The Surprising Spending Habits of People Stuck in Airports
Jan 30, 2014, 10:08 am
#46
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 111
When I had a 3 hour layover in JFK before going to ORD after flying from Dublin a few years ago, I wanted something decent to eat as the airplane food leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the fast food places charged around $8 to $9 pre tax for a value meal, I did not even want to see the prices for a sit down type place. I know prices are higher in NYC, but even I paid $6 for a decent breakfast in Manhattan not far from 5th Avenue compared to the airport price.
Jan 31, 2014, 12:12 am
#47
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SYD (perenially), GVA (not in a long time)
Programs: QF PS, EK-Gold, Security Theatre Critic
Posts: 6,785
{Geek warning:} The article said that $5.15 is the median amount spent, not the average. For everyone who spent more than $5.15 (no matter how much more) there was someone who spent less than $5.15 (including those who spent nothing).
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
Feb 1, 2014, 4:18 pm
#48
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
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Posts: 52,571
But yeah, I see those lines at ORD McD's as well. I guess some people love that stuff, leaving me to move along to the more midrange type restaurants that only nudge their prices up a small percentage from street prices.
I also see the ads about retail goods being "high street prices" at the airport. I assume they get away with saying that because they charge the MSRP for their goods. For example, a camera that debuted at $699 is now for sale for $699 in the airport, just like it was at a Best Buy on the day it was released, even if now it's readily available all over the Internet for under $500. The airport didn't take it and mark it up to $800, so they can advertise that.
Feb 1, 2014, 4:20 pm
#49
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Join Date: Jul 2002
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{Geek warning:} The article said that $5.15 is the median amount spent, not the average. For everyone who spent more than $5.15 (no matter how much more) there was someone who spent less than $5.15 (including those who spent nothing).
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
My initial reaction to the article wasn't so much mean vs. median - it's my assumption (since it was not stated) that they didn't throw out the $0's. If you just took the people who had enough time to actually spend *some* money, I think both the median and mean would be far higher than five bucks.
Feb 1, 2014, 5:30 pm
#50
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: LAS
Posts: 1,279
It seems that we are in the minority here. If we do have a layover of 2 hours or more, I'd rather get a meal at a "sit down" restaurant than snack on the plane. Eating on a plane doesn't sit well with me (and the food is pretty horrible). We also like to have cocktails before a flight even though they are expensive. Of course, we are flying strictly for vacation so we're in a pretty good mood and not heading to a meeting. Someone also asked "who uses the seafood and champagne bars?... we have also done that - caviar and vodka bars, raw oyster bars, etc. I roll that into the price of our vacation and it's rather fun. It's better than sitting like lump in the airport waiting for the flight. Of course, on a really long layover we will use the appropriate lounge and relax.
If the airport doesn't get my business, it's because they are providing a lousy service or unreasonable price. Most likely the former.
{Geek warning:} The article said that $5.15 is the median amount spent, not the average. For everyone who spent more than $5.15 (no matter how much more) there was someone who spent less than $5.15 (including those who spent nothing).
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
Example: if there were three passengers, one spent nothing, one spent $5.15 and the third spent $6.01, the average is $3.72 but the median is $5.15. If the third passenger spent $100 instead, the average goes up to $35.05 but the median is still $5.15. {/Geek warning} As you were.
And to really nerd out, the mode is almost certainly $0. My initial reaction to the article wasn't so much mean vs. median - it's my assumption (since it was not stated) that they didn't throw out the $0's. If you just took the people who had enough time to actually spend *some* money, I think both the median and mean would be far higher than five bucks.
My initial reaction to the article wasn't so much mean vs. median - it's my assumption (since it was not stated) that they didn't throw out the $0's. If you just took the people who had enough time to actually spend *some* money, I think both the median and mean would be far higher than five bucks.Median and Mode are the two dumbest measures of anything IN THIS CASE. The most meaningful data would be "the percentage that purchase ___, ___, or ___ and, most importantly WHY" and the "average spend for those that are purchasing ___, ___, or ___ and WHY." Filtering out the people with too little time to spend and those that get free stuff in a lounge would provide much more useful information, IMHO.
Last edited by ScatterX; Feb 2, 2014 at 6:53 am Reason: fixed quotes