It's the question every trip support company asks: what is most important to the customer, cost or quality of service? UAS International Trip Support put the question to 250 pilots, executives and business jet operators across the globe in a double-blind survey to discover exactly how customers prioritized their trip support needs.

“A good trip-planning consultant doesn't just get you from A to B. They also proactively do things to help improve the bottom line of your trip,” said Ryan Frankhouser, UAS director of business development, Americas. “The answers to our survey are enlightening,” he continued.

Some 70 percent of respondents, who were both U.S.-based and overseas flight department operators, executives, and pilots, indicated that excellent trip support service trumped competitive pricing. Even the bean-counters responding to the survey agreed, 56 percent to 44 percent, that exceptional service was worth paying more for.

Respondents also ranked from 1 to 6 (with 1 being the most important) how a good international trip support company would set its values for customers. The results were, in order of importance: speed/efficiency of service delivery; single point of contact for booking services; worldwide service ability; simplicity of invoicing and pricing; access to credit facilities; and a product loyalty program.

Another key finding of the survey was that company reputation is more important to customers than the range of services that the company can provide.