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An investigation of the information needs of air passengers traveling to the airport
Abstract
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, nearly 200 million person-trips over 100 miles one-way were taken by airplane in 1995, a 186 percent increase since 1977 (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 1998). As the popularity of air travel continues to increase, the number of trips to and from the airport will inevitably rise also. Passengers will need accurate information about all modes on a total trip basis. This includes the modes of access to and from the airport in addition to the long distance segment of the trip (Sverdrup & Parcel Consultants, Inc., et al., 1996). The purpose of this study was to determine the specific information needs of departing air travelers with regard to the pre-trip and en-route phases of their trip to the airport. Based on the results of this research, effective plans for providing supplementary information in support of ground-side travel can be developed by local, state, and national agencies. To gain an understanding of air passenger information needs, personal interviews were conducted with 216 passengers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. One major finding from this research was that in general, passengers are content with the existing types of real-time travel information that are available. Specifically, the survey results showed that passengers currently use and would prefer to have access to flight information including, confirmed schedules, flight delays, and gate assignments. It was also found that most passengers would prefer to receive travel information earlier in their trip (i.e., before beginning their trip). This could possibly be so that they have the information earlier in their decision-making process and thus would have adequate time to evaluate their options. Finally, based on the survey results, air passengers indicated they would prefer to use e-mail, pagers, telephones, and the Internet when making future travel information inquiries. In particular, business travelers were found to have a higher affinity toward e-mail and pagers, while younger travelers simply preferred newer technologies to receive travel information. As a result, these population categories are prime targets for marketing of information services. Overall, each of these findings was similar to and backed up the results from previous studies.
Description
Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-87).
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Citation
Burdette, Debra Arlene (2000). An investigation of the information needs of air passengers traveling to the airport. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2000 -THESIS -B85.
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