What drives South-East Asian travellers when they travel by air? According to a recent travel survey it’s the “thrill of getting to a new destination”. What they hated most: unpredictable flight delays and cancellations.
The annual survey of more than 2,500 respondents (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand) carried out by TripAdvisor revealed that regional travel still remained popular, with 95% intending to take short-haul flights (up 1% from last year).
However, more travellers are expecting to fly further afield this year, as 82% intend to travel on a long-haul flight, compared to 74% who did so in 2014.
“While air travel continues to be popular, seat comfort remains the biggest concern for flyers in the region,” said TripAdvisor flights, APAC regional director Andrew Wong. “To better serve the traveller, airlines would be wise to take note of these complaints and make some improvements, especially in the economy cabin for long-haul flights.”
Top 5 things travellers like most about air travel:
- Thrill of getting to a new destination – 68%
- Sense of adventure – 51%
- In-flight amenities – 38%
- Looking out of the plane’s window during take-off / landing – 36%
- Chance to take a break from work (for example, e-mail) during the flight – 33%
Top 5 things travellers like least about flying:
- Unpredictable flight delays / cancellations – 73%
- Uncomfortable seats / limited legroom – 70%
- Added fees (for example, baggage fees, seat selection fees, and so on) – 58%
- Long security lines / customs wait times – 52%
- Loud / crying children – 50%
Flyers unhappy over shrinking seats
- 65% of flyers are “strongly opposed” to airlines installing narrower seats in the economy class cabin
- 38% of flyers “always” or “often” pay extra for a better airplane seat assignment
- 54% of flyers say they are more likely to pay for a better seat assignment now than they were five years ago
Top three amenities travellers say would make the air travel experience better:
- More comfortable seats – 28%
- More legroom – 23%
- More space between other passengers – 18 %
Top five biggest improvements in air travel:
- Ease of booking online – 74%
- Routes to new destinations – 64%
- Number of flight / itinerary options – 64%
- Comparison shopping on flight search sites – 55%
- Ability to find comprehensive fare, flight and price information on a single site – 29%
Other interesting findings included the top three factors for choosing a flight are – lowest price (69%); departure and arrival time/ desired time of day to travel (60%); and direct versus non-direct (49%).
While the vast majority of flyers say they typically book flights on their laptop or PC (80%), 37% say they have booked a flight on a mobile device.
It’s also important to use flight search sites for price comparison, notes 90% of travellers. And 64% of travellers check two to three sites when shopping for the lowest airfare.
Travellers are also loyal with 54% of flyers loyal to a particular airline, with 49% of that number noting that it was because of the airline’s frequent flyer programme.
Source: https://www.star2.com/travel/asia-oceania/2015/06/12/tripadvisor-south-east-asian-travel-survey/
