Malaysian flying habits
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KUALA LUMPUR - A recent study by travel site Expedia showed that 80 per cent of Malaysia-based flyers have flown up to five times over the past two years for both business and leisure, compared to only 65 per cent from Singapore.
The Expedia Sky Conduct Report examined flyer preferences and behaviour on a country-by-country basis. It surveyed more than 11,000 travellers over 22 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in Southeast Asia, on a broad range of criteria.
Respondents were given a choice of activities on board and asked to select those they would be most likely to do. For travellers from Malaysia, the top five activities selected are:
1. Sleep (66.9 per cent)
2. Watch in-flight movies and TV programmes (43.5 per cent)
3. Read books, magazines or newspapers (37.9 per cent)
4. Listen to music (36.9 per cent)
5. Eat or snack (31 per cent)
For flights over 10 hours, 85.9 per cent Malaysia respondents said they spent most of their time on the plane sleeping while 66.7 per cent said they spent it eating and 54.1 per cent said they read.
As for whether Malaysia flyers spent more time in their seat or wandered around, 32.5 per cent said they would stroll about in the cabin, compared to only 16 per cent from Thailand, and 12 per cent from Japan.
When asked what they “could not live without” on a flight from a long list of items, the top five items worldwide are water, a meal, a phone or mobile device, headphones, and magazines or newspapers.
For travellers from Malaysia, 63.3 per cent chose water, but only 10 per cent said an indulgent snack on board was necessary. Globally, China topped the list for indulgent in-flight snacks at 28 per cent.
The most commonly chosen paid amenity across all flights for all the countries surveyed was “a full meal”. Seventy-two per cent of Malaysians would pay for a full meal, especially for long haul flights. But only 2 per cent chose alcohol.
The next amenity they are willing to pay for are seats with extra leg room, with 56 per cent Malaysia respondents willing to pay for this compared to 46 per cent of their global peers. This seems to be the case whether it’s a short haul (less than three hours) or extra long haul (more than 12 hours) flight.
Eighty per cent of Malaysia travellers say they avoid baggage fees at all costs compared to the global average of 70 per cent. Sixty-two per cent say they pack lighter to avoid this, and 63 per cent avoid checking in their bag so that they will not have to wait at the baggage carousel. Forty-eight per cent do not check in a bag out of fear that it will be lost.
