Survey: Air Travel Passengers Want Speed and Convenience

Photo source: IATA.

Travelers flying by air want to spend less time booking and to be able to move through the airport faster, welcoming at the same time biometrics and off-airport processes in this direction, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the results of IATA’s 2023 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) based on over 8,000 responses from more than 200 countries, the majority of travelers (71 percent) said they prefer to fly from an airport close to home, 52 percent said they prefer to book directly with the airline, 75 percent said they prefer using biometric data over traditional passports and boarding passes, and the majority wish to have all booking options and services available in one single place and to pay with their preferred payment method.

“Passengers have made it clear: they want to spend less time booking and move through the airport faster. And they are increasingly willing to use biometric data to complete more pre-departure tasks off airport to achieve this,” said Nick Careen, senior vice president for operations, safety and security at IATA.

Photo source: IATA.

Other key takeaways of the IATA study include:

–  31 percent said ticket price was important

– 62 percent said convenience was the main reason they chose a particular payment method

– the most popular payment method was credit / debit card (73 percent), followed by digital wallet (18 percent) and bank transfer (18 percent)

Photo source: IATA.

– 36 percent of travelers said they have been discouraged from traveling to a particular destination because of the immigration requirements

–  for visa issue, 66 percent said they wish to obtain a visa online prior to travel, 20 percent prefer to go to the consulate or embassy and 14 percent at the airport

– 87 percent of travelers indicated they would share their immigration information to speed up the airport arrival process

Photo source: IATA.

– in terms of reducing time spent at airports, 74 percent said that they only bring a carry-on bag and anticipate going from the curb to the boarding gate in 30 minutes or less

– passengers also want to complete processing issues before reaching the airport – 45 percent of travelers identified immigration as their top pick for off-airport processing, followed by check-in (33 percent), and baggage check-in (19 percent)

– 91 percent said they were interested in a special program for trusted travelers to expedite security screening.

Photo source: IATA.

– in terms of baggage control, 67 percent said they would be interested in home pick-up and delivery, 77 percent said they would be likely to check in a bag if they could tag it and check it in before they get to the airport, and 87 percent would be willing to check in a bag if they could track it. In this direction, 57 percent of travelers have used or want to use electronic bag tags.

Lastly, study results found that confidence in biometric identification is on the rise. In the last 12 months, 46 percent of passengers used biometrics at the airport, up from 34 percent in 2022.