Quarter of UK web users buy flights online

One in four of the British online population have booked a flight over the internet in the last three months, new research has revealed.

In a study exploring the various ways in which the web has influenced consumers' shopping habits, Nielsen Online found that airline tickets represent the fourth most purchased item over the internet for online shoppers.

The last two years have seen online flight bookings increase by three per cent - a trend that reflects the fact that the internet is ideal for travel reservations due to the sheer wealth of information available, said Jonathan Carson of Nielsen Online.

"Whilst certain areas of the travel industry were initially slow to utilise the benefits of the internet, it is now one of the undoubted success stories of online, playing an integral part in the arrangements and experience of today's traveller," he added.

Last year, research by comScore found that a growing number of European web users are looking to the internet to search for holiday bargains.

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