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Consumer Survey Reveals What Stresses Out U.S. Air Travelers During the Busy Holiday Season

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 November 2006, 09:00 CST

MIAMI, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- With the holidays just around the corner, the busy holiday travel season is officially underway and that means blood pressure and stress levels for holiday air travelers are certain to be on the rise.

According to a new consumer survey from Amadeus, a leading technology provider to the travel industry, and research firm Leflein Associates, Americans can count on facing a variety of stressors when traveling by air this holiday season. Whether it's overcrowded flights, missed connections, long check-in lines or random security searches, Americans will need extra time and patience to get to their destinations this holiday season. But thanks to new technology, relief may be on the way.

"The survey clearly shows that American air travelers expect to face an abundance of stressful situations when taking to the air from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day this year," said Robert Buckman, air travel futurist and director for Amadeus North America. "While many stressors such as weather delays and the detested middle seat will not disappear, new technologies are on the way that will help airlines alleviate many of the hassles associated with air travel."

Survey says ... stressful Of the 1,000 consumers surveyed about their biggest gripes in air travel: > 70 percent said the biggest gripe they have about air travel is the lack of room between airplane seats; > 55 percent complained about flight delays; > 41 percent griped over waiting in lines; > 37 percent said lost luggage was a concern; > 36 percent said limitations on what liquids and toiletries you can bring on board; and > 32 percent noted overbooked flights as a problem. Missed connections and undesirable seating are also major concerns

By far one of the biggest complaints uncovered by the Amadeus survey was flight connections being a significant cause of travel stress. Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said a missed connection is their biggest concern when they have a connecting flight. And 55 percent of people said they were concerned both about running to catch the connecting flight and losing luggage due to a tight connection timeframe.

Sixty-one percent ranked being stuck in the middle seat their biggest complaint followed closely by 59 percent who said it would be sitting next to someone sick. Other concerns include sitting behind someone who reclines their seat (45 percent), not being seated with travel companions (45 percent) and sitting next to a baby (40 percent).

Less stress is on the horizon

According to Buckman, new technologies are on the way which will help airlines minimize the stress of air travel for their passengers in the future. Several major airlines including United Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa are in the process of implementing new cutting-edge technology that will allow them to better serve their customers' needs, transport passengers more efficiently and streamline their operations.

"What's most exciting about this new technology is that it will help the airline provide better, faster and more efficient service to their customers across their entire travel experience from booking to baggage," said Buckman.

Buckman said the new technologies will allow for such advancements as automatic passenger re-booking when a missed flight connection is anticipated or making sure that passengers can sit next to their traveling companions.

"By streamlining and updating their own systems, airlines will be able to truly improve efficiency, service and convenience for the air traveler, not only during the holidays, but everyday."

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted among a national sample of 1,000 adult travelers 18+ (those who have traveled by air at least once in the past 12 months and have internet access), comprising of 500 men and 500 women. The margin of error for the sample overall is +/-3.0 percent. The margin of error for subgroups is larger. The survey was developed for Amadeus North America by Leflein Associates, Inc.

Notes to the editors

***The full results of the Amadeus Travel Stressors Survey are available upon request.

Amadeus

Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. Amadeus provides distribution, IT and points of sale solutions that help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines and insurance companies, tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travelers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories -- Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consultancy.

More information about Amadeus is available at: http://www.amadeus.com/ .

Amadeus

CONTACT: Ken Garcia of CRT/tanaka for Amadeus, +1-804-675-8132,kgarcia@crt-tanaka.com; Debbie Iannaci of Amadeus North America,+1-305-499-6448, diannaci@amadeus.com

Web site: http://www.amadeus.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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