Market Research Sydney – Europe

Background Destinations include: Research only takes e.g. Emirates european network > Research only takes account of 1 stop services to Europe and excludes codeshare Really long flight – takes around 23 hours to get there! Many airlines offer connection from their hubs to Europe

Statistics / secondary data Transit Cities include: Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur London is the most popular destination in the market

Factors affecting passenger choice Safety Record Price In-flight entertainment In-flight meals / refreshments Airline’s Overall Reputation Seat Comfort and Pitch (legroom) Transit City Flight Schedule Previous Experience with the Airline Airline Lounges at Airport Services by Airline’s cabin crew

Our predictions…. Expect seat comfort, IFE, meals to be more important (23 hour trip) Comfort / entertainment > price / schedule Different age groups with different wants

Survey plan /design Surveyed those who have flown to Europe before as well as those who haven’t (potential market) Demographics Past flying experience Rating the importance of factors Ranking / use of preference (talk about this later) Promotion Additional comments

Number of surveys conducted 49% students, 51% others Nationality: Australian > Chinese > others Age groups Occupations Identified 2 business travellers on this route

Analysis The most important factors Differential Scale 1 Safety record of airline 2 Price of airfares 3 Previous experience on airline Least important: Airline airport lounges Ranking question 1 Price of airfare 2 Safety record of airline 3 Seat pitch and comfort Least important: Airline airport lounges

Surprises Students preference for In-Flight Entertainment (lower than expected!) Ranking vs Scale for students preference Nationality and airline selection “which airline do you prefer to fly on?” Demographic and potential non-stop flights - students, electricians, lecturers, engineers, accountants

Promotion and Advertising Virgin Atlantic - very little awareness (only 1 person noticed it!) Survey conducted prior to Sun-Herald promotion Sponsorship - Emirates e.g. Cricket / Horse Racing

Conclusion Safety and Price most important Nationality (“the dark horse”) More surveys next time!!