GCS
The Three Components of Ground Ops ROI
Ground operations ROI has three components: time recovered, disruptions prevented, and risk reduced. Most companies only measure the first one. The other two are where the real value lives.
The three components, and who measures them
Time recovered
What it isHours saved per trip through fast track, pre-positioned transport, accommodation coordination and document pre-checks.
Why it gets missedThe only one most companies measure. Two hours at EUR 4,420 is EUR 8,840 per trip.
Disruptions prevented
What it isThe cost of what would have gone wrong but did not: a rebooked connection, a replacement driver, a room secured before arrival.
Why it gets missedAbsorbed silently. US companies spend over $17 billion a year on disruption [2].
Risk reduced
What it isDuty of care obligations, executive safety and brand protection.
Why it gets missedHardest to quantify, most important. A stranded executive at 02:00 is a risk event, not a productivity loss.
The cost of a missed meeting is measurable. The cost of a safety incident is not, until it happens.
The Formula
ROI = ((executive hourly value x hours saved per trip) + (disruption cost avoided per trip)) - (ground ops monthly cost / trips per month)
For a CEO earning EUR 4,420 per hour, saving 2 hours per trip, avoiding EUR 1,000 in disruption costs per trip, with a ground ops retainer of EUR 2,500 per month and 4 trips per month:
Worked example: CEO, 4 trips per month, EUR 2,500 retainer
Time recovered: EUR 8,840 per trip. Disruption avoided: EUR 1,000 per trip. Ground ops cost per trip: EUR 625. Net return per trip: EUR 9,215. Monthly ROI: 369%.
Hard Savings vs Soft Savings
The spreadsheet and the boardroom need different numbers.
What goes on the spreadsheet, and what goes in the room
Global business travel spending is projected to reach $1.71 trillion in 2026, up 8.4% from $1.59 trillion in 2025 [4]. That is roughly EUR 1.58 trillion.
84% of GBTA buyers expect 2026 travel spending to increase or stay at 2025 levels [5]. Travel is not shrinking. The question is whether the spending is productive.
80% of business travelers faced some form of disruption in 2025 [6]. The disruption rate is not going down. The cost of each disruption is going up as executive time becomes more valuable.
The Comparison Baseline
To calculate ROI, you need a baseline: what happens without ground operations.
Without ground ops, each disrupted trip costs approximately 4 hours and 45 minutes of productive time [3]. At EUR 4,420 per hour for a CEO, that is EUR 21,035 per disrupted trip.
With ground ops, disruptions are caught early. A coordinator monitoring the flight rebooks the connection before the executive lands. A backup driver is dispatched before the original driver cancels.
The disruption is resolved in minutes, not hours. The baseline is not zero. The baseline is the cost of doing nothing, which is the cost of every disruption that currently goes unmanaged.
The 90-Day Pilot Framework
You do not need to commit to a full year to test the ROI. A 90-day pilot gives you enough data to calculate real numbers.
The 90-day pilot
- 1-30BaselineTrack current friction without changing anything: wheels-down to check-in, disruptions per trip, time lost per disruption
- 31-60InterventionAdd ground operations for the same executives on the same routes; track the same three metrics
- 61-90CalculationCompare the two periods, apply the formula, read the result
The pilot does not need to be perfect. It needs to be directional. If the baseline shows 4 hours of friction per trip and the intervention shows 1.5 hours, the ROI calculation is straightforward.
For most companies, the pilot confirms what the executives already know: the booking is fine, the ground experience is not, and the cost of the gap is measurable.
Building the Business Case
The business case for ground operations has three audiences: the CFO, the COO, and the CEO.
The CFO needs the spreadsheet: time recovered multiplied by hourly value, minus monthly cost. The math above gives a 369% monthly ROI. That is the number that goes in the budget proposal.
The COO needs the operational case: disruptions prevented, response time improvements, and the reduction in executive friction. The operational case is about continuity, not just cost.
The CEO needs the personal case: arriving on time, rested, and prepared. The personal case is about results, not process. The executive who arrives focused closes more deals than the one who arrives frazzled.
For most organisations, the business case builds itself once the baseline is measured. The friction is already there. The cost is already being paid. Ground operations makes the cost visible and then eliminates it.
Common Mistakes in ROI Calculation
Three ways the calculation goes wrong
- Underestimating the baselineAssuming the current setup is fine and comparing against zeroThe correct baseline is current friction, almost always higher than assumed
- Counting only time recoveredIgnoring disruptions prevented and risk reducedA missed meeting can cost more than a year of retainer
- Annualising a single tripTreating one bad trip as the averageUse at least 30 days of baseline data