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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)

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  • Monday, 15 February, 2021
    Business travel
    Are planes as Covid-safe as the airlines say?

    Modern air filters are highly effective but studies suggest on board transmission can still happen

  • Monday, 1 February, 2021
    Business travel
    Facing up to the demands of post-Brexit business travel

    Working trips between the EU and UK will still be possible — but with more planning and paperwork

  • 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

  • Promoted Content
  • 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

  • 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

Previous You are on page 1 Next

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