Several Indian airlines spend more on marketing themselves than on the safety of passengers, around 76 per cent of respondents said in an online survey conducted across India.
As per the survey by LocalCircles, as many as 64 per cent of the respondents said that they experienced at least one rough flight over the last three years—often involving a difficult takeoff, landing or an in-flight situation.
The survey—that received around 44,000 responses from respondents spread across 322 districts—is a timely one, especially amid the ongoing discussions on reported airplane mishaps, including the recent crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The tragic incident killed around 241 of the 242 passengers on board and another 19 on the ground at the site where it crashed.
Mishaps related to aircraft have been making frequently headlines recently, causing consternation among fliers. Another mishap like situation was reported recently when passengers on board an Air India Kochi-Mumbai flight escaped narrowly after the aircraft veered off the runway during landing. Even as the aircraft was damaged, the passengers were reported to be safe.
Frequent incidents like these have created an air of panic among passengers while raising questions regarding in-flight safety.
As a part of the survey, most of the respondents answered in the positive when asked if India based airlines spend more on publicity than on safety. 43% stated, "yes, all of them"; 33% stated "yes, some of them"; 11% respondents stated "no, none of them"; while 13% respondents did not give a clear answer.
"In summary, 76% Indian airline passengers surveyed believe that many airlines are spending more on publicity than safety," stated the press release announcing the results of the survey.
Among the total respondents in the survey, 63% were men and about 37% were women.
Additionally, 46% of respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 25% from Tier 2 cities, and the remaining 29% were from Tier 3, 4, 5 cities and rural districts, the release said.
In addition to the first question, respondents were also asked about their rough or traumatic experiences during take-off, landings or in-flight) in the past three years.
According to the survey results, 75% agreed that over 50% of their flight were either rough or traumatic; 6% noted that 40-50% flights had such experiences; another 6% said that 30-40% flights had these experiences, while 9% respondents pegged the number at 10-20% flights.
"To sum up, 64% airline passengers surveyed in India say they have had at least one or more rough flights in the last 3 years with a difficult takeoff, landing or inflight experience,” the survey release noted.
