OAG Study: Travelers Prefer Laptops And Solitude

<H1>OAG Study: Travelers Prefer Laptops And Solitude

</H1>Does it seem as though every other traveler is toting a laptop computer these days? It's not your imagination: They are, according to results of a recent survey of 2,200 frequent travelers from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore. More than half of those responding to the 1996 Business Traveler Lifestyle Survey, sponsored by Official Airline Guides, Oak Brook, Ill., said they take laptops on business trips. And two-thirds of those who take them actually use them during the flight.

Singaporeans are most likely to always pack a laptop on a trip, while the United Kingdom and Germany have the highest proportion of travelers who never tote a laptop.

Ranking the top 10 in-flight facilities, respondents ranked choice of personal videos and telephones as most useful, followed by tourist magazines, fax facilities, computers, tourist guides on video and duty-free shopping. Less than 10 percent found computer games, electronic shopping and gambling opportunities to be useful in-flight diversions. During the flight, most corporate travelers want to be left alone and not chat with neighbors. Nearly 40 percent said they have swapped seats to avoid sitting next to anyone.