Comfort is the most important factor for UAE travellers according to a new survey by Collinson, a global company that delivers travel, assistance and insurance products.

The survey examines air travellers’ wellbeing among more than 25,000 participants globally.

Comfort is prioritised by 78 percent of UAE travellers, followed by value for money (67 percent) and efficiency (47 percent).

The survey shows that the top two upgrade options are airport lounge access (36 percent of respondents) and extra legroom on the plane (32 percent of respondents).

“Expectations of the passenger journey have evolved with comfort reigning supreme. Passengers are demanding high levels of satisfaction as part of the pre-flight experience and as international hubs become increasingly busy, airports and airlines are making it a priority to provide as seamless and enjoyable a journey as possible,” Priyanka Lakhani, Regional Commercial Director Middle East, Africa and India at Collinson said.

The International Air Transport Association predicting that 8.2 billion passengers will take to the sky each year by 2037. Airports Council International crowned Dubai International Airport as the world’s busiest airport for global traffic, with the aviation hub catering to nearly 90 million passengers in a period of 12 months.

In the first half of 2019, 41.3 million passengers travelled through Dubai International Airport. Last year, the airport added 44 food and beverage outlets and 29 new retail experiences, Collinson said.

“The competition to optimise and monetise the traveller journey is already heating up. The challenge and opportunity for travel benefit providers and airports is to understand where their propositions fit into the millions of unique travel journeys we see each day, and how they can positively impact travellers both in the moment and throughout the broader end-to-end experience,” Christopher Evans, Joint CEO at Collinson said.

(Writing by Gerard Aoun; editing by Seban Scaria)

( Gerard.Aoun@refinitiv.om )

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