Frequent Flyer

Introduction

The Cost of Travel

Your Travel Profile

The Online Experience

Safety and Security

Air Travel

Frequent Flyer Programs

The Inflight Experience

At the Airport

Customer Satisfaction

At the Hotel

Car Rental

Working on the Road

The Travel Experience

Questions or Comments: fflyer@oag.com

Introduction

E-Ticketing Among Air Travelers Trends Higher
Corporate travel policies and airline service also key issues for today’s demanding commuters.

Today’s traveler is online and instep with new corporate travel policies, but not in sync with airline service. This, according to the thousands of responses from our annual reader’s poll, which appeared in the May, 2000 issue of Frequent Flyer. Many of the trends in previous years continue to develop, while new ones appear to be emerging. Here are some highlights...

A Virtual Trend
While equity investors lost faith in the Internet during the latter half of 2000, the typical airline traveler continued to put stock in the convenience and timesaving of booking flights online.

Booking flights through a Travel Agent still remains the preferred method, but a three-year decline illustrates a definite downtrend. Respondents who said they book travel through a Travel Agent have dipped from 74% in 1998 to only 56% in the 2000 survey, off a full 18% in just three years.

So where are today’s travelers booking their flights? The second most preferred method is direct to the airlines by phone, increasing from 16% in 1999 to 19% in 2000.

However, the most dramatic trend is online booking, up from 4% just two years ago to more than tripling in 2000 to 13%. Besides using the Internet for booking, travelers have been spending some time perusing airline Web sites. In 1998, only 58% of respondents regularly logged on to these sites. In 1999, that number jumped to 69%. And this year’s survey saw a significant jump–up to 82% of travelers said they frequent airline Web sites.

What were they doing online? The majority (67%) were seeking general information, while 26% logged on to check schedules, fares, seating and maps. Four percent regularly got online to check air miles and 3% booked tickets.

Corporate Travel Policies on the Rise
One interesting trend indicates some belt-tightening on the part of corporations when it comes to travel expenses. Results from the last three years of Frequent Flyer surveys show a growing bias among corporations to set travel policy, with 44% of travelers indicating such a policy exists at their company, up from 34% in 1998. Perhaps more telling is the fact that almost half (46%) said that their employer has become increasingly strict in enforcing such policies.

Travel policy restrictions abound. Fifty-one percent of respondents indicated their company specifies approved car rental companies, while 47% designate airlines and 41% require lodging at specific hotels.

"Airline service" improvements? Still under discussion...
The hot topic in the airline industry today is service (or more accurately, a lack thereof). On December 16, 1999, after pressure from consumer advocates and politicians alike, the airlines joined to institute a "Customer Commitment" program to elevate the quality of service given to passengers.

Our survey indicates much of this program was largely lip service. Just over one third (35%) of travelers noticed an improvement in the way airlines communicate key information such as delays and schedule changes. Only 26% noticed a positive improvement in the way flight crews and gate attendants treated them.

Rightly so, travelers today are not shy about expressing their disgruntlement over their entire travel experience. Over half (57%) have complained in the last 12 months to an airline, hotel or rental car company.

Can travel companies expect commuters to let bygones be bygones when it comes to a bad experience? Not according to our survey–57% said that there are travel companies they absolutely refuse to use.

We all know that operating an airline is a complex business. For example, over the past year we’ve seen the ability to maintain schedules vary widely for a variety of reasons, from severe weather to labor issues. And with buyouts and mergers on the horizon, the implications on service are anybody’s guess. There’s pressure to improve from all sides, but will there be an improvement? We’ll ask for your opinions later in the year on FrequentFlyer.OAG.com.

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