Nearly three-quarters of British travellers would be prepared to fly long-haul on a budget airline, a new poll has revealed.
A survey conducted by travel search site Skyscanner found that 74% of respondents would be willing to sacrifice full-service comforts in order to save money on air fares on flights in excess of four hours.
Almost half (48%) of the 1,800 people surveyed said they would endure limited legroom for anything up to nine hours, while 30% would be willing to travel low-cost on a 10-hour flight – equivalent of a flight from Singapore to London.
The study also questioned travellers on the ‘extras’ they would most need in order to persuade them to fly long-haul low-cost. The majority (35%) said they would prioritise legroom over in-flight entertainment (14%) or food and refreshments (9%) for a long-haul journey. Eighteen percent wanted free baggage.
“The results of this survey show there is a definite demand for low-cost airlines to operate long haul routes – it appears people are more than happy to surrender some level of comfort in order to satisfy their taste for travel, as long as the price is right. In recent years, low cost airlines have started to introduce more mid haul routes, so it is not unfeasible that long haul routes could be next to be added,” said Sam Baldwin, travel editor at Skyscanner.
The record of long-haul carriers is patchy however; Malaysia’s AirAsia X recently cancelled its London and Paris services due to high costs, while Singapore Airlines’ low-cost start-up Scoot, has said it has no plans to launch European flights in the immediate future.
