The in-depth survey was commissioned to understand customer sentiments around air travel and their confidence in safety measures.

A consumer survey conducted by IndiGo revealed that travellers feel air travel (68 per cent) is the safest mode of transportation in the current scenario. The survey also highlighted that 65 per cent customers felt confident that IndiGo will ensure clean and safe travel for their journey.

Factors such as lack of social distancing by other passengers (62 per cent), quarantine measures by states (55 per cent) and sitting in the aircraft with so many people (55 per cent) have been identified as key deterrents for air travel. The in-depth survey was commissioned to understand customer sentiments around air travel and their confidence in safety measures. The survey was conducted online between June 20 to June 28, 2020, with 25000 travellers. 

William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “The analysis of our customer survey clearly portrays that health and safety are their key priorities when travelling. While it is heartening that about 65% travellers trust IndiGo to deliver a clean and safe travel experience, we will continue to introduce new measures, products and services to further strengthen their confidence in air travel and IndiGo. Our aim is to consistently provide a safe and hassle-free experience on-board with a lean, clean flying machine.”

“Even though most of our customers will be opting for domestic travel (62%) in the near future, there is a healthy interest in international travel (38 per cent),” he added.

SURVEY FINDINGS: 

Safety is a key priority while travelling

* Air transport is considered the safest form of travel by a wide margin for inter-city travel (68 per cent of respondents felt air travel is safe vs. 8 per cent for rail travel), followed by driving (24 per cent).

* Air travel industry has done a good job in communicating the new protocols to the consumers with nearly 93 per cent aware of them.

* 65 per cent of consumers feel confident that IndiGo will ensure clean and safe travel for their journey.

* 57 per cent customers are fairly aware of IndiGo’s Lean, clean flying machine programme to promote safe and clean travel experience.

* Concerns like fellow passengers not maintaining social distancing (62 per cent), post travel quarantine measures by various states (55 per cent), travelling with so many people (55 per cent) impacted travel demand. Other factors included concerns around air circulation (42 per cent) and sanitation efforts being made by airlines (32 per cent).

* 95 per cent customers prioritize health and wellness of the airline staff, while 92 per cent of them feel that sanitation and safety protocols by airlines need to be in place. Personal safety kits and contactless travel experience are next on priority with about 90 per cent and 89 per cent customers demanding the same, respectively. Temperature checks remained the last priority with 86 per cent customers considering it important.

Travel demand 

* Encouraging travel demand: Nearly 54 per cent respondents said they want to travel in next three months.

* Only 17.6 per cent said they will wait for situation to complete normalize before planning travel.

* Key drivers of demand generation for travel will be - clear Information about safety measures (75 per cent), deals or special offers (47 per cent), constant tips on how to make their next travel hassle-free (45 per cent) and support to community and nation (31 per cent).

Travel Trends

* About 38 per cent customers considering international travel, while 62 per cent will focus solely on domestic travel in near future. 27 per cent customers considering a mix of domestic and international travel and 11 per cent focussing solely on international travel.

* Though leisure travel will be impacted, VFR (46 per cent) and business (35 per cent) will be the key reasons to travel, followed by leisure (11 per cent) and emergency travel (8 per cent).