Flyers Air Grievances, Preferences on Airline Amenities

SeatGuru Survey Reveals Flyers Desire Full Meals and In-Flight Television Virgin Atlantic Voted Best for Amenities, Singapore Noted Best for Food

NEEDHAM, Mass., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- SeatGuru(R) by TripAdvisor(R), the web's most comprehensive resource for airline information, today announced its airline amenities survey of more than 1,600 travelers worldwide. Forty- four percent of respondents said television at their seat is the in-flight entertainment feature they value most. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said a full meal is the comfort feature they value most on an airline. Thirty-six percent of travelers said the in-flight luxury they would most be willing to pay extra for is a bed.

Top 5 Airlines for Amenities, According to the Survey
1. Virgin Atlantic
2. Singapore Airlines
3. British Airways
4. Emirates
5. JetBlue

Top 5 Airlines for Food, According to the Survey
1. Singapore Airlines
2. British Airways
3. Virgin Atlantic
4. Air France
5. Continental

RyanAir was selected as having the worst amenities, according to the survey, and American Airlines was chosen as having the worst food.

More Food (and Drink) for Thought

If it meant a cheaper fare, the airline amenity the greatest amount of travelers could do without is the complimentary snack (36 percent.) The snack that travelers favor most is cheese and crackers, followed by fruits and nuts. The most popular beverage for travelers is bottled water, followed by soda and wine.

Flyers In Security

Ten percent of travelers surveyed said they have snuck liquids or other banned substances through security in the past year. Only 57 percent of worldwide travelers, and 69 percent of Americans, knew that three ounces is the maximum amount of liquid you can bring on to an airplane in the U.S.

A Leg Up

Thirty-seven percent of respondents are willing to pay up to a 10 percent premium for a more comfortable seat and better legroom, while 22 percent would pay up to 20 percent for that luxury. Thirty-two percent said they are not willing to pay any premium.

Nothing Personal

Fifty-six percent of flyers prefer to check-in online from home, and 14 percent said they prefer checking in using the electronic kiosk. Only 24 percent would rather check-in with an airline representative.

Some More Baggage

Eighty percent of flyers have noticed that airlines have become more strict about enforcing the number, weight, or size of carry-on bags.

Other Survey Tidbits:
-- 33% of travelers purchase from the in-flight shopping catalog
-- Starbucks is the brand of coffee most travelers would prefer on a
flight
-- 13% of travelers did not know that some airlines are beginning to
charge a fee for extra bags beyond one check-in bag
-- 9% were unaware that many airlines only allow two carry-on bags

"At the end of the day, a TV dinner is all flyers are really asking for," said Matt Daimler, founder of SeatGuru. "In addition to the interesting survey findings about preferences, it is surprising to see how many travelers are still not completely up to speed on airline and security rules."

About seatguru.com

SeatGuru (http://www.seatguru.com/) is the web's most comprehensive resource for airline information, featuring 20,000+ user comments on airline seats, services, and amenities, and helpful information and links about baggage and TSA regulations. SeatGuru also offers more than 300 airline seat maps covering more than 40 airlines with color-coded seating charts to help quickly identify superior seats. SeatGuru is part of the TripAdvisor Media Network, which includes ten popular travel brands, TripAdvisor(R), airfarewatchdog.com(TM), bookingbuddy.com (TM), cruisecritic.com(TM), holidaywatchdog.com(TM), independenttraveler.com(TM), seatguru.com(R), smartertravel.com(TM), travel-library.com(TM) and travelpod.com(TM).

TripAdvisor, SeatGuru, Travel-Library, Holiday Watchdog and TravelPod are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Airfarewatchdog, Booking Buddy and Smarter Travel are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Smarter Travel Media LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Cruise Critic and The Independent Traveler are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Independent Traveler, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: seatguru.com

CONTACT: Consumer, Brooke Ferencsik, +1-781-444-1113, ext. 275,
brooke@tripadvisor.com, or Trade/Business, Brian Payea, +1-781-444-1113, ext.
388, bpayea@tripadvisor.com, both of seatguru.com

Web site: http://www.seatguru.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/

2008-04-16 06:19:42 0337013 PRNEWSWIRE