Consumer trends: how to make your campaigns take off, and messaging land with frequent flyers

The Attest consumer trends reports are in-depth explorations of a predefined consumer group. Consumers who self-identify with the behaviours or demographic categories of this group are surveyed and asked about their market-specific views, and consumer habits more generally. 

The preferred brands, influencers and social media platforms, as well as their priorities when considering and making purchases are all interrogated in a consistent format within each Consumer trends report. 

This report includes: 

• Behaviours and interests of frequent flyers, specifically their sentiments towards travel brands
• Social media and shopping habits of this consumer group within the travel market, and more widely
• Market and brand awareness
• Key takeaways for brands looking to target this unique segment of the market

Top 10 travel brands according to frequent flyers: 

1. British Airways
2. Virgin Atlantic
3. TUI
4. Emirates
5. easyJet
6. Thomas Cook
7. Jet2.com
8. Trivago
9. Expedia
10. Ryanair

Key findings: 

Frequent flyers represent an affluent consumer group for both in-airport brands and travel providers. A significant minority spend over £70 on each of their 11+ airport visits each six months, meaning one flyer could be spending over £1,500 each year at the airport, before they’ve even reached their destination and not including the price of their flight.

When it comes to purchasing flights, though, most frequent flyers seem to be doing so online, with Google and comparison sites such as Skyscanner and Expedia securing most of this spend. Some consumers do continue to shop directly with the airline, but there’s no denying the trend for comparison sites as a popular way to secure a deal.

This might be especially prevalent amongst those who mainly travel for pleasure, where price was ranked as the most important factor when buying a flight, and the factor most likely to pull them away from their usual flights provider – to a cheaper alternative.

For business travellers this is far less likely to appeal, as most of those flying abroad for work meetings are concerned with the quality of experience they receive from the airline, rather than the price of their ticket. It may be for this reason that these travellers are also far more likely to sign up to frequent flier programmes, for the use of lounges and upgraded seats.

While tastes seem to be broad amongst the consumer category of frequent flyers, there’s insight to be found when you dig deeper into their reasons for travel, as well as their demographic details such as age and gender. Across most metrics, the biggest difference in results seems to be between the consumers that travel for work and those that travel for pleasure.

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