The "Perfect Seat" on a flight

A recent passenger survey conducted by the flight comparison website, Skyscanner, asked 1,000 airlines passengers about their seating preference on board an aircraft. They were given the option of an aisle, window or middle row seat.

And the result from a standard plane....seat 6A.

This finding backs up similar surveys carried out in the past which suggest the popularity of the first six rows due reduced engine noise, quicker exit from the plane on arrival and better selection of food and duty free trolley. The preference though would be for an aisle or window seat as only 1% of those questioned said they would opt for a middle seat.

Some airlines are now preparing to charge people for booking seats and with this data available EasyJet airline plans to charge £8.00 for this sector in the plane and £3.00 elsewhere.
 

First six rows are the preference

And the least popular seat... 31E (middle seat at the back). Presumably this is due to lack of choice on the duty free trolley! 

Men forced to sacrifice luggage space

In a recent survey of 2,000 travellers by London Stansted Airport over 52% of the male claimed that when journeying with their female partner some of her belongings were in fact in his suitcase. The research shows that on average the male "sacrifices" 5Kg over to the partner.

While 25% of questioned passengers spend over 3 hours packing for a journey it transpires that 13% leave their house without crucial documents (passport, boarding card). Despite the lengthy time packing 37% of women passengers admitted to "re-arranging" the contents of their luggage at the airline check-in and over half stating they take too much luggage on holiday. The survey did also take into account hand luggage but not duty free purchase hand luggage.

Flyers appear to like boarding pass offers.

A press release issued by the document Firm Securidox highlights how special offers made on boarding passes can be effective for both the travellers and the airlines.

Isango Research Confirms Targeted Messages Inserted into E-ticket

Confirmations and Boarding Passes 30 times more effective than web Placing London, 28 November 2011

Isango the destination tours and services specialist supplying amongst others Qantas, German Wings and Ryanair produced research that evaluates the effectiveness of different methods used to communicate offers and deals to passengers. The results of the research confirm that targeted messages inserted into E-tickets post web path are extremely effective.

Isango measured effectiveness by the likelihood of passengers making a purchase from a given touch point. The baseline for the study was an offer on a tab placed on the travel company’s website which clients had to navigate to. When the offer was inserted in the final purchasing page Isango found the process to be 50% more effective than the tab alone.

Isango also evaluated the results from the post purchase emails containing targeted messages. The messages were targeted using information such as gender, location, destination, class of travel, etc. The expectation was that the effectiveness would be higher due to the targeting, but Isango were astounded to find that this was 20 times more effective than offers inserted at time of purchase. Amazingly, it was 30 times as effective as the web page tab.

Mark Scott, CEO at Securidox says, “This is something we have suspected all along, but as we have concentrated on perfecting delivery of the documents, we haven’t had the evidence to prove our beliefs. We are pleased this research supports our theory that dynamically targeted messages placed after purchase dramatically increase ancillary revenue.”

Daniele Beccari, Vice President of Isango says, “Securidox’s solution enables us to deliver more relevant messages to passengers when they are looking to complete their travel arrangements. At time of purchase a traveler is not receptive to being bombarded with additional offers, but will consider offers post purchase. By delivering the right message to the eTicket confirmation or boarding pass, the traveler can review at leisure without the pressure to complete a transaction. The purchase path has become more crowded with the result that customers escape the website to avoid bombardment and inadvertent offer selection”.

Mark Scott continues “Messages inserted in boarding passes are a must have and a great value proposition. Boarding passes and the inserted messages are viewed and reinforced up to 12 times before the end of the flight through printing, gate check, baggage drop, at the retail outlets, the departure gate and on board. The document remains live even after the flight is completed with vouchers being removed and kept for subsequent use.”

Isango is a destination tours and service specialist company. Advertising on web pages such as Qantas Airways, Isango aims to deliver passengers with exciting and colorful experiences in over 50 countries.

Securidox supplies airlines with a solution that uses dynamic information to create tailored documents such as E-ticket confirmations, Mobile and Printed Boarding Passes and reminder emails.

check before you fly at www.dutyfreeonarrival.com

Wish-list for mobile apps

Wish-list for mobile apps

* availability/proposal of additional services post flight (e.g. possibility to order duty free goods that i would receive upon arrival)

http://www.rdhub.com/?p=1956

http://dutyfreeonarrival.com

Airlines present climate change proposals to heads of governments

Airlines Chiefs go to UN Headquarters in New York.

New York - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) presented its proposals for December’s climate change talks to the UN Secretary General’s Summit on Climate Change in New York. The forum takes place in the run-up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen this December. The aviation sector is united in calling on world leaders to retain a global sectoral approach to reducing aviation emissions under the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), working in cooperation with the sector through IATA.
“Climate change is a global problem. Aviation is a global industry. And we need a global approach for this industrial sector if we are to deal with climate change effectively,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“Mechanisms designed for ground-based polluters will not work effectively for aviation which can emit CO2 across borders and over the high seas even on a single flight. And already uncoordinated national and regional schemes are creating a patchwork of punitive taxes that fill government coffers, but do little or nothing to effectively manage aviation’s emissions,” said Bisignani.
“The Kyoto Protocol directed states to address aviation through ICAO. Its global standards and cooperation with industry have made air transport the safest form of travel. A global sectoral approach for aviation can leverage this same leadership to deliver results for aviation and the environment,” said Bisignani.The aviation industry presented a paper outlining the industry’s commitment to three sequential targets.1. Improving carbon efficiency with a 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency to 20202. Stabilizing emissions with carbon-neutral growth from 20203. Emissions reductions with a 50% absolute cut in emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 “Our targets are tough. Air transport is the first industry to commit to carbon-neutral growth at the global level. And we have done it with an aggressive timeline of 2020. Our four-pillar strategy of technology investment, efficient infrastructure, effective operations and positive economic measures will make our vision a reality and is already showing results. Aviation’s emissions are expected to fall 7% in 2009 - 5% as a result of the recession and 2% directly related to the strategy. IATA’s ‘Green Teams’ have saved 34 million tonnes of CO2 through operational efficiencies since 2005; our work on improving infrastructure, including shortening air routes, has saved a similar amount of CO2 since 2004. But our success depends on governments playing their part. They must implement more effective air traffic management: the introduction of NextGen air traffic management in the USA and the Single European Sky in Europe have the potential to save 41 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Governments must also create the legal and fiscal framework to support the development of sustainable biofuels for aviation,” said Bisignani.
The paper also outlined guiding principles to ensure that the global sectoral approach results in emissions reductions, retains funds for investment in environmental initiatives for aviation, preserves a level playing field, provides access to global carbon markets and ensures that airlines cover the environmental cost of their emissions.
“Aviation is unique in its ability to move globally as a sector - from safety to e-ticketing. Retaining a global sectoral approach at Copenhagen will deliver the best results in managing reductions in aviation’s emissions,” said Bisignani.

check before you fly at http://www.dutyfreeonarrival.com/

Courtesy: Press Office IATA 22/9/09