Savings matter more than movies, meals to Asia-Pacific passengers

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

SINGAPORE – Today the Expedia group’s Global Tour & Transport team released the latest results of its Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Airline Index, a study conducted by Northstar that examined Asia-Pacific tr

SINGAPORE – Today the Expedia group’s Global Tour & Transport team released the latest results of its Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Airline Index, a study conducted by Northstar that examined Asia-Pacific travellers’ attitudes towards LCCs. Spurred by LCC growth, supply in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase by 9.5% year-on-year during March 2015, great news for the 94% of travellers willing to sacrifice perks to save money, according to the study.

The Expedia 2015 Asia-Pacific LCC Airline Index polled approximately 3,200 travellers in Australia , New Zealand , Japan , South Korea , Hong Kong , India , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Taiwan , expanding on Expedia’s 2014 Western European LCC Airline Index studying the tradeoffs between fares and frills. The survey examined perceptions regarding customer service and perks between LCCs and traditional carriers and asked about which sacrifices travellers were most willing to make to save money. What factors were travellers most likely to consider in choosing an LLC? And what do travellers do with the savings? According to the study, the most important deciding factor when choosing a carrier is the airline’s safety track record.

Men are slightly more willing to sacrifice amenities such as pillows and blankets, free checked luggage and bathroom privileges to save on fares. In addition to gender, younger fliers (under 35) believe giving up legroom and carry-on luggage makes the most sense versus fliers that are 55+ and willing to forgo full-meal service to keep fuller pockets.

No Movies Needed

More than half (56%) of Asia-Pacific travellers were willing to give up in-flight entertainment to save money, followed closely by full meal service (49%) and pillows and blankets (48%). Travellers in Asia-Pacific ranked legroom, bathroom privileges and carry-on items as the amenities they would be least likely to give up to save money.

In-flight Entertainment 56%

Full Meal Service 49%

Pillows and Blankets 48%

Snacks and Beverages 47%

Ability to Choose Seat in Advance 44%

Free Checked Luggage 22%

Legroom 21%

Bathroom Privileges 19%

Carry-on Luggage 17%

To Go or Not to Go

The complete list shows that travellers in Asia-Pacific rank their carry-ons as more important than bathroom privileges. Those deeming toilet time least important were Malaysian travellers, with nearly half (47%) saying they would give up an airplane bathroom to save. Travellers in Japan placed the highest priority on bathroom privileges, with only 2% willing to sacrifice them to save money.
Asia-Pacific fliers (76%) are willing to accept a slightly lower level of customer service from an airline to save money. Travellers in Thailand were most agreeable to this tradeoff (93%), followed closely by those in Hong Kong (91%). Travellers in the Philippines are least likely to sacrifice service to save (56%), with travellers from India not far behind (59%).

Shorter is Better

It’s not just legroom that matters โ€“ flight length is also important to Asia-Pacific fliers, with most willing to consider a LCC for a weekend getaway (51%). Asia-Pacific travellers are least likely to choose LCCs for long-haul (6+ hours) and honeymoon flights. Slightly more than a third of those surveyed would consider a LCC for a flight up to 3 hours. For a flight approaching five hours that figure drops to 23%, and tumbles to 7% for a flight up to eight hours long. Only 1% of study participants would fly a LCC up to 16 hours. Younger fliers expressed more willingness to fly longer on a LCC, with 35% of fliers under 35 willing to fly more than three hours, versus 27% among those 55 and older.

Trading Air Savings for Hotel Splurges

Almost half (46%) of Asia-Pacific travellers agree when booking a flight on a LCC they spend more money on a hotel. This is particularly true among travellers from Taiwan (71%) and Thailand (62%), as well as those under the age of 35 (53%). Across Asia-Pacific , Malaysian travellers were the most likely to use LCCs.
The study found that Asia-Pacific travellers are well-educated on ways to save, with one-third (32%) of those surveyed reporting that they often or always book their hotel and flight together as a package booking. This is most common among travellers in Taiwan (53%) and South Korea (45%). Another study by Expedia on airline pricing trends showed that travellers booking flights and hotel or car together can save up to $540 USD across all destinations.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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