SINGAPORE, 3 May 2019: We already suspected that window seats are the preferred choice for airline travellers but the latest CWT research puts it all into perspective.
In its latest study, the B2B travel management platform found that two-thirds of business travellers prefer window seats over aisle seats and that that rises to 71% in the Asia Pacific, and falls to 59% in the Americas, with the Europeans in the middle at 65% window over the aisle.
Globally, a narrow majority of business travellers would prefer to miss their flight rather than be separated from their luggage. Travellers from the Americas show the strongest preference at 54%, European travellers at 52%, and travellers from the Asia Pacific split down the middle.
When it comes to ground transportation, 54% of travellers still prefer traditional taxis to ridesharing services like Lyft or Uber.
But there are strong regional differences. In Europe, a full 69% Europeans prefer taxis – almost exactly the reverse of American travellers, 63% of whom prefer rideshare services. Asia Pacific travellers are more evenly split, with 56% preferring taxis.
“These findings provide fascinating and sometimes counter-intuitive insights into how global business travellers approach their journeys,” said CWT executive VP and chief traveller experience officer Niklas Andreen.
“We see significant differences between regions – for example, in booming Asia, people are more likely to want a window seat, whereas, in markets like the US, the view is less of a draw.”
CWT’s research also shows that travellers are generally happy to share their travel preferences with both apps and travel industry staff – globally nine out of 10 (89%) of travellers are “extremely” or “somewhat” willing to do so. That applies equally to business travel and leisure travel, suggesting that travellers make little distinction between the two, at least when it comes to sharing information on their personal preferences.
The data show that European travellers are least willing to share data: 14% of Europeans are “not willing” to share their preferences either with apps or people while travelling for business. That rises to 17% when travelling for leisure. Travellers from the Americas or the Asia Pacific are much less likely to refuse to share their preferences, especially when travelling for leisure.
