• New survey reveals well over a third of travellers have had to pay more to make alternative travel plans following a delayed flight
• Nearly two thirds would be likely to use an app which alerted family, friends and work colleagues if their flight was disrupted
• Cirium, the aviation data and analytics experts, say flight delays and cancellations cost airlines over US$30bn a year

Over a third of global travellers (36%) say they don’t get enough information about delayed and cancelled flights, according to aviation and data analytics experts at Cirium.

A new survey for Cirium reveals the impact of flight delays and cancellations and the need for better management of flight disruption, with more communication via proactive flight updates for affected passengers.

Almost two thirds (61%) of those surveyed said that they would be likely to use an app which alerted their friends, family or company about their delay.

In 2018, approximately 3.9 million flights – or 10,700 a day – were delayed by over 30 minutes or cancelled globally, affecting more than 470 million passenger journeys around the world.

Flight delays and cancellation cost airlines globally US$30bn a year in lost revenue, in addition to costs borne by their passengers.

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Airline flight delays and cancellations are caused by a wide range of factors, such as technical issues with aircraft, bad weather, air traffic control problems, strikes, medical diversions and congested airports, among many others.

The global YouGov study conducted for Cirium in the UK, US, UAE and China, showed more than a third of travellers worldwide (35%) who had experienced a delayed or cancelled flight, did not find it easy to change their travel plans, with well over a third (40%) left out of pocket after being forced to pay more to make alternative travel plans.

Airlines also had to bear the massive cost of disruption with flight delays and cancellations costing the equivalent of US$7 for every departing passenger – slightly less than the airline’s net profit per person per departing flight.

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium Chief Executive Officer, said: “Flight delays and cancellations are an unfortunate aspect of modern air travel and can have a big impact on travellers, whether flying for business or leisure. We recognize that the cost of disruption for airlines is also a significant problem. While our survey reveals well over a third of passengers still have to pay more for alternative travel plans, airlines can proactively issue flight alerts ahead of travel and re-allocate tickets without fees to take the sting out of flight disruption. We all want to travel stress free and get people to where they want to go, which is why at Cirium we work closely with airlines around the world on initiatives which reduce the impact of disrupted flights.”

The survey revealed nearly two thirds (57%) of those polled only found out about their flight delay or cancellation once they had reached the airport. When asked 29% said that they would prefer to be informed about a delay through a text alert with another two thirds (61%) saying they would use an app which alerted their friends, family or company about their delay.

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More than double (48%) said that they would be most frustrated if their leisure flight was delayed or cancelled compared to the 21% who would be most frustrated if a business flight was cancelled.

Over a third of global travellers would be most sympathetic if a flight was disrupted due to bad weather (35%) followed by technical issues with their aircraft (30%). However, only a tiny 5% would be most sympathetic with delays or cancellations due to problems caused by air traffic control.

Cirium enables the wider travel industry to manage the impact of disruption with intelligent data and analytics solutions. For example, Cirium analyzes more than 70 million passenger journeys annually to provide meaningful insights and keep the travel industry in motion.

This data is used by a wide range of customers, such as airlines and airports, to improve the travel experience by smart devices and metasearch engines, like Google, Amazon and Expedia, to provide information directly to passengers, enabling them to make more informed choices when on the move.

Cirium’s data and analytics divisions have been the first to bring innovative solutions to market, such as the first to automate the ticket waiver process during times of flight delays and cancellations.

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It employs over 400 technologists, analysts, data scientists and market experts in the UK, US, Europe, Middle East, Indiaand Asia-Pacific.

The group has significantly grown in recent years with the acquisition of leading data intelligence companies, including Ascend, Innovata, Diio and FlightStats.

SOURCE Cirium