Air Travel Growth: Conditional Support
Most people in Britain believe there will be a need to increase the capacity of the country's airports over the next 30 years, according to new research by MORI.
The research, commissioned by the Freedom to Fly coalition, shows eight in 10 (80%) of the British public believe this. The same percentage believe that, with proper regard for the environment, air travel should be allowed to grow to match rising consumer demand for flying, and a third (34%) say they strongly believe this.
As far as the economy is concerned, more than four in five (82%) agree that air travel boosts the economy, jobs, tourism and inward investment in Britain. Almost half (46%) have flown in the past 12 months, and four in five (81%) hope to fly as much/more frequently over the next few years.
When asked to choose which key factors are considered when deciding whether to fly, three in five (59%) say safety. One in five (22%) say cost and less than one in 10 (eight per cent) say comfort. One in 20 (six per cent) say speed and 'impact on the environment' is named by one per cent.
Topline Results
- A nationally representative quota sample of 2,025 adults were interviewed throughout Great Britain by MORI/Field & Tab across 183 constituency-based sampling points.
- Interviews were carried out using CAPI face-to-face in respondents' homes between 17-21 October 2002.
- Similar studies were conducted in December and August 2001, as part of MORI's Omnibus.
- Data has been weighted to reflect the national known profile of adults aged 15+ in Great Britain
- Base: All (2,025) unless otherwise stated
- An asterisk (*) represents a figure smaller than 0.5% but greater than zero
- Numbers may not always add up to 100%, due to computer rounding or multiple answers
Q1. From what you know, do you think there will be a need to increase the capacity of Britain's airports over the next 30 years?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Yes, there will | 80 |
| No, there will not | 11 |
| Don't know | 10 |
Q2. In the last twelve months, which of the following types of journey have you taken by plane?
| % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package holiday (4+ nights) within Europe | 22 | |||||
| Short break (up to 3 nights) visiting friends and/or relations | 8 | |||||
| Other independently arranged holiday (4+ nights) within Europe | 8 | |||||
| Long Haul package holiday (4+ nights) outside Europe | 7 | |||||
| Other Short break (up to 3 nights) | 7 | |||||
| Business Trip within Europe | 6 | |||||
| Holiday (4+ nights) within Europe visiting friends and/or relations | 6 | |||||
| Other Long Haul independently arranged holiday outside Europe | 5 | |||||
| Long Haul holiday (4+ nights) outside Europe visiting friends and/or relations | 4 | |||||
| Business Trip outside Europe | 2 | |||||
| Other | * | |||||
| Don't know | * | |||||
| Any holiday within Europe | 32 | |||||
| Any long haul holiday | 15 | |||||
| Any short break | 13 | |||||
| Any visit to friends and/or relations | 10 | |||||
| Any business trip | 7 | |||||
| I have not flown in the last 12 months | 45 | |||||
| I have never flown before | 9 | |||||
Q3. Thinking about the next few years, do you hope to fly more or less frequently?
| % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Far more frequently | 16 | |||||
| A little more frequently | 33 | |||||
| About the same | 33 | |||||
| A little less frequently | 8 | |||||
| Far less frequently | 7 | |||||
| Don't know | 4 | |||||
| More frequently | 48 | |||||
| Less frequently | 15 | |||||
Q4. Please rank the following factors in order of importance when deciding whether to fly?
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Don't know | Mean | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | n | |
| Safety | 59 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4.29 |
| Cost | 22 | 34 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 3.62 |
| Comfort | 8 | 26 | 37 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 3.15 |
| Speed | 6 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 42 | 6 | 2.04 |
| Impact on the environment | 1 | 10 | 12 | 30 | 40 | 6 | 1.96 |
Q5. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements....
| Air travel helps boost the economy, jobs, tourism, and inward investment in Britain | Air travel should be allowed to grow to match rising consumer demand for flying but with proper regard for the environment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | |||||
| Strongly agree | 27 | 34 | ||||
| Tend to agree | 55 | 46 | ||||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 9 | 11 | ||||
| Tend to disagree | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Strongly disagree | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Don't know | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Agree | 82 | 80 | ||||
| Disagree | 6 | 7 | ||||
Q6. Thinking about when you are planning a holiday or business trip, how important is to you being able to fly where and when you want?
Base: All who have flown ( 1,809 )
| % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very important | 46 | |||||
| Fairly important | 36 | |||||
| Not very important | 10 | |||||
| Not at all important | 6 | |||||
| Don't know | 3 | |||||
| Important | 82 | |||||
| Not important | 15 | |||||
