Flights delays, cramped seats irk SE Asian travellers most

SINGAPORE - Unpredictability of flights and inflight seat discomfort are most dreaded when it comes to air travel, said over 70 per cent of South-east Asian travellers in a survey by TripAdvisor.

The survey sought to find out from over 2,500 travellers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand the best and worst parts of their travel experiences.

Added fees from airlines which include baggage and seat selection charges, long waits and noisy or crying children also made their trips unpleasant.

Travellers are also noticing the shrinking seats in the airlines with over 60 per cent of flyer "strongly opposed" to narrower seats in the economy class cabin.

The respondents said more comfortable seats, legroom and space between seat neighbours will make their journey better.

But it is not just all complaints in the survey results.

Travellers are happy with the improvements in the aviation industry in the past five years.

74 per cent of travellers said there are better online booking tools, 64 per cent said there are more routes to new destinations and more itinerary options.

According to the survey, price, desired timings and the route type remain the top concerns for travellers when purchasing their flights.

Holiday-makers are also making use of online tools to make their travel plans. 90 per cent of travellers say it is important to use search sites to compare prices and over 60 per cent say they check 2 to 3 sites when fare shopping.

Booking flights on their laptop and computers still remains the top method of booking with 80 per cent of the respondents doing so. Only 37 per cent booked a flight on a mobile device, according to the survey.

95 per cent of them saying they will make a short-haul trip at least once in 2015.

wjeanne@sph.com.sg