A comfy seat and clean loo – an air passengers dream

Comfortable seats and more legroom are the top wishes for air travellers, a new survey shows.

Nearly three quarters of people say they would pay at least a 10% premium to get a more comfortable and roomy airline seat – supporting airlines which have introduced premium economy cabins

After their seats, travellers said a roomy and clean toilet was the most important in-flight comfort feature, according to 30% of respondents. A quarter consider a clean pillow/blanket their number one comfort priority on a flight.

But the poll of more than 1,400 travellers worldwide by online travel community TripAdvisor saw British Airways lose its crown for having the top in-flight amenities and food to Singapore Airlines. 

BA’s rival Virgin Atlantic came in second for airline amenities in this year’s survey over 2006.

Ryanair switched places with Southwest for worst airline amenities, coming second to the US low cost carrier.  

EasyJet, which was voted third worst in the amenities stakes last year, improved its position slightly by coming sixth in the 2007 survey. 

Amongst UK travellers Ryanair was worst for food and worst for amenities followed in both categories by EasyJet and Monarch.

Twenty per cent of British travellers nominated noise cancelling headphones as their most valued comfort feature, according to the poll.

If it would mean a cheaper fare, 36% of travellers said they would do without free snacks on board. 

Fruit and vegetables have become the complimentary in-flight snack of choice among air travellers (36%).

The majority of travellers, and more than half of British respondents, identified bottled water as their favourite free drink on a flight. Only five per cent of travellers opted for complimentary champagne.  Men are more likely (36%) to choose wine, champagne, beer or a cocktail than women (25%) as their in-flight beverage.

Forty-two per cent said a video screen at their seat is the most important in-flight entertainment feature, followed by on-demand movies (18%). Video screens at seats are more important to women (46%) than men (36%). 

Only 13% (five per cent British) chose internet access as their choice of entertainment. 

When asked what would inspire them to pay for better amenities on a flight, time was of the essence, as 71% of travellers would pay a premium for amenities, only on flights longer than three hours. 

Beds are the most popular in-flight luxury that travellers would be willing to pay for, according to 36% of all respondents and 50% of Britons.

A third of those surveyed said they purchase items from an in-flight catalogue.  British travellers particularly enjoy “fly-buys” as 56% said they purchase from in-flight catalogues, compared to only 23% of Americans.

TripAdvisor communications director Michele Perry said: “Travellers continue to request some pretty basic amenities of carriers. By offering more room and cleaner facilities, travellers will be much happier with their airline experience.”

Top 5 Airlines for Best Amenities:

  1.. Singapore Airlines

  2.. Virgin Atlantic

  3.. British Airways

  4.. Emirates

  5.. Cathay Pacific

Five Worst Airlines for Amenities:

  1.. Southwest

  2.. Ryanair

  3.. U.S. Airways

  4.. American Airlines

  5.. United

Top 5 Airlines for Best Food

  1.. Singapore Airways

  2.. British Airways

  3.. Virgin Atlantic

  4.. Air France

  5.. Continental

Top 5 Comfort Features:

  1.. Roomy and clean bathroom

  2.. Clean blanket/pillow

  3.. Noise-cancelling headphones

  4.. Sanitizing wipes to clean tray tables/arm rests

  5.. Anti-germ products/toiletry kits

Top 5 Entertainment Features:

  1.. Video screen at every seat

  2.. On-demand movies

  3.. Internet access

  4.. Route map display

  5.. Real-time satellite TV

Top 5 Complimentary Beverage Choices:

  1.. Bottled water

  2.. Soda/cola

  3.. Wine

  4.. Fruit juices

  5.. Cocktails 

Top 5 Luxuries Travellers Would Pay Extra For:

  1.. A bed

  2.. Gourmet food

  3.. Massages

  4.. Premium liquor

  5.. Manicures

by Phil Davies