From today The Herald will be keeping you up to date with the exciting world of business travel. Our new monthly look at how you can get the best out of airlines,

trains, hotels and other services on offer to the business traveller is prepared by Gary Buchanan - one of The Herald's specialist travel writers. The ever-changing realm of transport and hospitality requires a pundit with a keen eye on developments. Travel agents have this wonderful world at their fingertips - but do you? Over the months, we will ensure you are kept abreast of developments in all aspects of travel and how they affect you, the Scottish business traveller

WHILE Scottish airports may not enjoy a wealth of direct flights to many Continental destinations, let alone airports further afield, we do have an extensive range of ''feeder'' airlines which connect with major airline ''hubs''.

For many years British Airways has linked Edinburgh and Glasgow to London Heathrow, with 12 mid-week Super Shuttle services daily from both cities. This provides direct access to on-line connections from the airline's new Flight Connections Centre as well as on to other carriers operating out of Heathrow's four terminals.

The recently introduced services by British Airways to its North Terminal hub at London's Gatwick Airport from Edinburgh and Glasgow have proved enormously popular. Aberdeen has regular daily flights with BA to both Heathrow and Gatwick, while it also serves Inverness from Heathrow three times daily - Monday to Friday.

While these flights are without doubt frequent, convenient and comfortable, they do involve the sometimes daunting prospect of changing terminals at Heathrow. BA serves all the world's major business capitals from its Terminal 4 long-haul centre of operations, but if the prospect of transferring from your domestic flight to your international one fills you with apprehension, there are alternatives you might find more user-friendly.

Most major European airlines are going to great lengths to court business travellers paying premium fares. More savvy flyers are taking advantage of this opportunity by signing up with such specialists as Business Network (0500 747 757), Travel Bug (0161 740 8998) or Wexas (0171 589 3315), which can offer attractive savings on long-haul business class fares for those prepared to fly via a Continental gateway city.

Air UK has recently introduced a new route from Inverness to Amsterdam, in addition to the three-times-daily flight from Aberdeen to Amsterdam and the five-times-daily flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

At Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, the entire KLM network and its airline partners offer connections to 350 destinations in more than 80 countries - all from the convenience of one large, user-friendly terminal. KLM's World Business Class has become a firm favourite with many Scottish business people, looking for added benefits and a calm atmosphere as they jet across the stratosphere.

Sadly, Air France could not sustain its Glasgow to Paris flight, but the Edinburgh to Paris service has proved so popular the airline has introduced a larger Airbus A320 on the late morning flight to the ultra-modern Air France hub at Charles de Gaulle 2.

The twice daily flights with Sabena from Edinburgh and Glasgow to the airline's base at Brussels also offer a convenient transfer point for Continental as well as long-haul destinations.

If business takes you to Eastern Europe or further east, then the twice daily British Midland flights from Glasgow as well as the daily flight from Edinburgh to Copenhagen are timed to connect with the world-wide network of intercontinental services offered by SAS. Flight times to the Far East are reduced by changing planes in Copenhagen - and it's a lot less hassle.

q.ON November 1, the iniquitous air passenger duty will double. The tax will be increased from #5 to #10 for domestic and European Union flights and from #10 to #20 for non-EU countries and all intercontinental destinations. It applies to both scheduled and charter flights.

As the Scottish business travel community has discovered since the tax was introduced in November 1994, it is being discriminated against. Only one payment of air passenger duty (APD) is levied if you return to the originating airport. In other words, if your itinerary is Glasgow to London and back to Glasgow the new APD will be #10, whereas a routing Glasgow to London, returning to Edinburgh will cost #20.

Business travellers heading overseas will pay APD once, with the tax based on the final destination. Hence, Aberdeen to Amsterdam will cost #10, but if you are heading for a product launch in Tokyo and transferring flights at Schiphol, the APD will rise to #20.

q.BUSINESS class to Florida is now more comfortable - and convenient, thanks to that great pioneer of low-cost air travel, Sir Freddie Laker. The people's champion is back in business - and flying from Prestwick.

Premier Business Class offers a spacious seat pitch of up to 50 inches, comfortable leather seats with adjustable lumbar support and foot rest. In addition to the individual six-inch video screens with full inflight entertainment, Sony walkmans are provided. At Prestwick there is also the convenience of an exclusive lounge for Premier Business passengers.

Until the end of June, there's an introductory offer, priced at #1298 return (compared to the normal business class fare of more than #2800). Contact 01293 789000 for details.