New Harris Interactive Survey Reveals Habits And Preferences Of Savvy Business Flyers

84% Satisfied with Travel Experiences; 65% Classify Themselves As "Non-Techie"

The habits and preferences of seasoned business travelers – from how they avoid airport lines to whether they do work during the flight – are revealed in a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Delta Air Lines.

The study found that 84 percent of these travelers are satisfied with their overall experiences flying for business. Nearly half look forward to air travel. Another 20 percent maintain a neutral attitude, stating that they could take or leave it. The balance of those surveyed cite crowds and long lines as drawbacks.

The new poll, which captures attitudes about flying from 500 seasoned business travelers, was conducted online between May 17 and 23, 2000. It is part of a series of Delta initiatives focused on listening to customers for the purpose of gaining information to strengthen its customer service programs.

Customer service strategy built around passengers’ experiences

"Delta has reshaped its customer service strategy around seeing the world through the eyes of our customers," said Vicki Escarra, Delta’s executive vice president - customer service. "We are examining their entire travel experience, from ticketing through baggage claim, to understand the differing needs of our passengers. Delta’s customer service programs are developed as a direct result of the feedback we obtain from our passengers."

According to the survey, 61 percent of respondents describe themselves as "casual" travelers, people who combine pleasure with work during a flight, while 34 percent call themselves "relaxed," treating their air travel as a time to relax, catch up on personal reading, watch a movie or sleep. Only five percent of business travelers describe themselves as "work focused," working during most of their flight.

For most, work is not first priority

In terms of travel habits, despite widely held images of the plugged-in, work-focused, on-the-go business traveler, nearly all business travelers (95 percent) do not consider work their first priority during flight. For example, most (65%) say they are not turning on their laptops during the flight. Leisure, rather than work activities, are mentioned more frequently:

· 81 percent read for pleasure

· 64 percent use the time to sit and think

· More than half (55 percent) take advantage of onboard entertainment

· Nearly everyone (89 percent) takes advantage of meal service (half would rather be woken up than miss the meal)

· Looking out the window tops the list of favorite activities for business travelers

For those travelers that do seek to maximize their time, Delta is making wireless technology a cornerstone of its service offerings. Customers can take advantage of content delivery to web-enabled wireless telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and can access Delta’s website via PDAs. Later this year, Delta will offer wireless Internet access at airport gate areas and Delta Crown Room Clubs for travelers who wish to use laptops to check e-mail, access the Internet or utilize Delta’s website for travel arrangements.

Drawbacks of travel

The most frequently cited drawbacks of flying are crowded planes (35 percent) and long lines (20 percent). Claiming baggage, check-in and airport parking are cited by equal proportions of business travelers as being the most inconvenient part of travel.

Strategies to avoid lines

Many travelers have developed strategies to avoid lines. Nearly two in five business travelers (38 percent) use electronic ticketing to avoid lines. Other strategies include curbside check-in (29 percent) and boarding first to minimize time spent at the gate (22 percent).

Delta has invested approximately $500 million in new technology to help speed travelers through airports. Gate Informational Display Screens that provide constant factual updates, ticketing kiosks that allow e-ticketed passengers to obtain boarding passes, gate and boarding bar code scanners that update gate agents’ computers and speed boarding by up to ten minutes, and Delta’s Skycap-to-Sky curbside check in service are reducing lines and moving customers more rapidly through airports.

Information Delivery

The vast majority of those polled (89 percent) say they appreciate periodic flight status updates from pilots. However, most business customers (83 percent) believe that flight updates about delays are not as frequent as they would like or that the information given about the reason for the delay is misleading. In fact, unexpected flight delays are cited most frequently (29 percent) as the main reason for interfering with a satisfactory flight.

Delta, as a part of its Customer Commitment, is focused on providing regular updates to passengers when needed. Thanks to its new airport technology, all of Delta’s front-line personnel have access to up-to-the-minute flight information and are able to get information to customers more quickly than ever before.

Most travelers prefer not to start a conversation

In the air, a large majority of business travelers do not initiate conversations with fellow passengers. Sixty-seven percent will talk only when others begin a conversation, and 11 percent prefer not to talk and do not encourage talking at all. Only 21 percent say they voluntarily begin conversations with their fellow passengers.

Conversely, a total of 60 percent say they share packaged food on board with fellow passengers at least some of the time. Eighty-nine percent of business customers plan to eat in-flight meals.

The survey is particularly important, because Delta prides itself on industry-leading customer service explains Ms. Escarra. "At Delta, we are focusing on customer service to rebuild our service legacy and to regain the attention and respect of the traveling public. To do this, we have rolled out ‘Delta-Style Service,’ a back-to-basics approach to customer service. It includes training staff to take on major responsibility for passenger comfort and satisfaction, ensuring that customer needs are efficiently met, being open and honest with flight information and always being courteous."

The survey – titled "The Business Traveler’s Experience" – includes interviews of 500 business travelers. Respondents were identified via e-mail invitations made to select members of the Harris Interactive online database. Interviews averaged approximately seven minutes in length. For the purposes of the study, a business traveler was defined as someone who had made three or more business trips for business or a combination of business and leisure in the past 12 months.