A large number of Indians now book their tickets directly with the airline, indicating a push towards the trend that prevails in the West, said a survey carried out by an online travel portal.
"Air ticket booking in India is increasingly becoming a supplier-direct market, as is the case in more developed travel markets. Sixty-eight per cent of Indians interviewed said that they book directly with the airline, perhaps knowing that this is where they will get the best deal/price," said the survey.
For booking a flight ticket 52 per cent said that they have used a smartphone to book a ticket.
However, these flyers do their research before buying tickets as 74 per cent said it was 'very important' to use a flight search price comparison site. "A good 64 per cent visit 3 to more than 5 sites while shopping for flights. Only 6 per cent are brand loyal to one website, while another 35 per cent shop at 1 to 2 sites," said the survey.
About 32 per cent of the respondents said that they dislike paying for in-flight food and beverages. When it came to spending time on board, sleeping was the clear favourite with (62 per cent) followed by reading (54 per cent).
For domestic flights, 55 per cent of Indians make the actual booking within 3 weeks of the flying date, while 20 per cent do it a month in advance. However for international flights, a significant chunk of 61.21 per cent book between 1 and 3 months in advance. However, 16 per cent book only 2-3 weeks in advance, said the survey.
Discount sale offers have their followers, with 45 per cent of the respondents saying they have bought flight tickets on sale. Around 20 per cent said that they were willing to even change their destination or travel dates if tickets are on sale, said the survey.
However not all flyers are convinced and view sale offers with a certain degree of caution as 35 per cent respondents said that they don't buy during these sales as the final ticket price, after payment of various charges and taxes, turns out to be much higher.
The survey was carried out by TripAdvisor on 1,700 respondents across various age groups.
BW Reporters
Haider Ali Khan is an alumnus of IIMC. He holds a degree in English Journalism from the prestigious campus. His passion includes Aviation, Technology, Politics and Sports.
