Americans believe flying is more frustrating than five years ago, according to a new Morning Consult survey released by the U.S. Travel Association. Morning Consult is a market research company.
The survey found that travelers especially dread flying around the Christmas holiday, the time of year overwhelmingly cited as the worst for air travel. Because of such headaches, Americans avoided 32 million air trips last year, costing the U.S. economy more than $24 billion in spending, the report says.
“Air travel isn’t a privilege of the few—it’s an essential pillar of our economy and our American way of life, especially around the holidays when families gather,” said U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Jonathan Grella. “With aviation infrastructure funding being debated in Washington, the survey results indicate that addressing these problems is more urgent than ever.”
According to the Morning Consult survey, American adults believe that the following key aspects of the air travel experience have deteriorated in the past five years:
- 60 percent said airline fees, such as fees for checked bags, flight changes and seat assignments have gotten worse.
- 51 percent said the overall cost of flying has gotten worse.
- 47 percent said airport hassles, like long lines, crowded terminals and moving from one part of the airport to another have gotten worse.
U.S. Travel has determined that improving airports could boost the U.S. economy.
“Two in five frequent business and leisure travelers would take at least three more trips per year if airport hassles could be reduced or eliminated,” according to the U.S. Travel press release.
To alleviate airport woes, survey respondents suggested that Congress should:
- Modernize airport and air traffic control infrastructure to make flying more efficient (60%).
- Prioritize the needs of passengers (55%).
- Give airports more flexibility to invest in programs that boost air service (55%).
- Regulate how airlines treat their passengers (54%).
- Preserve policies that encourage competition among airlines (53%).
- Prioritize expanding and improving airports to increase airline competition (46%).
“These survey results send a loud, clear message to Washington: Congress can—and should—prioritize fixing our airport infrastructure,” Grella concluded in the U.S. Travel release. “They should do it for the sake of travelers, and for the sake of the 15.3 million Americans whose jobs are supported by travel.”
The U.S. Travel and Morning Consult survey results can be found here.
Survey Methodology
Morning Consult, on behalf of the U.S. Travel Association, conducted a national online survey of 2,201 adults from Oct. 10-12, 2017. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region.
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
