Icelandic Volcano Grounds Europe: A Business World Without Planes!
The eruption of a Volcano in Iceland on 15th April has left the majority of Europe grounded. Powwownow has seen a 30% usage increase as people continue to keep businesses running without flying.
Online, April 19, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The UK and most of Europe has been thrown in to chaos by a volcano no one had heard of until last Thursday. Eyjafjallajoekull in Iceland has been spewing out ash since the eruption on 15th April. What was initially a bit of a laugh, and a taste of peace and quiet for those living on flight paths, is now rapidly turning into an economic disaster.
Whilst the airline industry is estimating losses of $2.8 billion, some business are benefiting from the lock down. In the last four days, free conference calls provider Powwownow has witnessed a 30% increase in registered users.
These surges in conference call usage are not rare. Powwownow reported a 60% increase during the UK snow in December and January as people continued to keep businesses running from home. Historically these spikes can remain for some weeks after the disruptions have come to an end. People discover alternative ways of doing business to avoid travelling to meetings, and discover that conference calls represent a cost-effective and efficient way of doing business.
Andy Pearce, CEO commented, 'So does this represent a future of European business without planes? If the ash cloud has forced people to consider technologies such as voice and web conferencing as a way of meeting up because they can't fly, then this is obviously great news for Powwownow and the wider environment. However, we can't ignore the fact that some businesses will always need to fly to some meetings....it would just be nice if it was fewer!'
