Nearly 60% of Brits are less likely to book with an airline that charges passengers for not having a digital boarding pass
Nearly six in ten people (58%) would be less likely to book with an airline that charges additional fees for not having a digital boarding pass, according to new research from Go.Compare travel insurance.*
The comparison site quizzed 2000 people about how they would feel about booking with an airline that charged extra for not having a digital boarding pass, in light of the news that since Wednesday (Nov 12th), Ryanair has scrapped paper boarding passes. It will now charge an additional £55 airport checking in fee for those who don’t check in online ahead of their flight and have a digital boarding pass. The airline has said that if passengers have checked in online but cannot access their boarding pass, they will be given one for free at their departing airport.
When asked how they felt about these changes, the research found that 58% of people would be less likely to book with an airline that charged additional fees for not having a digital boarding pass, with nearly half (42%) of those aged 65 and over saying they would be much less likely to book with that airline, if this was the case.
Those aged 18 to 24 also weren’t keen on the idea, with 66% revealing they would be much less likely or somewhat less likely to book with an airline that charged extra – compared with an average of 57% for those aged 55 and over.
The research found that this change wouldn’t make much of a difference to those aged between 25 and 34, with 32% saying it would make little or no difference to them if an airline implemented this change.
Rhys Jones, spokesperson for Go.Compare Travel Insurance, said: “Ryanair has said the change to digital boarding passes will speed up check in processes at airports, bring costs down for its customers, as well as helping the environment. But for those customers who do not have smartphones or who are not used to working digitally, this will be a big change for them that many will end up paying for.
Rhys concluded: “With more airlines looking to make savings, it might be that Ryanair is just the first in a long line that make this change but the knock-on effect that it has for customers and the airlines, remains to be seen.”
For more information about the different types of travel insurance, visit: https://www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/
Contact Information
Rosie Johns
Notes to editors
*This online survey of 2000 UK adults, was commissioned by Front Door Communications on behalf of Go.Compare and conducted by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society's code of conduct. Data was collected between 12th and 13th November. All participants are double-opted in to take part in research and are paid an amount depending on the length and complexity of the survey. This survey was overseen and edited by the OnePoll research team. OnePoll are company partners of the MRS and has corporate membership to ESOMAR.
For further information please contact:
Lynsey Walden at Lynsey@fdcomms.co.uk or Kath Chadwick at kath@fdcomms.co.uk.
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About Go.Compare
Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
Go.Compare is part of Future Plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/.