Viasat’s 2024 survey reveals passengers’ demand for connected, personalised, and innovative air travel experiences

Viasat is set to release its 2024 Passenger Experience Survey, gathering insights from more than 11,000 respondents worldwide. The survey highlights passengers’ expectations for the future of air travel, revealing the innovations they are most eager to experience, including robotic cabin crews, AI-driven services, and futuristic features like in-flight gyms and floor-to-ceiling windows.

The quantitative research surveyed a statistically representative sample of 11,213 respondents from 11 different countries around the world – the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Australia, UAE, Turkey, Taiwan, South Korea, India, and China – who had all flown within the last year. The frequent flyer qualitative research surveyed 100 respondents from the US and UK (50 from each) who had flown on at least six return journeys within the last year. The research was conducted on behalf of Viasat by Censuswide in August 2024.

What did the research show?

• One in three passengers stated that having no Wi-Fi access and being unconnected is one of the most frustrating things about flying today
• Being connected beats both sleeping and drinking. When asked about the best way to pass time on a flight, 62% of passengers say they would connect to Wi-Fi to access entertainment – making it even more popular than sleeping (60%) or having a beverage (57%)
• In 2023, only 50% of all passengers surveyed globally believed Wi-Fi should be free on short-haul flights lasting less than three hours. That has grown to 65% this year
• 71% prioritise access to personalised streaming services – making it the most popular connectivity-based service
• A massive majority (94%) still prefer to use personal devices for other activities such as web browsing (46%), social media or messaging (46%), online shopping (29%) and work apps (29%)
• 75% of passengers say they would be more likely to select or rebook with an airline if quality in-flight Wi-Fi was available on a long-haul flight
• 92% of passengers are keen to see innovations made possible on planes in the future
• 47% would like to see enhanced in-flight automation, including robot cabin crew; pilotless aircraft; and virtual travel concierges
• 1 in 6 of our frequent flyer panel say they already want to see more AI in the cabin – suggesting everything from “AI service assistants” to “AI-generated in-flight entertainment content”.

Don Buchman Vice President & General Manager, Commercial Aviation, Viasat said:

“Our research found that passengers worldwide are demanding a more personal, digitally connected and operationally efficient travel experience, and they will reward airlines that offer it with their advocacy and loyalty. In fact, in many cases, their ideas for the future are already racing beyond the industry’s own imagination.”

Check out the full document here.