Economist readers fly high

How do Economist
readers fly?
Traveling for fun
in style

>50%

4.9
The number of
domestic round-trip
business flights
taken by a reader
in a year

usually fly
first, business,
or premium
economy
when flying
for leisure

They also travel
internationally
for work – 2.8
short-haul and
1.9 long-haul
round-trips a year

64

%

Extra amenities are appreciated, but at
the end of the day, it’s the basics that
really matter to premium flyers

of readers would not
switch their business
airline due to price,
despite a general
trend towards
business cost-cutting

VIP

Loyalty
Programs

Seat
Comfort

Economist readers
are tech-savvy; in
the past year, they
have used their
smartphones to:

Autonomy
in business

Service from

Attendants

68%

66%

Access a
boarding pass

Check in
for a flight

75

Many readers have preferred airlines,
but most are open to other options
and often comparison shop

Business
Flyers

73%

Leisure
Flyers

88%

76

%

>

%

of readers are
not impacted
by employer
restrictions in
air travel

of comparison shoppers still
refer to airlines’ branded
websites

BUT
Source: The Economist Group 2015