As airlines continue to struggle with effective ways to remain profitable, their biggest challenge remains how to maintain customer satisfaction from millions of passengers, including the business traveler who is the backbone of the airline industry. We recently partnered with ViewFromTheWing.com to conduct a survey among 1,500 business travelers to get their thoughts about the state of the industry in 2015 and their travel plans for the New Year. Based on the survey's results and anticipated travel plans for 2016, travelers in general could see a decrease in the number of available seats, which doesn't spell relief from higher airfares. See data points from the survey in the infographic below.
(Click infographic to enlarge) 
Among the key survey highlights
- 43% said they traveled at least 15 times in 2015 and 83% said they would travel as much or more in 2016
- 79% percent earned more than 100K frequent flyer miles over the past 12 months; 60% said they earned the majority of points by flying, while 39% earned more miles through credit card purchases
- 15% of survey participants admitted to padding their expense reports at least once
- 15% said they participated in one or more activities they would not otherwise do at home, including: participated in an extramarital affair, experimented with recreational drugs, and even pretended to be someone else
- 25% said they now use ride share services, such as Uber or Lyft, rather than a traditional taxi (17%)
- 40% said their companies did not allow stays at non-traditional living accommodations, such as Airbnb
This survey focused on the true business traveler who is frequently on the road and has a firm opinion about the travel industry and its impact on them. The resulting data offers some insight into the mindset of the business traveler, what they thought about their experiences in 2015 and more importantly, their thoughts for the year ahead.
Click the link to find the complete survey results.
Chris is the President and Co-Founder of ExpertFlyer.com, a service that helps travelers get out of the "Middle Seat" by providing in-depth flight info and alerts when Awards and Upgrades are available.