Yet another interesting article from Travelmole:
A comfy seat and clean loo – an air passengers dream
Comfortable seats and more legroom are the top wishes for air travellers, a new survey shows.
Nearly three quarters of people say they would pay at least a 10% premium to get a more comfortable and roomy airline seat – supporting airlines which have introduced premium economy cabins
After their seats, travellers said a roomy and clean toilet was the most important in-flight comfort feature, according to 30% of respondents. A quarter consider a clean pillow/blanket their number one comfort priority on a flight.
But the poll of more than 1,400 travellers worldwide by online travel community TripAdvisor saw British Airways lose its crown for having the top in-flight amenities and food to Singapore Airlines.
BA’s rival Virgin Atlantic came in second for airline amenities in this year’s survey over 2006.
Ryanair switched places with Southwest for worst airline amenities, coming second to the US low cost carrier.
EasyJet, which was voted third worst in the amenities stakes last year, improved its position slightly by coming sixth in the 2007 survey.
Amongst UK travellers Ryanair was worst for food and worst for amenities followed in both categories by EasyJet and Monarch.
Twenty per cent of British travellers nominated noise cancelling headphones as their most valued comfort feature, according to the poll.
If it would mean a cheaper fare, 36% of travellers said they would do without free snacks on board.
Fruit and vegetables have become the complimentary in-flight snack of choice among air travellers (36%).
The majority of travellers, and more than half of British respondents, identified bottled water as their favourite free drink on a flight. Only five per cent of travellers opted for complimentary champagne. Men are more likely (36%) to choose wine, champagne, beer or a cocktail than women (25%) as their in-flight beverage.
Forty-two per cent said a video screen at their seat is the most important in-flight entertainment feature, followed by on-demand movies (18%). Video screens at seats are more important to women (46%) than men (36%).
Only 13% (five per cent British) chose internet access as their choice of entertainment.
When asked what would inspire them to pay for better amenities on a flight, time was of the essence, as 71% of travellers would pay a premium for amenities, only on flights longer than three hours.
Beds are the most popular in-flight luxury that travellers would be willing to pay for, according to 36% of all respondents and 50% of Britons.
A third of those surveyed said they purchase items from an in-flight catalogue. British travellers particularly enjoy “fly-buys” as 56% said they purchase from in-flight catalogues, compared to only 23% of Americans.
TripAdvisor communications director Michele Perry said: “Travellers continue to request some pretty basic amenities of carriers. By offering more room and cleaner facilities, travellers will be much happier with their airline experience.”
Top 5 Airlines for Best Amenities:
1.. Singapore Airlines
2.. Virgin Atlantic
3.. British Airways
4.. Emirates
5.. Cathay Pacific
Five Worst Airlines for Amenities:
1.. Southwest
2.. Ryanair
3.. U.S. Airways
4.. American Airlines
5.. United
Top 5 Airlines for Best Food
1.. Singapore Airways
2.. British Airways
3.. Virgin Atlantic
4.. Air France
5.. Continental
Top 5 Comfort Features:
1.. Roomy and clean bathroom
2.. Clean blanket/pillow
3.. Noise-cancelling headphones
4.. Sanitizing wipes to clean tray tables/arm rests
5.. Anti-germ products/toiletry kits
Top 5 Entertainment Features:
1.. Video screen at every seat
2.. On-demand movies
3.. Internet access
4.. Route map display
5.. Real-time satellite TV
Top 5 Complimentary Beverage Choices:
1.. Bottled water
2.. Soda/cola
3.. Wine
4.. Fruit juices
5.. Cocktails
Top 5 Luxuries Travellers Would Pay Extra For:
1.. A bed
2.. Gourmet food
3.. Massages
4.. Premium liquor
5.. Manicures
by Phil Davies
The one thing I strongly disagree with about this survey is the fact that they have listed some low-cost airlines as the ‘worst for amenities’…am I right in thinking that the whole reason their fares are lower than traditional carriers is because there are no amenities onbaord. So, for example, if someone only paid 39 pounds for a flight to say Amsterdam with EasyJet, rather than paying a much higher fare with British Airways, why would they expect to recieve any onboard amenities?
As a traveller, would you honestly be prepared to pay that bit more just to recieve some of the items that are mentioned above?
And with this in mind, does anyone think that some of the more established low-cost airlines, such as Southwest (US), EasyJet (UK) and Ryanair (EI), are going to begin to struggle in today’s market somewhat because they offer what is now considered to be an ‘old’ style of low-cost/no-frills flying?
By: OneLeft - 7th April 2007 at 10:34
Do you agree?
Although my point was rather about the accuracy of the answers people give to these surveys I absolutely agree with your comments. For me the whole point of a loco is pay little get little.
1L.
By: cloud_9 - 7th April 2007 at 07:27
For example if 75% of people are willing to pay more for extra space why do the likes of Ryanair sell so many seats, mostly to people looking for the cheapest ticket regardless of anything else…, and why do business class cabins, where available, seldom account for 75% of the pax load?
1L.
I think your comment emphasises my point doesnt it OneLeft; the fact that it seems unfair that low-cost airlines have been included within this survey and rated in terms of onboard catering and amenities, when they do not offer any at all (or offer a ‘to purchase’ option whilst onboard!) because that is the whole ethos of a low-cost/no-frills carrier – in order to reduce their operating costs to be able to provide low-fares, they do not offer all the additional extras/’frills’ or additional comfort that traditional airlines offer? Do you agree?
By: OneLeft - 6th April 2007 at 23:17
I personally don’t read too much into these surveys, as they very much depend which 10/100/1000/whatever people they ask. I also think a certain amount of bravado or ‘talking the talk’ comes into peoples answers.
For example if 75% of people are willing to pay more for extra space why do the likes of Ryanair sell so many seats, mostly to people looking for the cheapest ticket regardless of anything else, and why do business class cabins, where available, seldom account for 75% of the pax load?
1L.
By: T5 - 6th April 2007 at 12:13
Interesting stuff, although the SkyTrax results for catering in particular are very different to what has been posted here, with only Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Cathay Pacific cropping up on both lists.
http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards-2006/Catering.htm
Fantastic to see that Thai is officially the best airline for catering in economy class – and quite rightly so! 🙂
Sign In
April 6, 2007 at 7:52 am