Frequent Flyer Reader Poll Shows Online Booking Among Travelers is Hot

March 2001 (Newstream) -- While Wall Street appeared to lose faith in the Internet during the second half of 2000, the nation's business travelers continued to put stock in the convenience and time-saving of booking flights online -- according to the results of Frequent Flyer Online's 2000 Reader Poll, which was released today. Frequent Flyer Online is a Web site dedicated to the evolving needs of today's frequent business traveler.

The poll revealed a dramatic trend toward online booking, climbing 4% from just two years ago to more than tripling to 13% in 2000. Although booking through a travel agent remains the preferred method among business travelers, a three-year decline illustrates a definite downtrend.

In 1998, 74% of respondents said they booked flights through a travel agent. In 2000, that number dropped to 56% -- off a full 18% in just three years.

"It is no secret that American consumers - frequent business travelers among them - are getting more comfortable using the Internet," commented Charlene Seoane, publisher and editor of Frequent Flyer Online. "Booking travel is one of the most popular ways to use the Internet because it is known to be fast, easy and convenient. It is really no surprise that this method of booking travel is on the upswing. In fact, this trend will most likely continue to gain momentum over the next few years."

Booking flights through the airlines by phone is another method gaining popularity with business travelers. Direct-to-airlines booking among respondents increased from 16% in 1999 to 20% in 2000.

Another interesting trend indicates some belt-tightening by corporations in travel expenses. Results from the last three years of Frequent Flyer surveys shows a growing bias among corporations to set policy, with 44% of travelers saying a policy exists at their company, up from 34% in 1999.

Additional Survey Highlights

• Besides using the Internet for booking travel, respondents spend time perusing airline Web sites. This year's survey saw a significant jump in this area, from 58% in 1998 to 82% in 2000.
• What do people do while visiting the airline Web sites? The majority (67%) are looking for general information, while 26% checked schedules.
• Travel policy restrictions are definitely in place in corporate America. Among respondents, 51% indicated their company specifies approved car rental companies, 47% designate preferred airlines and 41% require lodging at specific hotels.
• Almost half (46%) of all respondents said their employer has become stricter in enforcing corporate travel policies.
• The hot topic in the airline industry in 2000 was service. The Frequent Flyer survey indicates that improvements in service are yet to be seen. Just over one third (35%) of travelers noticed an improvement in the way airlines communicate key information such as delays and schedule changes. And only 26% noticed a positive improvement in the way flight crews and gate attendants treated them.
• The survey also showed that respondents are not shy about expressing their disgruntlement over a bad experience. Over half (57%) have complained to an airline, hotel or car rental company in the past 12 months, and the same amount said there are travel companies they absolutely refuse to use due to a bad experience.

The Frequent Flyer 2000 Reader Poll questionnaire was posted in May 2000. The full results of the survey are available by visiting http://www.frequentflyer.oag.com.