In a turn of good luck for business travelers, strikes planned for BAA, the U.K.'s largest airport operator, and Virgin Atlantic have been cancelled. The strikes, which would have launched Jan. 7 and 9 respectively, would have nearly shut down air travel for a large chunk of the month. With union agreements underway, travelers to the U.K. should see smooth flights in January.

That can't be said for Australia, where Qantas engineers have threatened to begin a series of four-hour walkouts at midnight Jan. 9. The engineers are needed to inspect planes pre-flight, and without those inspections passengers won't be leaving the ground. It could be complete chaos or intermittent troubles, but either way business travelers can expect delays and cancellations.