Jaunted - Tag: surveys

Why, Of Course: Business School Graduates Would Like To Work for Air France

juliana — 2009-11-02T16:12:26-05:00

We get a lot of press releases in our inboxes and while most of them are credible, quite a few of them have nothing or very little to do with travel. Depending on our mood, the latter kind either causes us to laugh or to curse the high heavens that created spambots. But every so often there is one from a credible source that makes us go, "Seriously?"

Like this one from Air France which just announced that their airline ranks first "in the 2009 Top 50 Most Attractive Employers for Junior Executives from business schools."

Apparently, over 7,000 junior executives were polled about the most attractive firms they would like to work for, among 136 firms that were proposed. These junior executives were graduates from major French business schools and universities with one to eight years of working experience. (Note: it did not say if they still had jobs in this down economy.) However, when the IT and science engineering school graduates wee polled, they ranked Air France in 8th place.

Perhaps this special announcement was a distraction from the whole pilot insensitivity that made the news last year. And we're not so sure we'd put much faith in these results. Afterall, business class tickets are pretty pricey these days and people would do all sorts of things for a free ride.

Related Stories:
· Air France Pilots Having Trouble Focusing On Priorities After Criticism Over Safety Practices [Jaunted]
· Air France [Official Site]

Phoenix: Frommer's Arizona Boycott Can't Keep This State Down

kjb — 2009-09-10T09:13:50-05:00

Despite Arthur Frommer’s feelings about the Grand Canyon State, people seem to be ready to head out to Phoenix this fall. It is possible that his opinion might not have made it through to everyone yet, or it’s possible that nobody cares what Frommer thinks. Even though things are slow due to the economy, the Valley of the Sun appears to keep drawing the crowds into town.

According to the 2009 Travel Leaders Fall Travel Trends Survey—catchy name—the Phoenix and Scottsdale area sits just outside the top ten at number 11 among destinations booked throughout the rest of the year. People must want to avoid the cool crisp days of autumn at any cost. About 75 percent of those asked said that trips were down compared to last year overall, and about 60 percent said they had a good feeling about the strength of the fall travel season. Let's just hope the travel season isn't too strong, we're getting used to all the great deals.

Chicago: Will Virgin America Fly to Chicago Next?

juliana — 2009-05-12T16:25:07-05:00

What up Chi-town? Could there be a Virgin America launch party hosted by Branson and Kanye West in your near future? It's possible if we are to judge anything from the results of a recent VA survey.

The Virgin America questionnaire asked travelers which new route they would most like to see next from the airline. And the winner of the popularity contest was—drumroll please—SFO to Chicago. This we totally understand since, with the exception of Las Vegas, VA has pretty much ignored the "fly-over states."

The next most-wanted route is SFO to Honolulu, followed by SFO to Miami. Honestly, we're surprised that JFK to Miami is not #1 right now instead of #8. Remember the days when we thought that VA would put Miami before Seattle service? But considering that VA has been trying to break into the Chicago market for a while now, this might actually happen first. Sorry Miami! You will have to wait to carry your naked party back to the plane.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America coverage [Jaunted]
· Airlines Play Hopscotch at Chicago O'Hare Airport [Jaunted]

Art Frommer Really Ticked Off By Latest TripAdvisor Survey

juliana — 2009-05-07T11:21:38-05:00

We can't make up our minds about Art Frommer. Does he like the internet or not? On one hand, he has his own blog and he owns a Kindle. On the other hand, he's not a big fan of other online travel sites, especially review sites where amateur travelers detail their experiences.

His latest victim is TripAdvisor, a site with "some of the looniest opinions about travel." That's because TripAdvisor released a survey in which travelers said :

London has the worst food, Paris is the most overrated and Brussels is the most boring, according to a survey of what travelers think about European cities.

The report also said Prague was a bargain destination which practically made Frommer throw his typewriter in disgust. But you wanna know what? We agree with Frommer. Not necessarily because we think TripAdvisor is full of "loonies" or anything (their hotel reviews are always helpful) but these opinions of European cities are really off-mark.

Paris--overrated? Never. Prague may have been a bargain destination 10 years ago before people "rediscovered" it, but it's a bit of a tourist trap these days. Not to mention that one of the newest hotels there opened with rates starting at $444 a night. As if!

And London having the worst food also doesn't make sense. What about the gastropub invasion? The city has good mix of Michelin Stars and more affordable but still tasty options too. We're so angry we're about to throw our typewriter in disgust...if we hadn't thrown out our typewriter back in 1996.

Related Stories
· So What Makes a Place Overrated? [Jaunted]
· To find some of the looniest opinions about travel, head to TripAdvisor.com [Jaunted]
· Grazing on the Cheap in London [Jaunted]

Survey Travel: Brits Heading to All the Globe's Corners

amandak — 2008-10-24T10:26:21-05:00

In the UK, another travel survey's been done to serve the needs of another travel company. OK, cynicism aside, the recent discoveries of Opodo are actually pretty interesting: Their theory is that a relatively strong Euro and pound have had British travelers heading further away from Europe for their vacations.

The first weird thing is that the destination which has really taken off is Lima which has had an almost 100 percent increase in bookings. We're guessing these travelers are actually en route to Machu Picchu, but the survey makers are letting us draw our own conclusions.

Other spots where you're likely to find a sudden influx of British travelers include the eclectic mix of Jordan, Cairo, South Korea and Bulgaria. Of course, following the example of the naughty Brit who pretended to be Spanish, you may not even know you're traveling amongst Britons.

[Photo: markg6]

TripAdvisor Survey: Travelers Fear Germy Planes, Love Provocative Dress, Crave Eco-Adventures

Victor Ozols — 2008-10-04T14:22:25-05:00

The opinion-sharing folks over at TripAdvisor recently released their latest annual survey on the top trends in travel. This year's obsession: germs on a plane. We probably would have pegged cruise ships as the most likely place to come down with a nasty case of the scoots from touching an exposed surface, but apparently most people fear picking up a bug while in the tubular confines of an airplane. Out of 2,500 respondents, 28 percent were concerned about germs, bacteria, and viruses onboard airplanes, while others reported having germaphobia relating to public transit, restaurants, hotels, and airports. The report should be good news for manufacturers of hand sanitizer, Wet-Naps, and Airborne dietary supplements, as travelers appear willing to try anything that might keep the creepy crawlies away.

Best of Britain: Fish and Chips Score Number 1 Spot

amandak — 2008-07-10T09:15:14-05:00

If you ask the British what the best things are about living in the UK, you probably wouldn't expect to hear "food" topping the list. But that's exactly what happened when the Holiday Inn hotel chain ran a survey recently to discover 50 things Brits most love about their land.

Coming right on top, fish and chips is apparently the best reason to be in Britain. Other food and drink experiences in the top ten included old-fashioned pubs, a Sunday roast dinner and a "cream tea" in the afternoon.

While we personally don't travel to Britain for its food, some of the other things on the British best-loved list are also not convincing reasons for us to hop on a plane: the queen came in at #2, the ever-more-expensive British pound at #9 and the National Health Service at #14. We've got a feeling the British need to get out more.

Related Stories:
· Fish and Chips Voted No. 1 in Best of British Poll [Telegraph]
· Great Britain Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: hugovk]