They’re younger than their desktop brethren, and many of them don’t want to be tethered to pre-set, round-trip flight itineraries.  That’s what priceline.com found in its latest study of airline ticket booking trends among travelers equipped with iOS, Android and other mobile devices.

The airline tickets data is similar to what priceline.com saw in earlier studies of hotel reservation trends and paints a picture of a mobile device-equipped consumer whose travel booking practices and preferences are very different from travelers who plan their trips using desktop computers and laptops.

“Mobile-equipped consumers are what we call ‘untethered’ travelers,” said priceline.com’s Travel Ekspert Brian Ek.  “They like to create their travel experiences on the fly, rather than stick to itineraries planned far in advance.  Hotels are typically chosen closer to check-in day (even on the same day), and many bookings are made while on the road or after arrival in town.  Mobile-equipped travelers tend to book their airline tickets a bit closer-in than desktop users. And the choice of one-way tickets allows mobile travelers to adjust their length of stay and even return from a different city.”

Priceline.com’s study of airline ticket booking activity among mobile-equipped travelers found that:
*  Mobile air bookers averaged 32 years of age, or six years younger than the average desktop air booker;
*  Almost half of mobile air bookers booked one-way tickets, and
*  Mobile air bookers paid less for their tickets (average $283) compared to desktop users (average $315).