Point 2.3 of the 2008 Notice lists "business trips which have been firmly booked before the notification of the summons to oral proceedings" as a serious reason for changing the date of oral proceedings.

Concerning appeal proceedings, the board in T 869/06 accepted such a reason for changing the date of oral proceedings. However, in T 1080/99 (OJ 2002, 568) the board rejected a request to postpone oral proceedings due to a business trip.