Where is the solo female frequent flyer?

Thanks to the hints and tips on our forum, one of our members has done a lot of travelling in the pointy end recently. During these travels, they have made some interesting observations as to the demographics of the frequent flyer when it comes to gender.

I am nearing the end of a whirlwind trip that has included First Class Lounging in Sydney, Hong Kong (x2) New York (various terminals) and Narita (x2). I had not really noticed that first lounge clients are so overwhelmingly male until this trip due to the pondering time afforded by a couple of long connections, but I presume that is a statistical fact anyway, and the solo female FF is not that common?

Personal observations are not always a good sample as far as statistics go. Someone who only travels during school holidays may feel that there are a lot of junior travellers. Conversely, another travelling outside of school holidays may feel travel is the domain of the adult. With a diversity of fliers from all different backgrounds, our forums offer an opportunity to test those observations, to see if they are the rule rather than the exception.

…Not that many solo females in the F lounges or up the pointy end, compared to the number of solo men or couples/families. Possibly also – not that many solo leisure travellers of whatever gender in those locations. Perhaps we should start a special thread of our own

In agreeing with the observation, one of our members noted that some countries and airlines have also noted this anomaly. A close comparison of some lounge facilitates seemed to indicate a numerical preference for one gender over another.

During my two visits to Qatar Business lounge I was struck by the comparative inequity of bathroom/shower facilities. It seemed there were two bathrooms for men and one for women. Not sure about internal dimensions for obvious reasons….Anyone else noticed any other anomalies in lounges?

With many of the observations seemingly agreeing with our member that women are rarer when it comes to solo travel in the pointy end, the conversation soon turned to why? Some feel women are more social and prefer to travel alone. Others felt it was just a reflection of the gender inequality in the business world, when positions that require frequent travel seemingly male dominated.

Do you see more men than women travelling frequently? Have you wondered why, or is it just another generalisation that’s not been your experience, have your say HERE.

Staff Writers