Lastminute.com Travel Survey

Lastminute.com recently released results of their latest travel survey. The survey brings up some interesting topics for business travelers, such as traveling with your spouse or partner. As a general rule, the significant other isn’t a part of our work-travel routine. But why not take him or her along? The survey found that 79% of respondents who travel with their partners claim to return more ‘in love.’ A measley 2.5% come back fighting. Interesting. It is hard on a relationship for one party or the other to be away constantly (or in other cases it is the only reason the relationship survives).

If you’re interested, here are the rest of the results:

o More than 60 percent of respondents research travel on the Internet before planning a trip.
o Over 75 percent of respondents pack within 24 hours of departure.
o Almost 18 percent of respondents routinely forget to pack pajamas. The second most popular ‘forgotten’ item is a hair dryer.
o More than 80 percent of respondents arrive at the airport at the recommended time for checking in.
o More than 48 percent of respondents reveal that catching up on reading is their favorite thing to do during the flight.
o Almost every nationality thinks themselves to be the loudest on the plane, Americans included.
o Almost 50% of respondents prefer to have at least one “buffer” day between returning from vacation and returning to work.

Americans, as usual, differed from the Europeans. Here’s how:

o Fewer than 9% of European respondents admit to having ever missed a flight, revealing a surprising disparity – more than 27% of American respondents report missing a flight at least once. I have twice. Once for a good reason, the other time because of margaritas. We’re flaky like that in the U.S.
o Americans believe they pack the heaviest suitcases, and most of the Europeans agree.