The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has commissioned a survey to gain a better understanding of passengers’ views and experiences of air travel in the United Kingdom. The survey is taking place at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester airports. The CAA is carrying out the survey in response to the Secretary of State’s request for advice on improving the air passenger experience at major UK airports.
Passengers will be asked for their experience of the services provided by airlines and airports throughout their journey, from buying an air ticket, to travelling through the airport, to their in-flight experience. The survey will cover a range of passengers including those travelling on economy and business class tickets, on long haul and short haul flights, and for business and leisure purposes. The CAA has commissioned ORC International, an independent market research company, to carry out the survey on its behalf.
In parallel with the passenger survey, the CAA is consulting airlines and airports on how they are working to deliver a good service for passengers. The CAA expects to submit its recommendations to the Secretary of State early in the New Year on measures for improving the air passenger experience. The results of the survey will be published on the CAA’s website.
Richard Jackson, Group Director of Consumer Protection at the CAA, said: “We are keen to ensure that all key stages of the air passenger experience are covered in the survey including those stages that are the responsibility of the airline, those where responsibility lies with the airport operator and other stages where service delivery is dependent on airlines and airports working closely together.
“The results of a survey of hundreds of passengers travelling through the UK’s largest airports will help ensure that the CAA can identify those stages of the journey that are working well and those where passengers stand to benefit most from improvement. I encourage all those who are approached at airports to tell us about their travel experience.”
Further information about the passenger survey and the CAA’s industry consultation on the improving the air passenger experience can be found at:
www.caa.co.uk/passengerexperience
For more details contact Richard Taylor in the CAA Press Office on tel. 020 7453 6025 richardD.taylor@caa.co.uk
Notes to editors
1. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester airports are the UK’s four largest airports by passenger number.
2. The survey seeking passenger views of their travel experience is in addition to the departing passenger surveys that the CAA routinely carries out. Since 1969, the CAA has surveyed departing passengers to collect information for airport planning purposes including information on passenger demographics, journey purpose, destination and ticket type.
3. In response to the Secretary of State’s request, the CAA is also reviewing runway resilience looking at current operations at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, in co-operation with airlines and BAA. In November 2007, the Secretary of State wrote to the CAA for advice on improving the air passenger experience. Under section 16 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the Secretary of State can request specialist advice from the CAA.
4. In July 2008, the CAA consulted key industry stakeholders operating at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester on the aims and objectives for the passenger survey. The objectives behind the passenger survey include surveying passengers for their views and experience of booking tickets including pricing practices of airlines; the key factors that consumers consider in their decision to purchase an air ticket (e.g. price, airport location, airline, flight times, service quality); the extent to which consumers expect or assume that basic service quality standards will be provided by airports and airlines, whether and how passengers’ expectations of service they will receive is affected by the price paid for the ticket; and what passengers care about when travelling through the airport and in flight. All findings will be centered on passengers’ experience of making a specific journey.
5. The survey is being funded by the Department for Transport. The CAA’s research on improving the air passenger experience is one of several initiatives underway across Government reviewing measures that can be taken in the short, medium and longer terms to improve air travel in the UK. The CAA will be sharing the results of its survey work with review teams across these organisations.
6. The survey will be conducted in two stages: passengers will be approached at airports and asked to take part in the survey, those willing to take part will be contacted when they return home form their journey for a telephone survey of no longer than 20 minutes. The survey has been designed to capture a range of stages involved in the passenger experience from buying an air ticket, outbound travel through the airport, the in flight experience and inbound travel through the airport. Conducting the more detailed survey by telephone will help minimise any disruption to the passenger’s journey through the airport.
7. The CAA has appointed ORC International to carry out the market research following a competitive tender process. ORC International was established in 1938 and is the global research unit of Opinion Research Corporation, an international research consultancy with offices in the UK, North America and Asia. ORC International specialises in public sector and consumer research, working with both central and local government organisations nationwide.
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