Travel Survey: Business vs. Leisure

A recent survey conducted by Travel Leaders, titled Fall Travel Trends, helps to demonstrate the nuances between the approaches, concerns, and grievances expressed by business and leisure travelers. The survey results were gathered from 443 travel experts- owners, agents, and managers from various Travel Leaders agencies, 170 of which operate primarily in the business travel market- between August 1 and 19 of 2011. While there are certainly many aspects of airport and airline methodology that is cumbersome for even the most seasoned traveler to have to consistently confront, there a few areas in which both the busy business traveler and leisurely pleasure-seeking traveler find to be particularly trying. Here are just a couple of the most intriguing questions and survey responses.

Results were varied, but overall similar among business and leisure travel experts when asked "Which TSA security measure would you most like to eliminate?"

Business Travel Expert Responses:
27.7% Shoe Removal
27.7% 3-1-1, Limiting Liquids on Carry-on Bags
24.7% Extensive Patdown
10.0% Full-body Scanner
5.9% Laptop Removal

Leisure Travel Expert Responses:
32.0% Extensive Patdown
30.4% 3-1-1, Limiting Liquids on Carry-on Bags
23.3% Shoe Removal
6.2% Full-body Scanner
3.9% None, Safety First

Observations of this question's results: the grievances of each group vary based upon the general purpose of the traveler's trip. For example, far more business travel experts expressed a disdain for security measures that impede on airport security speed. 4.4% more business travel experts ranked shoe removal as the most unwanted TSA security measure and 5.9% selected laptop removal as the most unwanted measure compared to a negligible amount of leisure travel experts. Leisure travel experts were interestingly more apt to pick extensive patdowns (a substantial 7.3% more than business) and carry-on liquids limitations as unwanted, but a small percentage, 3.9%, also remarked that there was no security measure too time-consuming or obtrusive, as safety should be the number one concern of air travelers.

Another interesting question posed was "What is the most common action taken by your clients to avoid or limit airline baggage fees?"

An overwhelming proportion of respondents seemed to have the same initial cost-saving reaction, but the make-up of the secondary responses is quite varied.

Business Travel Experts:
51.2% Traveling with Carry-on Baggage Only
26.5% Flying on an Airline where the Traveler has Elite Status
17.1% Flying on an Airline the doesn't Charge Baggage Fees for the First Bag
2.9% Checking Baggage once On-Board the Plane
2.4% Paying with Airline Branded Credit Card

Leisure Travel Experts:
60.9% Traveling with Carry-on Baggage Only
22.2% Flying on an Airline the doesn't Charge Baggage Fees for the First Bag
8.1% Flying on an Airline where the Traveler has Elite Status
6.8% Paying with Airline Branded Credit Card
1.6% Checking Baggage once On-Board the Plane

What I find most interesting about this data is that while the majority of both groups were keen to saving money by only traveling with free carry-on baggage, far more business travel experts (18.4% more) were reliant upon the traveler's elite status with an airline to avoid increasingly costly checked baggage fees. This is strong evidence that frequent business travelers are willing to maintain loyalty to an airline or allied group of carriers due to the cost-saving perks that accompany being a frequent passenger. The leisure travel group made up for this vast percentage by opting for a combination of free carry-on baggage, flying with a carrier that allows one free checked bag, and somewhat curiously, paying with an airline branded credit card (2.83 times more leisure travelers did this than business travelers).