APEX Survey Insights: What Passengers Get Up to at 35,000 Feet
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2014 marked the launch of the APEX State of the Air Passenger Experience Program, an initiative which periodically surveys flyers to gain valuable insights into passenger wants, preferences and behaviors. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be reporting on the survey’s key findings. In this edition of APEX Survey Insights we take a closer look at how passengers are spending their time in-flight.
APEX Asks: Whatcha doin (in-flight)?
When passengers board their flight, whether it be short-haul or long-haul, they often have an idea of how they plan to spend their time on-board. Airlines offer several options to keep passengers entertained including movies, music, in-flight magazines, games and now, with the increasing availability of in-flight Wi-Fi, passengers have the option to do even more with their personal electronic devices.
But just how much time do passengers dedicate to the specific in-flight activities that airlines are heavily investing in? These types of questions are important to monitor so that the money invested in costly IFE initiatives measures up to passengers’ expectations. In our Passenger Survey, APEX asked “How do airline passengers spend their time?” and the results (outlined in the infographic below) are both promising for IFE initiatives and informative.
Although “Sleeping” was the activity surveyed passengers spent the majority of their time doing (16 percent), “Watching In-flight Provided Movies or Television” came in at a close second, with passengers spending 15 percent of their time with the airline embedded IFE system and 7 percent with the in-flight magazine. Even newer IFE options such as airline-provided gaming options scored a surprising 4 percent. “Despite the distractions found in the cabin, a huge element of the in-flight experience is that of waiting, so there’s plenty of room for interactive games at cruising altitude,” said Jordan Yerman in his article “Time to Play” in October’s Journey issue. In fact, 57% of all airline passengers said they engaged in in-flight gaming in the last three months.
These metrics did vary according to passenger age however, with older passengers spending more time reading, conversing with other passengers, and reading the in-flight magazine compared to younger passengers.
The Power of the In-flight Magazine
When we think of IFE options in-flight, movies, music, and games often come to mind but the APEX Passenger Survey reveals that the in-flight magazine is an IFE platform that should not be overlooked!
In fact, four out of five respondents said that they not only read the in-flight magazine on flights in the last three months, but when they did they spent an average of 13.7 minutes doing so, making it one of the most effective ways to reach airline passengers.
Lessons Learned
There is no question that the future of IFE is changing with the increasing availability of in-flight Wi-Fi. Many predict that most IFE platforms won’t stand the test of time, but as long as we’re asking the right questions, airlines and service providers will have the opportunity to adapt to customer expectations and provide passengers with the IFE options they want and are using most.
For more information on the Passenger Survey, click here for member access to the results. For media inquiries, please contact Chris Peterson, APEX Communications Specialist.