Fly the friendly Web -- Fresh insights into online travel services

Through NPD AirTrak, NPD Worldwide has been conducting ongoing online consumer research for the airline industry for more than six years. Today more than a dozen international airlines covering North America, Europe and Asia participate in the 2004 NPD AirTrak syndicated tracking study.

NPD AirTrak's main objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of our clients' Web sites by interviewing visitors to determine their profiles, travel experience, Web site experience, Web site satisfaction and online purchasing. NPD's analysis of NPD AirTrak survey results helps our clients leverage their positions in the travel market and keep a step ahead of their competition.

NPD AirTrak subscribers understand that their key marketing, advertising and channel development decisions must be based on an accurate and comprehensive understanding of Web site visitors. Using this information, subscribers can leverage NPD's unique perspective on the online travel market to achieve important business benefits.

Recent NPD AirTrak insights such as those below have proven valuable to our airline industry clients.

• NPD Airtrak identifies crucial consumer behavior and characteristics.
  • According to NPD AirTrak, 38 percent of consumers who consulted an airline’s Web site flew for both business and personal reasons. Thirty percent traveled exclusively for personal reasons and 16 traveled solely for business.
  • Consumers fly most regularly for business reasons. The average consumer reported taking four to five business flights over the past three months, versus two to three flights taken for personal reasons, whenever taken. In addition, European airline Web site visitors are slightly more frequent flyers than their American counterparts, with an average of four flights per year, versus three flights taken by Americans.
    
• NPD AirTrak reports how airline Web sites are used by consumers.
  • While European respondents visit an average of 2.7 travel Web sites when researching or planning a business trip that figure increases to 3.9 when they research a personal trip or vacation. In fact, more than 75 percent of online travel site visits are to research personal trips and holiday travel.
  • When asked why they visit airline Web sites, more than half of consumers say they are looking to compare fares and access their frequent flyer accounts.
  • Airline Web sites are increasingly being used by consumers to purchase tickets online. In winter 2004, 75 percent of site visitors purchased an air ticket online, and increase of three percent over the same period in 2002.
    
• NPD AirTrak shows the Web’s impact on Call Center activity.
  • Nearly 60 percent of Americans who used the phone to contact an airline, instead of using the Web, made three or more calls, while 40 percent of European visitors did the same. Three-quarters of airline Web site visitors said they were less likely to call an airline directly or have entirely stopped contacting airlines by phone, preferring instead to use the Web.
    
• NPD AirTrak helps companies understand how to increase loyalty by improving travel Web site features.
  • European (non-UK) carriers record the lowest satisfaction among their Web visitors with approximately 50 percent rating specific Web sites “good” or “poor.” Conversely, 85 percent of consumers visiting the sites of U.S.-based airlines rank them “excellent” or “very good.”
  • Airlines in the U.S. are also doing a good job of converting Web site visitors into online ticket purchasers – more than 80 percent of visitors to U.S. airline Web sites have purchased a ticket online.
    
• NPD AirTrak provides the information NPD clients need to understand their market position.
  • In the U.S., an airline's brand is most likely to be the primary reason users choose to visit a particular site. Seventy percent of respondents included “brand” as a reason for visiting a site and 40 percent ranked it as their primary rationale for visiting particular sites.
  • Twenty-five percent of Web site visitors did not purchase a ticket on an airline site because they were unable to find a price they were prepared to pay.

For more information about NPD AirTrak, contact Philippe Guinaudeau of NPD Worldwide at philippe_guineaudeau@npd.com.