New data: Air passengers call for more retail opportunities and slicker online checkout

83% of consumers are planning to fly to a leisure destination in the next six months
93% would buy services like excursions and car rental from their airline if they could
56% would be more likely to spend on extras if the online buying experience improved to be more like retail, fashion and groceries

LONDON, Feb. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — New survey data from travel tech company IBS Software, reveals a massive 93% of UK and US consumers would book more services with airlines given the chance – representing a huge opportunity for airlines.

The study, which looked into UK and US airline passengers’ expectations of airlines, shows that following a challenging period of travel uncertainty, passenger confidence is recovering with 83% of respondents planning to purchase tickets in the next six months. However, the research also points to airlines’ failings to maximise this opportunity with over a third (36%) of those asked stating that booking a flight online is more time consuming and complicated than other online retail experiences.

As many as 56% of recent flyers would buy additional services from an airline if the booking and checkout online shopping experience was closer to that of fashion retailers and online food shops. One in ten even said they would book all elements of a holiday with their airline if they could.

Nearly a quarter of people (24%) surveyed think the main benefit of booking multiple elements of their trip in one transaction would be having all confirmation details in one place, closely followed by saving money (22%), and having one provider to deal with if something goes wrong (19%).

Turning a one-time buyer into a repeat customer is challenging for any business. The top services airlines could offer to convert passengers into lifelong fans are: included baggage (60%), free seat allocation (51%), and priority boarding (25%).

Paul Byrne, VP iFly Retail at IBS Software: “As more and more industries invest in Amazon-esque tactics to compete for consumer spend, it’s important airlines don’t pass up the opportunity on the table. It’s always challenging transforming back-end technology but now is the time to build more personalised relationships with your customers – in a difficult economic climate, can you afford not to?”

About IBS Software

IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise and hospitality industries. IBS Software’s solutions for the aviation industry cover fleet & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. The Consulting and Digital Transformation (CDx) business focuses on driving digital transformation initiatives of its customers, leveraging its domain knowledge, digital technologies and engineering excellence. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Further information can be found at https://www.ibsplc.com/.

About the research

*The survey was conducted online by Censuswide between 9th and 13th January 2023. Covering 2000 consumers who have travelled by air for leisure in the last 18 months, with 1000 respondents from both the US and UK.

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