Frequent travellers polled

that elusive target, the frequent business traveller, is the subject of a new syndicated study from the Angus Reid Group.

The study, recently presented in Toronto by Bruce Cameron, Angus Reid executive vice-president, was commissioned by enRoute, Air Canada’s in-flight magazine.

The frequent business traveller (fbt) was defined as a person taking six or more return business trips by air in a year.

Cameron admits the fbt is hard to find and hard to interview, but says the new study is unique because of sample size and interview time.

Cameron says 2,009 fbts in eight cities were interviewed by phone this year in July and August, with the average interview time running to 40 minutes.

He says the study links the behavior, attitudes and motivation of fbts.

The areas of analysis in the study, the third annual, are airline/travel behavior, car rental habits, hotels stayed at, charge card use, and more.

Cameron says 83% of the sample were men, and 17% were women, with the bulk of them in the 35-54 age group.

He says 10% of them were older than that, but points out fbts are, as a group, getting younger.

Cameron says the study broke the fbts survey into five segments.

The largest segment, at 26%, were described as ‘comfortable-established.’

Next, at 22%, came ‘reluctant-no frills,’ followed by ‘high flyers’ at 20%. Eighteen per cent of the fbts were described as ‘status seekers,’ and 14% of them were ‘experimenters.’

Cameron says almost all – 94% – of fbts read in-flight magazines, and nearly one-half of them either bought what they saw advertised or requested more information about the product.

Cameron was reluctant to reveal many details of the study.

He says an annual subscription to the study costs $20,000, adding specific chapters cost less.