Price or Comfort? A Look at Airline Travelers Today
When asked via an online survey about preferences should an airline offer a one-time loyal customer perk, 35 percent of travelers selected an upgrade to first class as their first choice, just slightly edging out the option for a discount on a future flight (33 percent).
Almost three hundred passengers responded to the survey which was conducted by The GO Group, LLC, an international ground transportation provider.
The results differ from a similar survey conducted by the company in 2015, in which a future discount was selected as top choice by almost 50 percent of respondents.
In this year’s survey, more legroom and priority boarding were the third and fourth choices at 15 and 11 percent, respectively, followed by access to the airport lounge at just under five percent. Free food and beverages ranked last, receiving just under one percent each, compared with 11 and nine percent in the 2015 survey.
“While first class upgrades were ranked only slightly higher than discounts for future travel, we do think this indicates that the improved economy is affecting the choices people make,” says John McCarthy, president of The GO Group.
