Just seven percent of travelers say they work while in the air according to a survey conducted by The GO Group, LLC, an international ground transportation service provider and GO Airport Express, a GO member and Chicago-based ground transportation company serving O’Hare International and Midway airports. This number is down from 10 percent from the same survey distributed in June 2012.
The companies polled travelers nationwide about how they prefer to spend their time while on an airplane; more than 570 people responded.
Once again topping the list of preferred activities is reading, at 43 percent, up 11 percent from last year. Thirteen percent of respondents said they sleep, up just one percent from last year. Tied at seven percent were work, listening to music and watching the in-flight movie.
Watching a movie or playing games on a personal digital device was next at almost four percent, followed by chatting with seatmates and surfing the Internet, with just one percent of respondents choosing these options. Less than one percent said they do nothing at all, and 13 percent said they do a combination of some or all of the activities listed.
“Even though more airlines are offering low-cost or free in-flight WiFi, travelers still prefer to relax and spend their time on entertainment instead of catching up on work,” says John McCarthy, president, GO Airport Express.
The GO Group, LLC is a one-stop source for door-to-door airport shuttle services. Its members transport some 13 million passengers to and from airports in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe annually. One of the oldest companies in Chicago, GO Airport Express traces its founding to 1853 and the Parmelee Transportation Company, which provided a carriage service between Chicago’s railroad stations and the downtown hotels.