Bosses take note that just 10 percent of travelers said they work while on the plane according to a survey conducted by GO Airport Express, a Chicago ground transportation provider. Reading for fun tops the list of activities at 32 percent.
The company, which provides airport shuttles to and from O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport, polled travelers nationwide about how they prefer to spend their time while on an airplane; more than 640 people responded.
Fourteen percent of respondents said they sleep and 12 percent read business books and publications while on airplanes. Seven percent watch in-flight movies and two percent play computer games. Luckily, while annoying seat mates rank high on travelers’ lists of pet peeves, only two percent of them actually admit to engaging other passengers in conversations. Just two percent said they do nothing at all while 19 percent stated they do a combination of all activities listed on the survey.
Others noted they watch their own movies, listen to audio books, knit or do puzzles.
“These results indicate people prefer to use their travel time to relax and pursue leisure activities vs. catching up on work,” says John McCarthy, president, GO Airport Express. “However, this may change as more airlines offer low-cost or free in-flight WiFi.”
GO Airport Express, one of the oldest companies in Chicago, traces its founding to 1853 and the Parmelee Transportation Company, which provided a carriage service between Chicago’s railroad stations and the downtown hotels. It is a founding member of The GO Group LLC, the nation’s largest airport transportation provider, serving some 60 airports in North America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe and transporting more than 13 million passengers per year.