Mary Kirby Sets Off Round The World in 80 Hours

Online, February 5, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Ink Global Passenger Survey takes off with Mary Kirby Eye tracking research

Today, Ink, the global leader in connecting companies with travellers, started their Global Passenger Survey (GPS) by sending Mary Kirby, the renowned aviation industry journalist and industry commentator around the world in 80 hours. Mary will be heading off from New York's JFK airport wearing Eye Tracking glasses with an aim to understand how a passenger experiences the overall travel experience across multiple journey types and airlines.

Mary's journey will take her around the world via JFK to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Kiev, from Kiev to Dubai, from Dubai to Singapore, Singapore to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Vancouver and then back to New York. The trip started on the 4th of February and will finish on the 11th. Mary will be stopping on the way in Singapore for a few days where she will be presenting some of her findings at the Airline Retail Conference 2012 Asia Pacific.

"I am really excited about this trip. It is going to be hard work, but a bit of an adventure", said Mary Kirby, Editor of Airline Passenger Experience magazine and the APEX media platform. "The really positive aspect of this is the fact that so many of the world's leading carriers have agreed to be involved. This shows their dedication to provide the best customer experience and I hope that this research will help to benchmark the industry and set the standards for passenger for years to come".

Ink has agreed to work with several airlines to help get Mary around the world as part of their GPS research Including KLM, flydubai and Emirates who have all agreed to let Mary wear the glasses on their planes.

"The fact that world leading airlines such as KLM, flydubai and Emirates have joined us in the first part of this passenger research, has demonstrated the value of what we are trying to achieve," said Jeffrey O'Rourke, Chief Executive, Ink. "We believe that this eye tracking data, tied in with online and face-to-face surveys as well as insights from the airlines themselves, will not only provide invaluable information and data that will go a long way to help maintain or improve the standards of the passenger experience, but will also enlighten brands on the best way to interact and engage with travellers".

Ink's GPS will offer unique and exclusive insights into the way passengers interact with their airline of choice and also how they compare to other carriers. In addition, the research will provide much-needed independent intelligence for airports, retailers, brands, advertisers and media agencies into how passengers consume media on their travels. This will also take into consideration the relationship between the airline and passenger, as well as the passenger and retail brands, throughout the complete travel journey experience.

The findings of this research and the additional eye tracking research will be announced later this year. However, during her travels, Mary will be actively Tweeting and blogging, as well as compiling content and thoughts for the Airline Passenger Experience Magazine. To follow Mary on her journey please follow her on Twitter @APEXMary or look out for the #eyetracktravel tag. In addition, if you would like to know more about the GPS initiative, please go to www.ink-global.com.

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Notes to editors:
About Ink
Ink is the global leader in connecting companies with travellers. As well as producing more onboard magazines for more airlines than any other company in the world, Ink reaches a captive audience of hundreds of millions of travellers each year with Targeted Advertising (TAD) on confirmation emails, check-in emails, print-at-home & mobile boarding passes and on onboard entertainment systems.

Ink works with more than three dozen airlines, produces media in 17 languages, and sells advertising in over 100 countries. Our travel clients include companies as diverse as Air France-KLM, Air Macau, Bangkok Airways, bmi, easyJet, Eurostar, Germanwings, Gulf Air, Jetstar, Ryanair, South African Express, THAI Airways, Tiger Airways, TurboJET (the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau), United Airlines, PrivatAir and Wizz Air.

Ink is the owner of the Airline Retail Conference (ARC) in Europe and Asia, the China Travel Retail conference in Shanghai, and produces the Airline Passenger Experience Media Platform in association with APEX, the Airline Passenger Experience Association. We also publish CNBC Business magazine and Time Out Singapore. For more information see www.ink-global.com.

For press inquiries:

CONTACT:
James Harrison,
Group Marketing & Communications Director, Ink,
T - +44 7904 160840
DD - +44 207 613 6995
James.harrison@ink-global.com