Cabin Comfort Tops Flyer Priorities in Flyer Satisfaction Survey

Business woman sleep during night flight airplane cabin passengers

Heavier flyers report less in-flight satisfaction than slimmer passengers, a new survey reports.

A recent survey found that heavier flyers report lower satisfaction with flight experiences compared their slimmer counterparts, The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) said in survey results yesterday.

APEX reported that nearly 25 percent of North American flyers weigh over 200 pounds, and heavier passengers are less satisfied in general with flight experience. North America is home to the largest number of heavy fliers by a substantial margin.

In contrast, APEX said the 71 percent of Asian passengers weigh less than 150 pounds and reported a significantly higher satisfaction rate.

APEX new data comes from a recent survey of flyers worldwide and includes industry insights into cabin comfort, passenger connectivity and entertainment.

Cabin comfort tops the list of global flyers priorities: 70 percent of respondents said it is the single most important aspect of a satisfying flight and is more important that entertainment, service, and food and beverage combined.

Apex also found:

• One-third of flyers used the Internet or social networking during their most recent flight.
• Flyers sociability increases in conjunction with class of service: 75 percent of first class passengers spoke to fellow flyers during flight, compared with just over one-half of economy flyers.
• Thirty-five percent of passengers were “very satisfied” with their last flight.
• The most desired in-flight amenity is extra leg room, followed by more comfortable seats and more distance between passengers.
• Six in 10 flyers would pay for extra leg room, one-third of whom would pay $10 or more.
• Fifty-five percent of flyers downloaded an airline’s mobile app, using it primarily to check flight status, check rates, make reservations and check-in for a flight.
• In-seat entertainment is flyer’s top preference for entertainment, beating out overhead entertainment systems or personal devices.

The Global Passenger Insights Survey from the Airline Passenger Experience Association. (Photo: APEX 2015 Global Survey)

The APEX passenger survey gauges how passenger expectations are evolving. APEX collaborated with LRA by Deloitte to conduct the APEX Global Passenger Insight Survey. Respondents, of which there were 3,400, used a web-based survey platform and were screened to ensure that they had traveled within the last 12 months and were over 18 years of age. The group completed the surveys between May 7 and May 28, 2015. Results were weighted by region and country and were collected in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia/Malaysia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

[Photo: Getty Images]