PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: Malaysians are a friendly lot in the sky, a survey revealed.

Malaysians and Filipinos are most likely to chat with their seatmates in aeroplanes, according to a recent survey conducted among travellers.

"Malaysia and the Philippines are probably the most extrovert of Asian markets -- Hong Kong and Taiwan are both fairly introverted," said global market research firm Synovate managing director for Malaysia, Steve Murphy.

The survey, carried out by Synovate, showed that Thais, Taiwanese and Hong Kongers were the least likely to talk to their neighbours on a plane.

The global market research firm had conducted the survey in July with 13,000 respondents from Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand - along with interviewees from Brazil, Britain, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States.

Of the respondents, 6,900 said they had travelled by air. The survey revealed 57 per cent of those who had flown said they enjoyed making conversations with their seat mates.

The Philippines managing director for Synovate, Carole Sarthou, said the overseas workers from the country liked to share their experiences.

The same survey also found that many travellers would source for cheaper flights rather than to stop their travel plans owing to rising costs.

As for the use of handphones, 77 per cent agreed the gadget should be barred from the planes.