Curtis Greenwood, CEO of LuxuryLogistics, parses out findings from online study and its implications for consumers, airlines and airports as 2013 peak travel season approaches.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. – When it comes to waiting in security lines at the airport, despite complaints, Americans aren’t willing to shell out cash to jump to the front of the line – at least according to results of a recent Google survey: “At the airport, how much $ would you be willing to pay to skip to the front of the security line next time you travel?”
Querying over 1,000 consumers nationwide, on average Americans were only willing to spend about $6.00 to skip to the front of security lines the next time they travel.
What’s so significant about this latest factoid?
According to Curtis Greenwood, CEO of LuxuryLogistics, the Beverly Hills travel and concierge firm which funded the study, this information reflects the current uncertain economic climate: Despite the annoyance of waiting in line, Americans still aren’t willing to shell out cash to bypass the inconvenience.
“Travelers want VIP treatment on a shoestring budget,” says Greenwood, who designs custom travel experiences for the likes of Fortune 500 CEOs and Hollywood movie stars. “The good news is, while mostly unknown to the general public, there are actually several low-cost programs which offer travelers VIP perks such as skipping lines at the airport.”
“One such program is the NEXUS program, which affords travelers special, expedited travel when traveling between the United States and Canada,” Greenwood adds.
Additionally, the survey found two demographic groups more willing to spend money to skip lines than the general public:
Younger travelers, those under the age of 55 (willing to pay $6.70 vs. $5.50 for those over 55); and wealthier travelers, those earning over $100,000/year (willing to pay $11.80 vs. $5.90 for those earning less than $100,000).
“Airports and airlines can capitalize on this information, by offering separate VIP travel perks tailored to these two different segments,” Greenwood says.
“One class of perks should be geared toward younger, busier, and arguably more impatient travelers who may not have the budget for full door-to-door VIP treatment, but still value things like the opportunity to bypass lines, and a second, premium class of VIP perks geared toward wealthier travelers, who also tend to be older.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
