The Perception of Time in Air transport – What a Delay is accepted by Air Travellers?

Abstract

This paper is about the perception of time by air travellers on business trips. Time is becoming a more relevant factor at airports due to all security checks. Furthermore, punctuality of airlines becomes an increasingly relevant factor due to overfilled airspaces around mega hubs. The question which arises is what level of delay is still accepted by air passengers on business trips without creating dissatisfaction with the delayed airline and if the accepted delay changes with frequency of air travels by business passengers. The sample includes 2834 air travellers which were interviewed before they were entering their flights at gates or in business lounges. The results reveal that a delay up to 30 minutes is acceptable in air travel. The more a passenger travels by plane the lower is the level of acceptance towards delays or the more punctuality becomes a basic factor and a power factor.