NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- An extra hour to curl up under the covers may seem heaven sent when faced with a screaming alarm clock but, according to a UK survey commissioned by British Airways, if everyone had an extra hour in the day, the last thing people would choose would be sleeping.
The survey, to celebrate 'National Take Back Your Time Day' (Monday, Oct. 24, 2005), asked people how they would choose to spend an extra hour in the day. Only 11% chose to spend that extra hour asleep, with just 8% choosing to spend their time between the sheets in more 'productive' ways.
According to the results, what we actually crave is more 'quality' time. Of those surveyed, 64% opted to spend the hour either with partners, family and friends or on themselves, with a little 'me time' in the form of reading a book, relaxing in a bath or painting their nails.
The good news is, in spite being a nation of workaholics, work is not something we would choose to spend the extra hour on (only 4%).
Robin Hayes, Executive Vice President, The Americas for British Airways explained: "The introduction of services such as online banking, Internet shopping and online check-in have revolutionized the Internet, transforming it from a pure information resource into a precious time-saving tool.
"At British Airways, we recognize the value our customers place on their time. We continue to develop new ways to speed customers through the airport in a bid to give people back a little of the one thing that, these days, seems all too scarce."
Traditionally a USA/Canadian initiative, National Take Your Time Back Day is now also recognized in the UK and supported by a large number of companies worldwide. The day was introduced to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment - www.timeday.org.
Notes to editors:
Research
Original research carried out by YouGov (UK) among 2,000 nationally representative UK adults aged 18+.
Breakdown of survey results available on request; see www.yougov.co.uk. Spokesperson available on request.
ba.com
Currently more than one and half million customers visit the British Airways website every week -- twice the number that fly with the airline.
More than 240,000 passengers a month choose to check-in online before arriving at the airport.
Presently around 450,000 passengers a month use a self-service check-in kiosk.
British Airways is the only UK airline to have installed a sophisticated system enabling passengers to print their own boarding passes from their home, office or hotel. Online boarding passes are currently accepted for travel from 72 airports across the BA network.
More than a third of passengers visit ba.com before they fly, representing a 140 percent increase over last year.
The British Airways logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1862