7 Common Emotions of Travel

British Airways commissioned a study to determine the habits of airline travelers.

Photo Credit: British Airways

The results of the study, completed by Ipsos MoRI, uncovered that travelers go through 7 different emotions when they fly.

The emotions are:

• Enjoyment
• Conviviality
• Belonging
• Security
• Control
• Empowerment
• Vitality 

The study goes on to say there is a pattern to the emotions. The first phase being CONTROL, which starts at home and continues through security. Soon it moves to EMPOWERMENT, knowing that you have to get to the gate at a specific time and you know how to get there. On board the plane, SECURITY and BELONGING take over due to a smile from the crew and the routine safety announcements.  

While in the air, ENJOYMENT AND CONVIVIAL behaviors come into force.  "There is a distinct theme of suspending normal life for fliers with many of them admitting to breaking their own norms and indulging in
calorific food, drinking alcohol first thing in the morning and watching three films in a row 'because they can'." Somewhere in the flight, the final feeling VITALITY kicks in. Its the excitement of the vacation or family that awaits you at the end of the flight.

Personally, these are all emotions that I feel during flying. For me control starts when leaving public transportation at the airport. Get my paper ticket, dump the water in my water bottle and head to TSA-Prechek. While boarding, I know when I need to board and that the window seat in the last row of the airplane is mine. A major sigh of relief overcomes me, when the airline door closes. Flying on an airplane gives me a ton of enjoyment and I always drink a Sprite, but I never drink soda normally on the ground. Excitement occurs midway throughout the flight with the end in sight.

The question is what is British Airways going to do with this information? Improve the on-board product? Make getting to the gate easier? Information is great, but its only words if you don't act on it.

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See Something, Say Something

When you ride the metro in Washington, DC, every five minutes the same message comes on. If you see something, say something...

After the events in Boston this week, this phrase is more important than ever. The best line of defense against future acts of terrorism is a vigilant public. It is every Americans responsibility to stay alert and let authorities know if something does not seem right. One person speaking up can safe the lives of thousands. Many forget that it was a hot dog stand vendor that stopped the bombing in Times Square. He told police officers about a car that was smoking. He alone saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.

Why do I write this on a points/travel blog?

The reason is simple. We, frequent travelers, are in high traffic areas more often than the average American. How many times at the airport do you see a bag unattended? When you see this, do you tell someone? If you are like me, you are rushing to the bathroom, the gate or grab something to eat before your next flight, so we move on, leaving the bag unattended. We justify not telling someone about the bag by saying someone else with more time will. My guess is that 99% of us use that justification.

You see something, you must say something....

CNN today has an article on Vigilance Key To Safe Travels. In the article, the author says, "If the past is any predictor, Americans may forget they're part of the solution and move on." This sediment is so true. We fall complacent about our safety. We tell ourselves, "we live in America, the safest country in the world." It is only after tragic events are we awaken from our la la land and brought back to reality. For a few days after the event, we remain on high alert, but eventually we fall back into our complacent state. It is then that we open ourselves up to greater danger.

Again, if you see something out of place, say something. We are the final line of defense, but only if we leave our comfortable complacent state.



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