery costs £60,506.

Dundee is also home to the biggest property price gulf in the UK, according to eMoov. A four-bedroom house costs 4.38 times more than a one-bedroom home.

St Albans replaces Mayfair on the original board as the most expensive place to buy.