Budget or Bougie? Examining Airline Industry Trends For 2020

What are budget flyers looking for?

Despite the negativity, budget flyers have plenty to say about staff that goes the extra mile when crisis strikes. For example, we found a trend of positive comments for staff who worked past the end of their shifts to help customers.

When asked what attribute is most important when booking a budget airline, almost every country preferred “affordability” over “quality”. The exceptions? Respondents in Germany, Spain and Mexico.

Compared to other countries Germany had a particularly high preference for:

• Quality
• Friendly customer service
• Innovative products or services

Notably, respondents from the UK and Mexico rated ‘convenience’ much higher than other parts of the world.

So, not only do consumer expectations vary around differently priced offerings, they also vary when it comes to geographic location.

What do luxury passengers look for?

Birthdays are made for celebrating and luxury passengers are willing to spend some extra cash for the occasion. Our data shows that a lot of positive trends in airline conversation center around birthdays.

Sustainability is of minimal concern to this group, ranking last on a list of important attributes when choosing an airline. Interestingly, the 18-24 age bracket were twice as likely than other respondents to care about sustainable flying options.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, consumers ranked “quality” over “affordability” when booking a non-budget airline. UK and Singapore fliers sought out “friendly customer service” while the people in the 65+ age bracket were far more likely than other age groups to look for “convenience.”