Living “up in the air”: Meeting the frequent flyer passenger

• Frequent flyer passengers are profitable niche markets for airlines but their profile has not been studied in depth.
• Changes in passenger behaviour and in the aviation business have changed the stereotypes of frequent flyers.
• Frequent passengers have particular characteristics that are clearly differentiated from occasional passengers.
• The frequent passenger's profile is a middle-aged, educated male taking a domestic flight on a business trip.
• Frequent passengers do not discriminate between traditional and low-cost airlines or between hub and regional airports.

This paper uses a large database of approximately 37,000 passengers and three different estimates to analyse the characteristics of the frequent flyer and the differences between frequent flyers and occasional flyers. The results show that frequent flyers are middle-aged men with a high level of education who take domestic flights for business reasons at both hub and regional airports, where they make a purchase and/or consume F&B. Frequent flyers fly on both low-cost and traditional airlines, are more likely to stay overnight at a relative's or friend's home and travel to the airport by private or rented car.