Tripadvisor survey on Indian aviation and flying

Tripadvisor recently conducted a survey of airlines in India, and covered various parameters including: Best and worst airlines, Which carriers are perceived safe and unsafe, Ratings for each airline on a list of criteria, Areas of improvement, Price / service preferences, Social media connect, In-flight requirements and preferences.

Survey results and my thoughts

The results of the detailed survey were published by The Economic Times yesterday, and I'm summarising the graphics below. Click on each image for a larger view. All images and survey copyrights belong to Economic Times and Tripadvisor. 

Overall, I think the results are fairly representative of the Indian market. After all, that is the purpose of a survey, isn't it ;-)? 

For ease of readability, I'm including my own thoughts and perspectives after each image below.

• I'm not sure of India has a "favourite" airline as such. The survey suggests that it might be Indigo, but it isn't so by an overwhelming majority. This may well be due to a sampling error, because at the other end of the spectrum (least favourite airline) lies AI - possibly because AI and 6E are poles apart when it comes to one thing - timeliness. Having said that, there are a lot - and I really mean, a LOT - of people that prefer flying AI, particularly in the forward cabins.
• I entirely agree that on-board meal options must get better - clearly, they are quite terrible across airlines. I mean, just how much longer is Indigo going to serve out those cold chicken paranthas?
• Safety - I believe the best response here is that all are equally safe, or the "None" option - if you analyse a bit closely, these two represent over half the surveyed population. I think they've got it spot on on this one, because safety can mean different things to different people. By that same brushstroke, 30% calling AI as unsafe appears to be a bit uncalled for!
• On the various parameters listed on the right, it comes as no surprise that the top spot on each of those is held only by either of 9W and 6E. Having said that, some of this seems to be perception driven. For instance, you should read my analysis of airfares here. The landing / take off quality is less dependent on the airline, compared to other variables such as weather. But I suppose the relative youth of 6E's fleet does help on this count. The only thing I find intriguing is that 9W scores a bit better than AI on leg space! 

• The 11% responses on AI being an airline that people want to fly on, suggests to me that the either 9W and 6E loyalists make up the mass of the surveyed group, or that the survey group is rather young in terms of median age.
• Checking in and seating - I find a disconnect between the ALWAYS web check-in respondents and those that prefer window seats. Clearly, the ones that want window seats could be checking in online more often, or they're willing to pay for that privilege at the counter.
• On social media, I don't think there's any question. 9W leads the pack even outside of this survey - being the most active on social media.

• Transparency of fees and charges has always been questionable, so it is no wonder that over half the respondents believe airlines aren't being transparent. The only saving grace, if one might call it that, is that all airlines (bar Indigo) are in the red, so they're really not making much money off the average Joe passenger!
• The Indian passenger is yet to get tech-friendly, most preferring books to other carry on items. Personally, I carry some options - usually my laptop and work related papers, an ipod, and quite often a book. It may be a bit much, but I like the fact that I have options. Of course, I'm not sure how much things would change if in-flight wifi is introduced - that remains to be seen, though I can't visualise that day any time soon.
• There are a lot of annoyances when flying in India. My pet peeves are: bare feet on the bulkhead separator, passengers getting up as soon as the aircraft stops (54.6% in the survey), reclining seats suddenly without warning (I've almost lost 2 laptops because of this), armrest hogging and passengers using my seat back as support to get up. Some of these are in the survey too, so I guess I'm your average Joe, on this count!

 

• I too would like to fly Tata-SIA first, though I think Air Asia will be off the blocks much sooner. I'm looking forward to flying them all, particularly Air Costa!
• I agree that over-complicating fares makes it a chore for the customer, who then ends up spending time researching options. However, fare portals should help overcome this problem, though I agree that if one is looking for deals, the process is usually a bit unproductive.
• Emirates seems to be the preferred international airline, and as of September 2013, operates 185 flights a week to 10 destinations in India, with 55,000 seats one-way between Dubai and India a month. Their services are very India-friendly, unlike LH, so no faulting that finding.

In all, the survey does hit all the right notes. My own take from this survey, is that it is as much based on experience of flying the Indian skies, as it is on expectations. I could be wrong, though.

What's your take? What aspect of the survey do you strongly disagree with?