Research published today by private aviation charter company 365 Aviation has discovered what luxury means to professionals and HNWI living and working in the UK’s major cities.
Amongst the findings it was revealed that overall, 40% cited an extravagant holiday as their most desired luxury for the year, over and above investments of passion such as expensive jewellery, classic cars or designer furniture.
In an age when the ultimate yet elusive luxury is time, it is clear from the research that wasting such a treasured luxury is triggering irritations with travellers increasingly conscious of maximising their personal or family time ‘on the ground’. It’s no surprise therefore that flying on a private aircraft was deemed almost as equally as desirable (39%) as the most desired luxury, an extravagant holiday.
When analysing the fundamental bugbears of travel though, it seems we are not without our complaints. Lengthy checking in procedures ranked as the chief culprit for time-wasting (38%), with flight delays a close second irritation (32%), cramped seats and getting to the airport early in joint third position (30%), and other time wasting factors such as waiting for your bag (27%) and queuing through immigration (26%) all making the top ten, according to the study.
No wonder then that so many of the people surveyed would turn to private jet travel in a flash. And unbeknown to most aspirational travellers, the 65 airports used for commercial flights in the UK represents a mere 30% of those available to those looking to widen their horizons if travelling by private jet.
Colin Baker, Executive Chairman of 365 Aviation (who commissioned the research), said: “There is clearly a love-hate relationship with travel. Our study reveals that travel wins ‘hands down’ on the desirability factor, and yet, some aspects of it are far from luxurious.
“The demand for passenger air travel prevails, and the number of passengers is set to nearly double by 2030 from the current level of 236 million. With such huge growth imminent, it’s imperative that the industry responds.
“Our clients, mostly high net worth families and business travellers, come to us to achieve good value and assure themselves of the convenience offered by private jet travel not to mention that ever-elusive luxury – extra time.”
The research was carried out by Censuswide and commissioned by 365 Aviation. 2,145 professionals and HNWI were interviewed in the UK.
