MAHWAH, N.J., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel delays remain a problem
for business travelers and a recent survey has found that more than 80%
feel airlines should provide a sliding scale refund if flights are late.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070717/NYTU112)
Directravel, a leading corporate travel management company, today
released the results of its questionnaire asking business travelers about
their experiences with flight delays.
When asked about their tolerance for the length of delays, the survey
found that 83% of respondents felt that a delay of up to 30 minutes was
acceptable, while 45% were upset by and 46% felt that delays of over 1 hour
were completely unacceptable.
"Better practices for reducing delays must be implemented sooner rather
than later," said Directravel's Chairman and CEO, Vincent Vitti. "This
survey shows there is some tolerance from travelers of the delay situation
but that does not mean the solutions offered to date have been by any means
successful."
"We recognize that flight delays cause our clients time and
productivity losses, in addition to increases in actual hard dollar
expenses," said Patrick Fragale, president of Directravel. "Our goal has
always been to help manage bottom line expenses and adapt our services so
that our clients get the most from their travel program."
In addition, it was found that:
-- While 46% of those surveyed would be willing to pay a little more if
the airline arrived on time, more than half felt that they were already
paying for a service that should be delivered as scheduled.
-- Sixty-two percent of those surveyed would be willing to travel to a
regional airport if they were assured they could avoid delays
-- Eighty-four percent would be willing to depart between 10am and 2pm if
they could be assured this would avoid delays.
-- Twenty-eight percent felt that their flights were delayed 50% or more
of the time.
-- More than half of respondents, 64%, did not feel delays were limited to
a particular carrier
Of the comments submitted by respondents, many felt that delays based
on weather or for safety-related issues were more easily tolerated, while
honesty from airline employees went a long way in reducing the negative
impact caused by a delay.
Complete survey results are available upon request. Please e-mail
surveys@dt.com.
About Directravel
For more than 25 years, Directravel has provided its corporate clients
with high-quality business travel management services, internet-based
technology solutions and significant cost savings. Headquartered in Mahwah,
NJ, and with regional offices in New York City; Princeton, NJ; Scranton,
PA; Chicago, IL; and San Francisco, CA; Directravel is ranked among the top
10 US corporate travel management firms. More than 300 Directravel travel
professionals serve clients at both onsite and offsite locations
nationwide.
For more information call 1-800-air-travel or visit http://www.dt.com.
SOURCE Directravel
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CONTACT:
Rose Di Bari of Directravel, +1-201-847-2167,
rdibari@dt.com
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