Complimentary Wi-Fi considered least important factor when flying long haul.
A travel and holiday survey conducted by Southall Travel, one of the UK’s largest travel companies, has revealed long haul passengers consider flying direct to their destination the most important element when choosing their flight, with complimentary Wifi the least important.
The survey of 1,400 British passengers voted flying direct the most important element, more important than customer service, legroom and even in-flight entertainment.
Travellers were asked to rank a number of factors from one to 10 based on their top priorities when flying long haul.
The need for speed over comfort was further supported with 22% of Britons saying they wouldn’t even consider flying indirect, no matter how much cheaper it proved.
However, cost is still king for Brits, with the price of flights ranked as top priority when booking and the only factor more important to holidaymakers than arriving with minimal delays.
Customer service was voted third most important, ahead of flying from a local airports and legroom, voted fourth and fifth most important respectively.
Despite our ever growing love affair with our electronic devices and the ability to stay connected, complimentary WiFi was voted the lowest priority when flying long haul.
Passengers are also seemingly unfazed by the quality of in-flight entertainment. With the rise of personal devices, this could be the beginning of the end for in-flight entertainment as tech savvy jetsetters rely on their smart phones, tablets and laptops to remain regaled at 35,00ft.
Despite the perks and privileges, results suggest Brits show little regard for air mile rewards as loyalty to airlines seems of little importance when choosing long haul flights. This is further evident, with 83% of flyers saying they would happily try a different airline if the price was right.
Kuljinder Bahia, Managing Director of Southall Travel comments, “With long haul flight prices becoming increasingly competitive, more people are opting to explore destinations further afield. These latest results prove time really is of the essence for many passengers and reaching their destination as quickly as possible is essential and in some cases priceless. Passengers are really prioritising costs and timings with little regard for in-flight comforts, which could lead to some interesting developments for the future of flying long haul.”
Most important factor when flying long haul
|
Ranking |
Most important factor when flying long haul |
|
1st |
Price |
|
2nd |
Direct flight |
|
3rd |
Customer Service |
|
4th |
Available from a local airport |
|
5th |
Legroom |
|
6th |
Quality of food |
|
7th |
Well known airlines |
|
8th |
Quality of in-flight entertainment |
|
9th |
Opportunity to collect air miles |
|
10th |
Complimentary Wi-Fi |
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.
