Ranking of Human Senses in Relation to Different In-flight Activities Contributing to the Comfort Experience of Airplane Passengers

Abstract

Bubb, Bengler, Grünen, and Vollrath (2015) identified six environmental comfort factors and ordered them from most important to least important (smell, light, vibrations, sound, climate and anthropometry). This paper attempts to verify whether this suggested order of comfort-related factors also applies to the expectations of aircraft passengers. For this purpose, two studies were carried out. First, a survey was conducted among 183 aircraft passengers between 19 and 64 years old. In this survey, respondents were asked to rank six comfort factors by selecting the most important factor from 15 pairs of factors (e.g. light versus smell). The respondents indicated anthropometry as the most important factor, followed by noise, smell and climate. These were followed by the vibration factor and the light factor, which was considered the least important. However, respondents stated after the survey ,that the context of the factors was unclear, since the importance of each factor might depend on the in-flight activity performed. Moreover, the factors were insufficiently explained (e.g. it is not clear if climate refers to warm or cold air). Based on this, a second survey was conducted among 167 aircraft passengers who were between 19 and 61 years old. In this survey, the comfort factors were clarified and two activities were predefined. The results illustrate that different orders of comfort factors can be identified for different activities, however, according to respondents, the comfort of the seat is the most important factor for all activities. The indicated order of comfort factors could help aircraft interior manufacturers prioritize design efforts aimed at improved passenger comfort for intended in-flight activities.