Stats: Two Thirds of Business Travelers Would Pick Window Over Aisle Seat

CWT has released an interesting study on the preferences of business travelers; according to the report, two-thirds prefer window over aisle seats, rising to 71 percent in the Asia Pacific region and falling to 59 percent in the Americas, with Europeans in the middle at 65 percent. 

In other key findings from the report, a narrow majority of business travelers would prefer to miss their flight rather than be separated from their luggage – with travelers from the Americas showing the strongest preference at 54 percent, European travelers at 52 percent and travelers from Asia Pacific split down the middle. 

When it comes to ground transportation, 54 percent of travelers still prefer traditional taxis over ridesharing services like Lyft or Uber. But there are strong regional differences, CWT said. In Europe, a full 69 percent Europeans prefer taxis – almost exactly the reverse of American travelers, 63 percent of whom prefer rideshare services. Asia Pacific travelers are more evenly split, with 56 percent preferring taxis.    

CWT’s research also shows that travelers are generally happy to share their travel preferences with both apps and travel industry staff – globally nine out of ten (89%) of travelers are “extremely or “somewhat” willing to do so. That applies equally to business travel and leisure travel, suggesting that travelers make little distinction between the two, at least when it comes to sharing information on their personal preferences.

The data show that, overall, European travelers are least willing to share data: 14 percent of Europeans are “not willing” to share their preferences either with apps or people while traveling for business. That rises to 17 percent when traveling for leisure. Travelers from the Americas or Asia Pacific are much less likely to refuse to share their preferences, especially when traveling for leisure.  

CWT and Artemis Strategy Group conducted the survey January 29 – February 9, 2019, collecting responses from more than 2,700 business travelers who traveled for business four or more times in the previous 12 months.

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