Passenger Knowledge of Airline Safety Information

Passenger Knowledge of Airline Safety Information

Fennell, P.J.
Harris, J.R.
Muir, H.C.

Cranfield Institute of Technology, College of Aeronautics, Applied Pyschology Unit

1988-11-30

Five hundred passengers participated in an investigation into their knowledge of the pre-flight briefing and the safety card information. Although general knowledge was good (78%), a tendency was observed for passengers to overestimate their ability to recall some aspects of the pre-flight briefing and safety card. Males had a higher score on questions regarding safety information than females, although this difference may be due to the fact that the majority of business passengers are male, and that business passengers travel more frequently than any other passenger group. Some aspects of the pre-flight briefing and the safety card information were identified as requiring clarification in order to ensure that all passengers are to utilise the information correctly in an emergency. Self-reports of attention to safety information were high, with 79.9% of passengers reporting paying attention to the briefing on most flights, and 59.7% reporting reading the card on most flights. However, it is suggested that these percentages are likely to overestimate the actual percentage of passengers who pay attention. Frequent passengers reported paying the least attention to briefings and safety cards, though they also had more knowledge of safety information than less frequent passengers. To ensure the safety of all passengers, it is important that both frequent and infrequent passengers are motivated to pay more attention to safety information and to increase their knowledge. Included in the report are several suggestions made by passengers regarding methods which they believe, if used, could increase attention. Starting in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, the Cranfield Institute of Technology was granted university status in 1969. In 1993 it changed its name to Cranfield University.

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