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16 Dec, 2015

Which U.S. Presidential candidate would you like as a holiday season seatmate: GroundLink Surveys Business Travelers

NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) DECEMBER 10, 2015 – With the holidays around the corner and the 2016 presidential candidates continuing to make headlines, GroundLink®, a leading tech-enabled black car service, surveyed more than 500 frequent business travelers on their opinions on holiday travel.

When it comes to mixing holiday travel and politics, nearly 40 percent (38.6) of those surveyed said that Donald Trump would be the worst seat mate on a flight during the holidays. Hillary Clinton came in second with 16 percent saying she would be their worst seatmate followed by Mike Huckabee at 10 percent. Ben Carson and Jeb Bush both were selected as the worst seatmate by six percent. Rand Paul, Bernie Sanders and Carly Fiorina all tied at five percent.

When asked who would be the best seatmate, Clinton took the lead at 36 percent. Surprisingly, Trump came in second at 22 percent and was followed by Sanders at 13 percent, Marco Rubio at five percent, Fiorina and Bush at four percent and Carson at three percent. Eleven percent suggested others including everyone from Pope Francis to David Letterman and Kermit The Frog.

Business Travelers Say Avoid Traveling During the Holidays; Weather and Traffic Cause Stress

Nearly 30 percent (29.3) of those surveyed say they avoid traveling the day before Christmas at all costs, and nearly a quarter (23.6) avoid traveling the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. When asked what causes them the most stress during the holidays, 44 percent said weather and weather-related delays. Twenty-six percent said being stuck in traffic on the way to the airport and possibly missing their flight was the greatest cause for their holiday travel angst. Being stuck in a center seat on an over-crowded flight was identified as the next stressor by 14 percent and being stuck in long security lines behind inexperienced travelers by 13 percent.

New York is Worst for Holiday Airport Traffic; Denver is the Best; Most Travelers Prefer to Leave The Driving to The Pros

The majority of those surveyed (32 percent) said they would travel within the Northeast during the holidays, followed by the Southeast and West (12 percent each), Caribbean (five percent), Southwest (four percent) and Midwest (three percent).

According to those surveyed, more than half (53 percent) said that New York is the worst city for traffic to and from the airport during the holidays. This was followed by Los Angeles (19 percent), Chicago (11 percent), Atlanta (six percent) and Washington D.C. (four percent). When asked what city had the least amount of holiday airport traffic, Denver topped the list at 24 percent, followed by Miami (13 percent), Washington D.C. (11 percent), San Francisco (10 percent) and Atlanta and New York (both at six percent).

Overwhelmingly, most business travelers (81 percent) prefer being driven to the airport by a professional driver. Fourteen percent prefer to drive themselves or rent a car and only three percent of those surveyed said they prefer to use a van/shuttle service. Most business travelers (59 percent) said that they plan ahead and book a car to the airport with plenty of time in advance of their flight. Eight percent claim to wait until the last minute and take a taxi, while four percent take public transportation to the airport.