📋 Tender Overview
Inmarsat commissions worlds largest airline passenger survey since pandemic revealing that demand for flights is returning but rebuilding passenger confidence requires consistent global safety protocols and digital technology that minimise touchpoints.Insights from more than 10000 passengers highlight that airline reputation is increasingly important and a deciding factor for 50 of passengers when choosing an airline.Quarantine is now a bigger worry for passengers than catching the virus at the airport or onboard the plane and 84 of passengers think COVID vaccine passports are a good idea.Inmarsat the world leader in global mobile satellite communications today unveiled the findings of its Passenger Confidence Tracker 2021 the largest and most comprehensive global survey of airline passengers since the pandemic began. The results show that confidence in air travel is rising with 60 of passengers feeling happy to fly by the end of the year compared to only 47 last year.Airlines will also be reassured that the number of passengers who expect to travel less frequently has dropped by 6 in comparison to Inmarsats 2020 Passenger Confidence Tracker. However with 84 of respondents believing their travel habits are likely to change post pandemic the onus is firmly on airlines to ensure their service offering keeps pace with the evolving requirements of passengers.Passenger confidence levels on the riseWith more than 10000 passengers surveyed worldwide 60 stated they would happily take to the skies by the end of the year. Greeks were the most confident about flying today 29 followed by Australians and Brazilians both 20. Interestingly actually taking a flight improves the confidence of passengers towards health and safety issues by 20 showing that the experience of flying is very reassuring.When it comes to COVID concerns one in three people 37 felt less confident taking a bus or coach compared to a flight. This was highest for passengers in Brazil 70 India 48 and UAE 42. Globally 40 of passengers felt the metro or underground was riskier than flying.Philip Balaam President of Inmarsat Aviation said There is no denying that the past 18 months has been a turbulent time for airlines and passengers alike. However the latest International Air Transport Association IATA figures show that demand for both international and domestic travel is gaining significant momentum. In order to maintain and even accelerate this growth its essential to rebuild passenger confidence and ensure their evolving needs are met in a post COVID world.Our latest Passenger Confidence Tracker the largest global survey that Inmarsat Aviation has ever commissioned offers detailed insights into the main areas of confidence and concern around air travel direct from the passengers themselves. Such findings will allow airlines to increase their focus on key priorities and seize the exciting opportunities ahead as the industry continues its long-term recovery.Barriers still remain but customer experience boosts confidenceCertain barriers to flying are still evident and primarily centre around the inconvenience and unpredictability of travel. The top three barriers globally were quarantining 51 unpredictable border closures 41 and confusing safety protocols 36.Following the pandemic the passenger service experience was regarded as the most important factor when it comes to the enjoyment of a flight globally 46 with the highest responses coming from India 67 Brazil 67 Indonesia 59 and China 57.When it comes to health and safety 84 of passengers believe that implementing COVID vaccine passports is a good idea with 50 stating COVID passports should be implemented now and 34 stating it should only be implemented when everyones been offered the vaccine. The remaining 16 either did not think COVID vaccine passports are fair on those who are against being vaccinated had concerns around the use of personal data or did not have an opinion on the matter.The survey also indicates that greater importance should be placed on customer experience because interacting with airline personnel was seen to help instil the most confidence for passengers during a flight. This made passengers the most confident in Mexico 55 the US 51 UAE 50 Brazil 49 Greece 42 Canada 41 Australia 39 and the UK 36.Passengers demand greater predictability and consistencyThe survey reveals that the unpredictability of flying and the seemingly large variation in rules and regulations is hampering confidence towards air travel the most. As referenced the potential of quarantine is the greatest worry for people 51 more so than catching the virus at the airport or on the plane 43. And 62 would like all airlines to follow the same hygiene practices which comes out as the most important factor for Australians 63. A consistent set of safety standards was the most important factor for nations in Asia Pacific too namely Indonesia Japan and Singapore.Technology helps to improve confidenceDigital technology improves pre-flight confidence in a number of ways such as providing up-to-date information and updates to help reassure passengers before a journey. Digital health passports were also found to be a pre-flight confidence booster in this years survey with their importance rising to 47 compared to 37 in 2020. Greece is the only country that has concerns about digital health passports 36 both in terms of personal data and fairness and 12 of passengers in the UAE Japan Canada and Germany felt they were unfair. Other important digital pre-flight activities include destination status alerts 39 facial recognition security 33 and real time luggage tracking 31.
