The results of a new survey have revealed that good service, edible food and departures on time are some of the top concerns in a list of what business travellers in Asia were seeking from air travel. However, the whole travel experience was voted as less pleasant this year.
About half of the passengers surveyed by Finance Asia magazine"s 2008 business travel survey stated that business travel was rather less pleasant this year, with the number up from 48 percent in 2007.
The major number respondents travelled in either first or business class. However, with 60 percent of them stating that they were under the constraint of shrinking travel budgets, more than a third said they were squeezed into economy class too often.
Published in Finance Asia"s November issue, the survey said, "The most frequent comment from our respondents was how much they appreciated the basics. On-time flights, free upgrades and edible food were passengers" most common compliments.
It added, "All airlines had their fair share of complaints. Delays, inattentive flight attendants, lost luggage, missed connections and turbulence topped this year"s list. Horror stories included spilled soup and food poisoning in business class.
The magazine observed that the drop noticed in business and first class travel would invariably pronounce serious consequences on the travel industry across the globe. In addition, the International Air Transport Association has predicted that regional airlines" profitability is most likely to fall to USD$300 million during this year, from USD$900 million reported in 2007.
