HSBC

A Flying Economy – the Economic Powerhouse Above the Clouds

DUBAI, UAE, September 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

• Research by HSBC has identified a country-sized, thriving and cosmopolitan population of almost 12 million people in the air every day
• This country, Flyland, has a Gross Domestic Product valued at $400.5 billion - just larger than that of Norway

For the people of Flyland - the 11.9 million individuals from around the world who take to the air every day - business is soaring, according to new research and analysis from HSBC.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/751530/HSBC___EN_Infographic.jpg )

The 'country in the sky' has grown to an annual GDP of $400.5 billion and adds more than $1.26 billion to its value each day. The data takes into consideration the average amount of flights Flyland citizens take in a year, their average income, average spend and considers the value of the average amount of work or business conducted in flight.

According to the results, business travellers average two hours of work per flight, with leisure travellers not far behind at 1.3 hours. This adds up to $53.4 billion worth of work being completed at 35,000 feet.

UAE citizens in Flyland
Of the UAE-based citizens of the newly named nation, 88 percent claim they often add additional leisure days to their business trips - higher than the global average at 45 percent.

Business travel makes up 25 per cent of flights with the typical business traveller flying 10.2 times per year. This is, on average, 54 per cent more than the average citizen. But it's not just the destination where people meet, collaborate and create. One in seven claim they've made business connections while visiting Flyland while another 12 per cent have had an exciting business idea.

Sky high spending power
In total, citizens spend an average of $91.90 per flight, including $7.89 for food, $3.10 for drink, $3.28 for Wi-Fi and $68.47 for duty free.

The majority of these purchases are credit card transactions (70 percent), following a global trend of moving towards a cashless society.

Commenting on the study Marwan Hadi, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC UAE, said: "Flyland is a fascinating lens through which we can see a diverse and outward looking group of people criss-crossing the world with considerable economic might."