TRAVEL metasearch engine Skyscanner has revealed in a study the amount air travellers are willing to pay to save an hour of time on longhaul flights.
The study showed that the global average of US$8 is the amount that people around the world are willing to pay in order to shave off each hour of air travel.
Whether the route is more popular for business or leisure, and the presence of alternative flights appear to play a key role in how much value passengers are willing to pay, the study also found.
Skyscanner added that passengers were willing to pay more – US$1 to US$2 on average – on journeys which form part of shorter trips of less than seven days.
On the Bahrain to Kuala Lumpur route for example, which is popular but has no direct route, passengers pay on average US$26 per hour to shorten their journey.
Meanwhile, passengers flying between Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, where more choice from carriers exists, people pay on average of US$2 per hour saved, showing the value per route can vary significantly.
“In this day and age, time is an increasingly valuable commodity,” said Faical Allou, head of business development for Skyscanner analytics.
“Looking into the value of reducing journey time involved in taking a flight, particularly a long-distance one, reveals interesting insights and shows that there are several factors involved in how much value passengers attribute to reducing travel time, such as whether the trip is for business or leisure, the length of the trip and the choice of carriers and itineraries on offer.”
