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A total of 682,456 air travellers (comprising more than 76 different nationalities) participated in this
major global passenger survey, with an overwhelming majority (89.1 %) saying they are opposed to any planned introduction
of systems to permit onboard cellphone usage - during either long or short haul flights.
This result is in very stark contrast to the research quoted by one inflight telephony supplier that claims
"the majority of frequent business travellers wish to use their mobile phones during flights".
Commenting on the results, Peter Miller (SKYTRAX Director of Marketing) ..... "it comes as no surprise to learn
of the level of opposition to this planned move by airlines and telephony suppliers, and calls into question the
massive levels of investment some companies have directed into this aspect of onboard connectivity. As testified by
our survey results, there is no doubt that passengers want to have at-seat internet connectivity on longer haul
flights, and the possibility for SMS via the IFE systems - as for permitting inflight usage of cellphones, this
appears to be in direct conflict with the majority of customers enjoyment."
"We do not have any vested interest either way the results fall" said Miller. "However, it appears that
in trying to report our survey findings, there is a clear divide on the issue amongst those that have interests. Our BRG
survey addressed many more issues, such as call-barring, data services and silent periods - and the interesting question
for long-haul flights as to what determines a 'night' period. It might be easy on north-south routes such as Europe to S Africa
v.v.,
but much more difficult on Asia-Europe flights for example - it may be an 1100hrs departure from Tokyo to Frankfurt, but we
all know the cabin blinds are down and lights out within 2-3 hours of
departure .... thereby constituting an artificial
'night' period" added Miller
"Our online survey methodology ensured that we achieved a diverse mix of both passenger type and nationalities. Additional
to the leisure travellers that may only take a few flights each year, we researched our influential Business Research
Group - over 55,000 corporate travellers around the globe, that take a minimum of 9 return long haul flights over a
12 month period (in addition to any domestic or short haul trips). As is verified by results below, we did not find any
major differentials in attitude towards onboard cellphone usage when contrasting less frequent leisure passengers against
their business travel counterparts" said Miller.
Headline Results from the Online Stage 1 Survey are listed below. In addition to these core questions, SKYTRAX
conducted additional interviews to cover onboard internet connectivity, and SMS options, to determine passenger interest and opinions on these issues.
Demographics
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18-29 yrs
|
30-39 yrs
|
40-49 yrs
|
50-59 yrs
|
60+ yrs
|
|
Base Sample
|
170,615
|
191,087
|
143,316
|
102,368
|
75,050
|
|
Male
|
129,668
|
135,671 |
111,786 |
74,729 |
57,033 |
|
Female
|
40,947 |
55,416 |
31,530 |
27,640 |
18,017 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Question 1
When considering a "long haul" air trip (6 hours+), would you be in
favour of airlines permitting passengers to use cell phones during the
flight ?
|
|
18-29 yrs
|
30-39 yrs
|
40-49 yrs
|
50-59 yrs
|
60+ yrs
|
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
Yes
|
9.7
|
8.6
|
5.7
|
4.5
|
2.3
|
|
No
|
84.9
|
85.3 |
89.4 |
92.7 |
93.2 |
|
Don't Mind
|
5.4 |
6.1 |
4.9 |
2.8 |
4.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Question 2
If you were allowed to use your cell phone onboard a flight, would
you be likely to actually use your cell phone ?
|
|
18-29 yrs
|
30-39 yrs
|
40-49 yrs
|
50-59 yrs
|
60+ yrs
|
|
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
Yes
|
10.4
|
9.2
|
6.3
|
4.8
|
2.6
|
|
No
|
79.8
|
81.6 |
86.1 |
91.3 |
92.0 |
|
Don't Know
|
9.8 |
9.2 |
7.6 |
3.9 |
5.4 |
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|
|
|
|
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Read Passenger comments on this subject
Any further enquiries should be directed to:
Mr
Peter Miller
Director Marketing
SKYTRAX GROUP
E-mail:
miller@airlinequality.com
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