Each year the International Air Transport Association (IATA) surveys around 10,000 people to learn about their experience. This year 80% of the 10,206 respondents from 222 countries rated their experience as 'very satisfied or somewhat satisfied.'
IATA's 2022 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) comprises passenger ratings of processes from booking to reaching the final destination. The highest level of satisfaction (84%) came from the booking process, while border control and immigration rated lowest at 64%.
Technology is the key to satisfaction
IATA senior vice president for operations, safety and security, Nick Careen, said that passengers clearly see technology as key to improving the convenience of airport processes.
"They want to arrive at the airport ready to fly, get through the airport at both ends of their journey more quickly using biometrics and know where their baggage is at all times. The technology exists to support this ideal experience."
The survey identified a cluster of three interrelated steps, which IATA labels as being stress areas, transfer (68%), border control and immigration and baggage collection (69%). All other processes had satisfaction levels between 71% and 84%.
COVID has driven many airports to hasten the introduction of contactless systems, such as biometric processing at passenger touchpoints. Nearly nine out of every ten passengers (88%) said they are satisfied with the overall biometric process, while 75% would rather use biometrics than passports or boarding passes. However, there were concerns around using biometrics, including data breaches, uncertainty over who the data is shared with or how securely it is being handled or stored.
The GPS also highlights that people want more options around bag handling. Putting figures around what is self-evident, IATA said that 40% of respondents had experienced mishandled bags, and another 20% were dissatisfied with the service. Bag tracking has been in the news lately, and the GPS found that half of the survey group wanted to, or were already, using their own bag-tracking devices.
Carry-on baggage has increased as airlines charge more for checked bags, and it seems that making larger overhead bins is the preferred solution. It's unlikely that an airline will ever have bins big enough to satisfy everyone who wants to bring luggage onboard, and making it a revenue earner is not something passengers love.
People want to track their own bags
Eight out of ten people said they would be more likely to check their bag if it could be tracked throughout the journey, which is a clear signal that airlines need to get onboard with trackers. Why not provide them as gifts to their most valued customers or sell their preferred and airline-branded tag to the general public? The ancillary revenue earned from the checked bags would surely cover the one-off cost of the tracker.
A real pain point for travelers is transferring between flights, which in a large hub airport can be a bewildering and frustrating experience, especially after a long intercontinental flight. Only 68% of passengers rated their transfer experience satisfactory, citing their annoyance at repeating redundant processes. These include collecting and re-checking luggage, going through security screening again and traversing immigration controls.
With aviation coming under increased attention on sustainability, it's a little surprising that less than 20% of passengers offset their flight carbon emissions. The GPS found that 30% were unaware the option exists, 18% didn't have the option available, and 24% "didn't want to."
Time spent navigating the process from airport arrival to boarding is also problematic. Of the 10,206 respondents, 42% spent between one and two hours in the airport, 25% between two to three hours and 21% just 30 minutes to one hour. At the extremes, 5% spent less than 30 minutes, and 7% spent more than three hours.
How are you finding the airport experience, and do you favor biometrics and bag-tracking?