A new survey by digital flight information company OAG shows a more optimistic public attitude about flying in the near future.
And that's good news for the airlines, still struggling to bring capacity up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Forbes, the industry is still flying at 47 percent down from this time last year.
The survey of 4,004 people came up with the following data points (among others):
- 79 percent of global travelers, and 81 percent of North American travelers, plan to fly domestically in the next six months.
- 69 percent of global travelers, and 73 percent of those from North America, plan to fly internationally in the next six months.
- Nearly a third of all travelers have not (and don't plan to) adjust their travel habits as a result of the virus.
According to Forbes, the 79 percent of travelers globally who plan to fly domestically in the next six months are perhaps the least surprising of the main findings. Domestic travel has done much better than international travel since the pandemic. Ongoing travel restrictions make that one a no-brainer.
But the fact that 69 percent of global travelers plan to fly internationally in the next six months is very surprising and lends itself to optimism - both for the consumers, who are likely banking on a vaccine by that point, and for the airlines, who desperately need the lucrative global traveler.
Whether they should be concerned about catching the virus is another question and not one the survey seeks to answer, but research by the International Air Transport Association found that the risk of transmission of the virus on an airplane is low.
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