Aussie Airport Spending Taking-Off

Australians are splashing their cash in airports and spending over half a billion dollars¹ on duty free shopping annually according to new research from Cheapflights.com.au.

Findings from the second Cheapflights #AirportLife survey showed that seven in 10 (71 per cent) people normally make a duty free purchase at the airport, with the national average spend coming in at $88 per visit. Those under 45 years of age are the biggest spenders, shelling out $42 more than their elders. Parents are also hitting the shops hard compared to travellers without children (83 per cent versus 67 per cent), and hand over approximately $43 more per visit.

This spending is in addition to the almost $210.5 million[1] devoted to pre-flight booze at airports, and on top of the money spent on pre-flight priorities and activities. For example, once Aussies are past check-in, women are most likely to prioritise getting a bite to eat and stocking up on supplies (33 per cent), while men are most likely to try and find somewhere to simply sit back and relax (35 per cent). Only a lucky few (seven per cent) make a beeline for a premium airport lounge and get to enjoy its freebies.

Nathan Graham, Regional Sales Manager at Cheapflights ANZ, said: “Despite Aussies’ laid back reputation, just four per cent of people surveyed said they had ever been late for a flight, meaning the majority are arriving at the airport with time to kill. Shopping is a natural way to pass this time, and with more terminals being revamped across the world, retailers are set to benefit.

“‘Shop and Collect’ services are also making it easier to spend up big, with fliers able to make purchases prior to departure and miss the queues, simply picking up their goodies once they arrive back in Australia.”

While retail therapy keeps many Aussies satisfied and six in 10 (64 per cent) respondents said they are in a happy ‘holiday-mode’ mindset by the time they check-in, the research showed tensions can still flare easily at the airport.

Here, one in three (35 per cent) people identified queue jumping as the most annoying behaviour of fellow travellers, while a quarter (25 per cent) said they were frustrated by others ‘taking too long’ when in front of them in line.

Other top pet peeves include people being loud or holding public phone conversations (33 per cent), letting small children run around (31 per cent) or being generally unprepared (24 per cent).

Cabrini Broderick, a 22 year old communications professional from Sydney, recently returned from Europe and said she had been irritated by travellers at the airport, but had no idea her own phone conversations could have annoyed others.

“When you’re trying to manoeuvre your way through a crowd, it’s frustrating to have to dodge kids. But it didn’t even cross my mind that I could have been the annoying one for others.

“Before I went overseas for five months, mum and I had an emotional goodbye on the phone while I was waiting at the gate. Looking back, others overhearing my conversation could have found it grating, and the volume of my calls is definitely something I will consider next time.”

Additional key findings from the research include:

- Eight in 10 (84 per cent) West Australians buy duty free, and those from the state are also the biggest spenders at $114.60 per airport visit.

- Those from New South Wales are next in line to purchase with 76 per cent spending $93.40 on average, followed by Victorians (70 per cent buying $87.20 worth of goods), Queenslanders (67 per cent at $83.90) and South Australians (60 per cent at $73.90).

- Women are more likely to be bothered by line cutters (40 per cent versus 30 per cent of men) while men are more likely irritated by the unprepared (26 per cent compared to 21 per cent of women).

- Those from New South Wales and Queensland find loud conversations the most annoying airport behaviour (38 per cent and 37 per cent respectively).

- 35 per cent of South Australians and 41 per cent of West Australians are infuriated by queue jumpers.

- Victorians are equally irked by travellers cutting in on lines and those taking too long in the queue in front of them (31 per cent each).

For more information or to search your next holiday, visit Cheapflights.com.au, and to join the conversation online #AirportLife.