Sometimes it’s simply easier to go with the flow. A recent survey by GO Airport Express, a Chicago-based ground transportation company, and GO Airport Shuttle, an international transportation provider, indicates that more airline passengers are opting to buy food during flights. While the overall number of travelers who purchase in-flight meals remains relatively low, the survey found that the proportion of passengers who do buy food on board has increased noticeably in the past few years.
According to the survey results, 2.7 percent of respondents reported purchasing food on a plane in 2015, compared with 1.7 percent in 2012. Applied to the annual U.S. air travel population, this 1.0 percentage-point rise represents a significant increase in actual passengers buying in-flight meals. The surveys polled customers of GO Airport Express and GO Airport Shuttle; 469 people completed the 2015 survey and 416 responded in 2012.
The survey also examined where travelers choose to eat. In 2015, 58 percent of respondents said they eat in the airport after passing through security, up from 55 percent in 2012. Eight percent of travelers in both surveys reported bringing their own food from home. Meanwhile, a small share of passengers reported not spending any money on food: 5.7 percent in 2015 versus 6.3 percent in 2012, meaning a slight decline in passengers who neither eat at the airport nor buy food on board.
“These results may indicate that travelers are slowly becoming more accepting of paying for amenities that were once included in fares, and are prioritizing convenience over price,” said John McCarthy, president of GO Airport Express.