It’s rare to see a mobile usage survey that’s based on a representative sample of global travelers, but the annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey is precisely that — a statistically valid representation of the 299 million passengers who pass through the world’s half-dozen largest airports.

This year’s survey finds that airlines and airports still aren’t seeing a payoff in mobile services. Three out of every four passengers carry a smartphone, yet fewer than 5% of them use mobile devices to access check-in, booking, and other air travel services, says SITA (Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques), the industry consortium.

Airlines and airports might be better off investing in information services via mobile devices, given that 63% of global travelers say they would use their mobile for flight search and 58% to check flight status.

Via Tourism Australia