SUBSCRIBE TO THE BULLETIN TODAY!

Cheaper Airfares Anyone?

Some airline passengers still enjoy a hot meal, drinks, and an ogle at the stewardesses, even if it means paying more

Budget airlines may threaten to make extinct the saying "half of the fun is getting there," but not all travellers are looking for just cheap flights. Food, wine, a good movie and tasty "eye candy" -- courtesy of the cabin crew -- are still important factors when choosing which airline to fly, a recent global travel survey shows.

The study, conducted by market research firm Synovate, questioned 5,000 people across the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

With the budget phenomenon just hitting Asia, people in Malaysia and Singapore, unsurprisingly, hardly ever travel on budget airlines, with 56 percent and 83 percent of air travellers in these countries saying they never fly a budget airline. Across the Pacific in the U.S. and Canada, however, approximately 50 percent of respondents said they fly budget airlines at least some of the time. Europeans seem to fall in between these two extremes, with 32 percent of air travellers in France and Germany choosing budget airlines for at least some of their flights.

Some 75 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that "an airline trip is just like a bus trip," saying that they wanted "to get there fast and cheap." Sixty four percent said that they would always choose a budget airline over bigger or national carriers if the budget airline ticket price was lower (interestingly, Germans were least likely to do so). This was in spite of the fact that an overall 32 percent felt that budget airlines "treat passengers like a commodity -- there is no personal service." Overall, 73 percent were willing to give up the meal if the price were cheaper.

Of all the nationalities surveyed, Malaysians seemed to be the most fond of perks and amenities, with 50 percent saying that they would avoid budget airlines at all costs if it meant giving up the comfort provided by larger national airlines.

The deciding factors

Despite complaints about budget airline service, when asked what was the single most important factor in choosing an airline, frugal Americans (34%), Canadians (36%), French (32%) and Germans (27%) still cited ticket price. Yet in Hong Kong, airline reputation ruled the roost, with 30 percent of travellers saying it was the most important factor for them (only 15% cited ticket price). In Singapore and Thailand, over 23 percent of respondents reported seat comfort and legroom as their top consideration. Thai respondents also singled out in-flight perks and amenities, with 22 percent claiming that this was the second most important factor for them. Other nations were not convinced. A mere 1.9 percent of Canadians, 1 percent of Singaporean respondents and only one American cited in-flight perks and amenities as a deciding factor.

Does sex sell in the skies?

And what about the lure of good looking cabin crew? The study then sought to discover whether attractive cabin crews were more important than good food or movies when it came to choosing an airline!

Overall, 25 percent of men -- twice the number of women -- felt that this was more important. German and French males, however, were less interested than the average in a high altitude flirtation, with 65 percent and 60 percent, respectively, disagreeing with the idea. Hong Kong men were more evenly spread, with over 30 percent siding with pretty cabin crew over food and movies. American males came a close second at 29 percent.

French women overall, like French men, were overwhelmingly more likely to opt for food and drink over attractive flight attendants, but a significant minority (19%) were more interested in the attendants than the refreshments. This is as opposed to 11 percent and 6 percent, respectively, of women in Hong Kong and Singapore. Overall, it seems that most women would rather settle in with a good film and palatable food than enjoy some high-flying "eye candy."