While two-thirds of hotels in Europe now offer free wifi, much to the relief of many travellers, their counterparts in India and Singapore have a vastly different opinion when it comes in-flight connections.
A survey conducted by Skyscanner amongst 1,000 Indian travellers reveals that 72% are willing to pay for wifi services in-flight.
The survey was conducted at a time when the Indian government approved unbundling services for Indian carriers, allowing airlines to charge for extra services like check-in baggages, special seats in flight.
When the Indian low cost carriers were resorting to cost cutting measures to strengthen their bottom line, the survey reveals several psychographic changes in the way Indians were willing to spend on their flights.
Key highlights from the survey:
- 89% of Indian travellers would be willing to pay for their in-flight meal within a price range of INR. 250 – 500 ($5-10) whilst 71% said they would pay for extra leg room
- 79% of Indian men were more likely to pay for their beverages as compared to 76% of women passengers
- 64% said they would be willing to pay for live TV in-flight
- 67% of Indian women would be willing to pay for movies as opposed to 65% of their male counterparts
- 77% of elderly travellers in the age group 55+ were not in favour of paying for entertainment such as ‘Games’, whilst more than 50% travellers within this age group were willing to pay for Wi-Fi services
- 83% of travellers within the age group 18-24 years were more likely to pay for Wi-Fi in contrast to paying for ‘Games’
Kavitha Gnanamurthy, market development manager for India, says,
"Our Indian travel consumer is fast evolving towards international habits and purchase behaviour.
"The survey amplifies that Indian travellers are in tune with international travel trends such as requiring wifi services to suit their personal communication devices such as smart phones and tablets.
"In line with international trends, Indian travellers have now accepted that they would have to spend extra on food and drinks to enjoy their in-flight experience."
The company also surveyed 1,000 Singaporean travellers where 42% of passengeres expressed interest to pay to access internet.
When the Singapore travellers were asked about the various add-ons that they would pay extra for, less than 19% preferred to pay for newspapers or magazines.
Other points to note from Singapore study:
- 28% would pay to access live TV, but movies prove to be even more popular with 35% stating they would part with cash to watch their favourite movie
- Video games also proved popular with 25% of passengers prepared to pay extra
- 60% would pay for extra legroom while about 50% would pay to sit in a two-person row of seats
- Women are prepared to pay more in almost every category - except food.
- Younger travellers were keener to pay for additional items across the board than their older counterparts, with 60% of 18-24 year-olds prepared to pay for Wi-Fi and 40% for movies
NB:In-flight image via Shutterstock.