Insight released today by global travel search engine Skyscanner reveals the top airports that travellers are choosing to self-connect through, with Dublin, Los Angeles’ LAX and Singapore’s Changi airport topping the list for their respective regions.
Self-connect passengers are those who build their own itinerary, travelling on two separate tickets often with different carriers to save money or for stop-over tourism.
Top Airports for Self-connect Bookings by Region
| Region | Top Airport | % of seats booked to airport as part of self-connect trip |
| Europe | DUB | 28 |
| Americas | LAX | 33 |
| Asia | SIN | 17 |
The US and Europe are better known for the prevalence of low cost carriers, a key facilitator of self-connections, and both Dublin and LAX will be pleased to see that they represent popular choices for passengers pursuing this option. While the development of budget airlines in Asia has been slower, Singapore’s Changi is fast becoming a popular self-connection point, something which will no doubt increase in years to come as discount carriers gain a stronger presence in the region.
The data shows that self-connections are on the rise, with the average percentage of users choosing to self-connect over taking a flight route with a single carrier last year increasing to 12.6%, up from 11.6% the year previously.
The analysis is based on data collected from the search engine’s 50 million monthly users searching for flights, and is accompanied with an Infographic report breaking down the top self-connect airports by region.
Hugh Aitken, Commercial Director at Skyscanner commented, “In the age of the savvy traveller, and with the growth of low cost carriers, an increasing number of passengers are more aware of their options, choosing to self-connect their travel as a result. For both airports and airlines, having a full picture of the searches and bookings passengers are making, including their preferences for connections, routes and pricing, is essential if they are to capitalise on the market.”
The analysis of self-connections was based on data produced by Skyscanner’s cutting-edge Travel Insight tool. The data crunching tool, developed by Skyscanner’s dedicated B2B Unit Skyscanner for Business, allows businesses to learn key insights from the travel planning process of their potential flight customers from the global search data captured through the metasearch engine’s 50 million monthly visitors.
