Expedia Passenger Preferences Index

Expedia Passenger Preferences Index

Study shows how Kiwis fly compared to travellers worldwide

Auckland, New Zealand, 03 February, 2016 – Expedia.com®, one of the world's largest full service online travel sites1, has released the results of the Expedia Passenger Preferences Index, a worldwide study that examines the preferences and behaviours of fliers on a country-by-country basis. The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia(R) by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm and surveyed 11,026 travellers across 22 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South America.

Looking at the habits of Kiwi travellers, the study reported Kiwi fliers are among the most active in the world. Almost a third (31%) of Kiwis have flown more than five times in the past two years. This was above the global average of 27% and follows closely behind other APAC nations such as India, (38%), Singapore (36%) and China (35%). The most frequently flying nations were Norway (47%) and Mexico (42%).

Expedia.co.nz travel expert, Kelly Cull, says: “Our study shows that Kiwis are after simple pleasures when flying and are content with a full belly and comfortable space when in the air”.

Kiwis Prioritise Full Meals and Extra Leg Room

Kiwi respondents were given a range of amenities to choose and asked to select the ones they would be willing to pay extra for on flights of different length, defined as 0-3 hours, 4-6, 7-12, 12+ hours.

On a long-haul flight (7-12 hours), more than 6 in 10 Kiwis (62%) said they would be willing to pay extra for a full meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) over any other amenity. A seat with extra leg room was the second-most common selection, chosen by 44% of Kiwi respondents, followed by inflight entertainment (38%).

Kiwis were also willing to pay out for inflight entertainment with its importance increasing as the duration of the flight increased (25% of medium-haul fliers, 38% of long-haul fliers and 39% of extra long-haul fliers).

Globally, a full meal was consistently selected as the amenity fliers would be most likely to pay for across flight durations. Australia and Canada were consistently the top two nations most unwilling to pay for in-flight extras across different flight lengths.

Eat, sleep and strike up a conversation – how Kiwis pass the time on a flight

Comfort comes first for Kiwis dressing for a flight - 91% of respondents said they dress for comfort and didn’t care how they looked, leaving only one in ten (9%) to choose chic planewear over comfort.

When asked which strategies Kiwis would employ to endure a long haul flight over 10 hours, 80% of Kiwis indicated they would sleep to pass the time, followed by eating (71%), utilising inflight entertainment (69%) and reading (64%). Kiwis were the nation most intent on staying active on a long flight, with 51% saying they would walk around the cabin versus a global average of less than third (31%).

Passenger Preferences Index respondents were also offered a long list of items and asked to select five that they felt they couldn’t live without on a flight. Worldwide, the top five items were water, a meal, a phone/mobile device, headphones and magazines or newspapers.

Following suit, Kiwi respondents also rated water as the number one item they couldn’t live without when flying (58%), followed by a meal (40%), headphones (30%), phone/mobile device (29%) and a physical book (21%).

For travellers from Mexico, South Korea and Thailand, a mobile device was considered more essential than water.

Baggage Fees and Carousels Avoided

Whilst close to two thirds (64%) of Kiwi travellers say they avoid baggage fees at all costs, they were among the nations least likely to let excess baggage fees impact how they pack their bags and fell below the global average of 70%.

The motivations behind not checking a bag included avoiding waiting at the baggage carousel (35%), not having to queue at check-in counters (33%) and fear the bag would be lost (25%).

About the Survey

This study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm. This survey was conducted online from December 11-29, 2015 across North America, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific using the Kantar-owned GMI (Global Market Insite) and Lightspeed Research amalgamated group of panels. The study was conducted among 11,026 adults 18+ adults, who have flown on an airplane in the past two years, across 22 countries.

Sampling quotas and weighting were used to ensure the sample is representative of each country’s population in terms of age and gender. Assuming a probability sample, the margin of error would be +/- 0.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

About the Expedia group

The Expedia group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is one of the world’s leading travel companies, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes leading online travel brands, such as:

• Expedia.com®, a leading full service online travel company with localized sites in 32 countries
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• Hotels.com®, the hotel specialist that offers Hotels.com® Rewards and Secret Prices through its mobile booking apps and localized websites in more than 65 countries
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• Hotwire®, a leading discount travel site that offers Hot Rate® Hotels, Hot Rate® Cars and Hot Rate® Airfares, as well as vacation packages
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• Travelocity®, a pioneer in online travel and a leading online travel brand in the US and Canada
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• Orbitz Worldwide, a global travel portfolio including Orbitz, ebookers, HotelClub and CheapTickets, brands and business-to-business offerings, including Orbitz Partner Network and Orbitz for Business

• Egencia®, a leading corporate travel management company
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• Venere.com™, the online hotel reservation specialist in Europe
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• trivago®, a leading online hotel search with sites in 52 countries worldwide
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• Wotif Group, a leading portfolio of travel brands including Wotif.com®, Wotif.co.nz, lastminute.com.au®, lastminute.co.nz andtravel.com.au®

• Expedia Local Expert®, a provider of online and in-market concierge services, activities, experiences and ground transportation in hundreds of destinations worldwide
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• Classic Vacations®, a top luxury travel specialist
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• Expedia® CruiseShipCenters®, a provider of exceptional value and expert advice for travelers booking cruises and vacations through its network of 200 retail travel agency franchises across North America
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• CarRentals.com™, the premier car rental booking company on the web

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