Studies Find That Basic Economy Class Passengers Are Happier With Their Flights

by Sanjana Shenoy
Studies Find That Basic Economy Class Passengers Are Happier With Their Flights

Have you sat crunched in a tight seat on a flight, while enviously peeking at the business class luxuries? The plush business class seats, exclusive menu and ofcourse the Wi-Fi that come with it, might have made you regret your basic economy seat. After all itna paise mein itna hi milega right? Wrong. Studies have found out that basic economy class passengers are actually happier with their flights.

What’s In It?

A new report by the travel and organizing app TripIt showed that travellers preferred a good seat as six times more important than quality Wi-Fi. This study analyzed around 1 million flight ratings from June 2018 to June 2019 based off travel on TripIt’s app. Travel trends expert, Kelly Soderlund stated that even though we live in an increasingly digital age, it’s rare to find good quality Wi-fi on a flight. And since travellers don’t expect to find good Wi-Fi on flights, they don’t expect it in the first place, as a result their perception of flights doesn’t drastically change. However, she expects to see good quality Wi-Fi in flights in the coming years, as some travellers might want this. Moreover, travellers would be happy with their flight, if they know for sure that they got everything they paid for.

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In this same manner, the report had an interesting finding. Travellers with basic economy tickets were found to be much happier than standard economy. Kelly Soderlund stated that with some airlines it gets tough to prove that the more expensive ticket is actually the better one. After all, there are so many types of tickets and plenty of options for passengers to choose from. The data in the studies show that basic economy travellers know what to expect and they feel that they have got their money’s worth. She further said that travelling in the economy is like getting lost in a no man’s land and passengers might not really be sure of what they paid for. Did you know Qantas Dreamliner Lands World’s Longest Commercial Flight?

What’s More?

The study also found out that TripIt travellers ranked Doha’s Hamad International Aiport in Qatar as the best international airport in the world, followed by the Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan and Narita International Airport in Tokyo. Kelly Soderlund put light on the fact that when passengers commute, they want to feel wow-ed by the airport apart from the flight. And Doha’s airports are innovative and the architecture is breathtaking, making you truly feel like you are in another place altogether. Now that you know about some of the best airports in the world check out  the 10 Worst Airports In The World

Travellers like a little bit of luxury, especially in international airports. But the bottom line is basic economy passengers are happier. After all, the have a clear idea of what they have paid for, what to expect and they are okay with it. As long as the seats are comfortable they don’t feel like they are missing out on too much. So maybe the grass is greener on the other side.