Air Travel to the USA - A Survey

Boosting this back to the top because without posts it will sink out-o-sight before those of us in Europe wake up tomorrow morning. It’s already almost time to go to sleep.

That was pretty quick and easy.

Bumping up.

Bump again

What I thought was odd was that in a survey aimed at those travelling TO the US, being conducted by an English university, it asked for wage in $. Anyone living in Europe, even an expat, is more likely to be paid in Euro or £ (or maybe another European currency).

Bumping--great that you support this student's research!

@isn31c, not uncommon in research to ask for a specific currency such as US$. That way there is no guessing as to the currency provided in the response.

Hi everyone. My name is Jay, and I'm the MSc student conducting this research as part of my degree. Thanks very much to the Rick Steves Travel Forum for allowing this to take place. And I also thank all of you for participating. As of 26 June, we have a total of 31 responses. If you have any friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues that meet the above criteria, please do not hesitate to send the survey out to them as well.

To answer the question in the thread about the currency requested for salaries, we typically use US dollars ($USD) as the default currency for financial metrics in the airline/aviation industry, hence the request to provide your salary in USD. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything at all, you are more than welcome to email me at my email address above.

Thanks again, everyone. I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Edit: Also, if you would like the Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form, these are below:

Participant Information Sheet: https://surreyac-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/jd02049_surrey_ac_uk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B39AB4EE5-28CF-422D-9653-9EF676B69B76%7D&file=Participant%20Information%20Sheet.docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true&wdOrigin=WAC.WORD.HOME-BUTTON%2CAPPHOME-WEB.BANNER.UPLOAD&wdPreviousSession=bc655625-9837-43d8-9b83-d37852331d04&wdPreviousSessionSrc=AppHomeWeb&ct=1784282087655

Consent Form: https://surreyac-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/jd02049_surrey_ac_uk/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B383403A3-31B0-4903-AB3E-82E3AB655CD6%7D&file=Consent%20form.docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true&wdOrigin=WAC.WORD.HOME-BUTTON%2CAPPHOME-WEB.JUMPBACKIN&wdPreviousSession=bc655625-9837-43d8-9b83-d37852331d04&wdPreviousSessionSrc=AppHomeWeb&ct=1784282324194

I was a bit surprised that we were not asked which country we lived in or where we went. This makes a huge difference in how easy it is to get to our US destinations, cost and frequency. It is easier for someone who lives in Amsterdam to get to family living in Boston then someone in Bulgaria to get to Columbus, Ohio. Makes a difference in how often one does a trip like that too.

I too was surprised that the survey didn’t ask for country of residence. Especially since only those who live in Europe can participate. Now there is no way of knowing if those who filed out the survey actually meet the criterium to participate in the study.

I did fill out the survey, since I live in Europe. And I found it quite refreshing actually to be able to give my honest opinion on this matter.

Wherever the survey is posted online, it is made clear the requirements to participate in the research process, which is that you must be living in Europe to participate in this survey (American and European nationals alike). The one exception made for the research is for connecting travelers heading to the US from a third country via Europe. However, if you are not a European resident and are simply transferring in Europe before flying to America, you must have done so at least 3 times in the last 15 years. An example of this journey is someone going from Bombay in India to Chicago in the US via London Heathrow, or Nairobi to Atlanta via Amsterdam Schiphol. Connecting traffic through hub and spoke models is a crucial element of business models for European and American airlines in the transatlantic market, hence the relaxed rules on the country of residence. At the moment, I do expect that the results will be similar between travelers connecting in Europe and travelers considering Europe as their place of origin in their journeys to America. But I will elaborate more as the sample size becomes larger.

I too was surprised that the survey didn’t ask for country of residence.

Section 3 ( the optional questions) asked for "Nationality" so for most that would be their "country of residence."

I 'looked' at the survey. Was curious what it entailed. (Not sure I didn't accidentally make a submission)

“Section 3 ( the optional questions) asked for "Nationality" so for most that would be their "country of residence." “

Not necessarily. Jay explicitly states that Americans living in Europe can fill in the survey too. Their nationality is not their country of residence.
It’s very common that surveys are only meant for a certain demographic. In these cases it’s standard practice to start the survey with a couple of sifting questions to verify that the person filling in the survey actually belongs to the chosen demographic. If it’s clear from the answers that the participant isn’t part of the demographic, the survey ends early with a thank you message.

Since Jay’s survey lacks such a sifting question, he has no way of knowing if those who answered that their nationality is American, actually do live in Europe. He could thus unknowingly end up with participants outside his chosen demographic.

The very first questions are about "how often do you visit the US"- so I think pretty quickly people who live in the US would realise the survey was not for them, as it's not possible to answer a question about frequency of visits to a place you reside.

@ Jay

Nice Uni. Great Campus and grounds.

Like your thesis topic.

Best of luck with your PhD.

A bit late. Been out in the desert on a horse with a name.

Kind Regards

Ron

Been out in the desert on a horse with a name.

Yet again, you make me laugh.

@Tassie Devil

Many thanks, mate. Although it's not a PhD I'm up to, but a Master's degree. Indeed, University of Surrey is a nice campus, and Guildford is a great town.

Thank you everyone again for your continued support and participation. So far I have about 40-50 responses. Don't forget to invite any friends, family members, colleagues, and neighbors meeting the following criteria:

1. Residents of a European country (American nationals, European nationals, and third country nationals)
2. Anyone who has travelled to the US via Europe on a connecting journey at least 3 times in the last 15 years

Currently I will have this questionnaire active until the 24th of July, but that is subject to change. Thanks again, and happy travels to everyone, wherever your current or future journeys may take you.

I hope you will report back here someday on the results and conclusions of your study. Even if it doesnt apply to many of us, its still an interesting subject.

@stan Absolutely! I will be sure to provide a detailed report following the conclusion of the study. At the moment, I'm aiming for this to be complete by around late August, so hopefully the results will be ready around that time. The one thing I'll ask from all of you is to not put any replies to the post with results (when they come out) to avoid any contentious discussions. If anyone has questions or comments over the results of the study, I am always happy to answer them via a direct message or email.

I have 90 responses so far. Keep them coming!

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the participation so far in this research. At this point, I plan to leave the survey up on the RS Travel Forum for at least another two weeks until around July 22-24 roughly. But this is subject to change. If you or anyone else you know haven't done the survey already, I encourage you to not wait till the last minute. Thanks again for your support, and have a nice weekend!

Hi all. At this point, I intend to stop recruitment about a week from now (roughly 22nd July). If you intend to participate, please submit your responses sooner rather than later. I will not be able to reopen the survey after its closure. Thanks for the support, everyone!