While no one can know exactly what our business travel future will hold, Microsoft's taken a stab at envisioning it. But how much of it will become a reality--and when?

What road warriors are really thinking when it's time to shut down their devices during takeoff and landing.

If "aerotropolises"--cities built around airports--are going to thrive, they'll need strong, visionary leaders to instill a palpable sense of place.

When I was conducting my own personal census of the most productive places on the planet to work, airports did not quite ascend to the top of the list. In fact, they didn't make the list at all. For one thing, layovers usually aren't long enough to get work done. 

But let's assume for a moment you are at the airport and have no choice — your flight's not going anywhere anytime soon. You're grounded. But you've got work to do. What to do? And, more important, where to do it? 

Managing your travel expenses is a key way to cut your company's costs. But for business travelers, managing those expenses well is also important in ensuring that you get reimbursed fully and promptly.

As self-described "Road Warriors," where the rubber meets the road is where spend our lives. Sometimes as business travelers that road takes us to sketchy places where other travelers wouldn't ordinarily venture or into unexpected situations far from home.

If you draw the comparison from the mid-twentieth century, the similarities and differences in how we work in both airplanes and offices become clear.

"This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope *static*."

 — Leia Organa's message to the Jedi Master

European low-cost airline Ryanair posted a €341 million net profit in their last fiscal year, which closed at the end of March. They were down €180 million a year ago. Given that Ryanair has dismissed social media as a way to advance its brand, it seems they have reaped success the old-fashioned way--by moving mojo numbers of passengers.

Grimsvotn may not be a name that chimes a responsive chord in most people, but, for business travelers, the reaction can be, pardon my pun, explosive. Grimsvotn (GREEMSH-votn) is another of those Icelandic volcanoes that have taken to darkening the skies.