Travellers feeling ‘overwhelmed’ by airline deals – Travelport report

Many travellers are being “overwhelmed” by being offered too many choices when booking travel, according to a new report from travel tech firm Travelport.

Travelport’s new State of Modern Retailing Report found that 58 per cent of travellers were now feeling overwhelmed by the proliferation of travel offers.

While a similar number (56 per cent) said that airline deals were more difficult to understand than they were 10 years ago.

Even more respondents (71 per cent) said they were “anxious” about whether they had secured the best deal after making their booking. While 88 per cent of travellers said they would like to see all flight options and fares on one screen.

The survey also found that most travellers (80 per cent) thought comparing fares from different airlines was “time consuming” with 69 per cent finding that information was restricted on some booking sites.

Travelport surveyed just under 1,700 consumers from the UK, Germany, South Africa and the US for the report.

Jen Catto, chief marketing officer at Travelport, said: “Despite travel providers favouring direct-to-consumer connections, the sheer volume of options is overwhelming to travellers, making them less confident in their booking choices.

“For the travel industry, this signals a growing need and opportunity for travel agencies. Their expertise in comparison shopping aids travellers in confidently booking the best option, based on their personal preferences.”

Survey respondents said that the most important factors for them to compare when booking were luggage allowances, followed by cancellation and change policies, and seat selection.

Most travellers (63 per cent) also felt that airlines do not “put the customer first” when dealing with flight cancellations and other issues.

For hotels, the most important features for travellers were wifi availability, complimentary breakfast options and hotel facilities.