Australians among the most eager to get flying again: Inmarsat

Australian are among the world’s keenest to get back into the air, according to research published in the latest Inmarsat’s Passenger Confidence Tracker 2021.

Only would-be jetsetters from Greece and Brazil showed more enthusiasm than Australians to take off once again, with three in five travellers surveyed confident to fly again by the end of the year.

However, after 18 months of COVID-related travel restrictions and as vaccine supplies improve globally, more people are concerned about the costs and impact of potential quarantine on their journey, than they are about catching COVID en route.

Just over half of those surveyed by Inmarsat listed quarantine as their number one travel concern.

Border closures also caused anxiety for two in five budding travellers.

In fact, the same number believed that inflight Wi-Fi had become more important as a result of COVID-19: no doubt because travellers can keep abreast of any snap changes to restrictions or borders, and if necessary, rebook any onward travel from 40,000 feet.

“A digital transformation was already underway in the aviation industry, but the pandemic has undoubtedly fast-tracked its implementation,” said Inmarsat Aviation President Philip Balaam.

“As the trusted connectivity provider for airlines throughout the world, Inmarsat has experienced higher passenger usage for our inflight broadband solutions compared to pre-COVID levels, showing the desire to stay connected has only amplified.”

The world's travellers are keen to soar

Interestingly, 40% of passengers surveyed felt that using regular suburban public transport was riskier than flying in the COVID-19 era.

“The latest International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures show that demand for both international and domestic travel is gaining significant momentum,” Balaam continues.

“In order to maintain and even accelerate this growth, it’s essential to rebuild passenger confidence and ensure their evolving needs are met in a post COVID world.”

With more travellers showing hesitation over quarantine than the virus itself, it’s clear that governments the world over have a big role to play in boosting confidence in the travel industry more broadly, when borders come down and tourists flock back to the skies.

Also read: Hotel quarantine to end for vaccinated travellers in NSW

Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.