Will consumers feel safe to travel again?
About i360’s Consumer Pulse: The Consumer Pulse asks 1,000, of the 2.5 million US adult panelists, over 150 questions daily. Questions center around key topics such as economy, lifestyle, real estate, automotive, shopping, employment, political opinions, and more.
TRAVEL REBOUND WITH i360
THE CHALLENGE
Few industries were hit harder than the airline industry during the pandemic. With social distancing, mask mandates and travel bans in place, consumers stopped travelling and when they did, they weren’t flying. But how long would this lull last? Would airline travel rebound?
THE SOLUTION
i360 turned to Consumer Pulse to see if they could find the answer. By quickly incorporating a question into their nationwide survey, conducted daily to thousands of consumers, i360 tracked the public’s opinion regarding airline travel and its safety over time.
In the graph below, the blue line represents the percent of Americans who reported having ZERO fights planned in the next six months through i360’s Consumer Pulse. The green line represents the number of people going through TSA checkpoints on a daily basis. Through most of the pandemic, people who said they had no flights planned was consistently above 65%. However, starting in mid to late January, consumers began to warm up to the idea of airline travel and Consumer Pulse saw a precipitous drop in the number of people intending to avoid flights.
THE RESULTS
By early February the insights in Consumer Pulse manifested in actual behavior change, as can be seen in the surge of TSA Traveler Throughput (green line). Since that time, openness to flying has increased, as has the number of seats booked.
Disclosure: The information in these blog posts, based on i360’s Consumer Pulse, is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice on any matter.
