Search Results (13)

Airline customers will often complain to the relevant authorities if they encounter an unpleasant flight experience. The specific complaint information can directly reflect the various service problems encountered, so conducting in-depth research on public air transport passenger complaints can reveal important details for improving service. Therefore, by analyzing the passenger complaint data of relevant civil aviation departments in China, we propose a method for identifying key topics of passenger complaints based on text mining. We organically integrate sentiment analysis, topic modeling and association rule mining. A new complaint text analysis framework is constructed, which provides new perspectives and ideas for complaint text analysis and related application fields. First, we calculate the sentiment orientation of the complaint text based on the sentiment dictionary method and filter complaint texts with strong negative sentiment. Then, we compare the two topic modeling methods of LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) and LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis). Finally, we select the better LDA method to extract the main topics hidden in the passenger complaint text with high negative emotional intensity. We use the Apriori algorithm to mine the association rules between the complaint topic words and the service problem classification labels on the complaint text. We use the FP-growth algorithm to mine the association rules between the complaint subject words and the service problem classification labels on the complaint text. By comparing the Apriori algorithm with the FP-growth algorithm, the results of mining the support, confidence and promotion of the association rules show that the Apriori algorithm is more efficient. Finally, we analyze the causes of specific service problems and suggest improvement strategies for airlines and airports. Full article

This study investigates the public relations (PR) challenges faced by the airline industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Spirit Airlines as a focal case. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study analyzes a dataset of 344 LinkedIn online reviews and digital reactions to an incident where a family was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight after their two-year-old child refused to wear a mask. The case study highlights the complex PR challenges airlines face in balancing public health protocols with customer relations during health crises. Through thematic and sentiment analyses, this research identifies gaps in traditional crisis communication models, advocating for empathetic, transparent strategies that align with pandemic-related sensitivities. It underscores the need for specialized staff training to effectively manage such crises. The findings suggest that conventional PR strategies fall short in addressing the multifaceted nature of pandemic-induced crises, calling for a shift towards human-centered communication and robust stakeholder management. This study contributes to the discourse on crisis communication in the airline industry, offering actionable insights for balancing public health responsibilities with customer satisfaction. It calls for a reevaluation of established crisis communication frameworks, urging future research to explore more inclusive and adaptive PR practices in response to health emergencies. Full article

Investors are one of the primary target audiences for corporate communication; they seek non-financial as well as financial information from the companies they invest in, and they consider the social and environmental sustainability of these companies in addition to their economic sustainability. Because of this, as a tool for investor relations, annual reports now routinely and regularly incorporate non-financial information. This study examined thirty annual reports from six public airline firms issued between 2018 and 2022. A total of 8115 expressions on social, economic, and environmental sustainability issues—divided into 125 themes—were coded and analyzed in Maxqda 2020. Among the conclusions was the fact that, in 2022, all of the examined companies devoted 9% of their pages to sustainability statements and included them as an individual topic in their reports. It was found that 64% of both the sustainability-related pages of the reports and the messages of the company managers included in the report consisted of social sustainability statements, with the theme of governance playing an important role in these explanations. Additionally, it was revealed that the topics of governance issues (22.6%), the natural environment (21.7%), and human resources development (15.5%) are the most frequently discussed social, environmental, and economic sustainability themes in corporate annual reports. Full article

The aviation industry significantly contributes to environmental degradation, particularly in airline emissions, noise pollution, and bird strikes. Despite the growing concern for sustainability in aviation industries, there is a lack of research on how passengers perceive airlines’ efforts to manage airlines’ environmental degradation. This study addresses this gap by investigating how passengers perceive airlines’ intrinsic and extrinsic environmental practices toward these issues. Using a scenario-based experiment, this study found that passengers are more likely to use an airline and spread positive word of mouth when environmental practices form part of intrinsic management efforts rather than extrinsic environmental practices, suggesting that airlines should focus on implementing sustainable practices that align with their core values rather than simply adopting superficial measures for public relations. The findings of this research have important theoretical and managerial implications for airline managers in terms of enhancing their sustainability practices. By prioritizing intrinsic management efforts, airlines can improve their environmental performance and enhance their reputation among environmentally conscious passengers, ultimately leading to increased profitability and long-term sustainability for the industry. Full article

Airline cabin crew operate in dynamic work environments that are continuously changing, from unpredictable shift work hours to travelling through multiple time zones. These likely impact cabin crews’ overall health and may affect their performance on safety-related tasks. Research on this population has been limited; therefore, the aim was to summarise the relevant literature regarding fatigue, sleepiness and mental health of cabin crew. This review followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines and conducted a systematic search utilising five databases. The initial search identified 1223 studies, and through vigorous screening processes, 27 studies were selected for this review. Over half of the selected studies focused on international or long-haul flights, and a large proportion of the sample participants were women. Findings suggested a high prevalence of fatigue and sleepiness as well as unsatisfactory sleep quality with elevated susceptibility to sleep disorders. Factors identified with health outcomes were associated with flight operations (e.g., rosters) and individual differences (e.g., age and coping strategies). Regarding mental health, cabin crews are potentially at a greater risk for depression and anxiety compared to the general public. This review draws attention to the importance of using a standardised approach, such as validated measures for fair and consistent inferences. Full article

Tourism has always been one of the most profitable service industries. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is facing some big problems. As a result, the tourism industry lost a lot of money. This paper aims to find and rank recovery solutions to help the tourism industry. This article investigates two key areas: firstly, how government aid can best be prioritised among the various subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry, and secondly, whether public assessment of the measures the US government took against the pandemic is related to the outlook for recovery, including the role played by perceptions of government performance and efficacy at handling the crisis and self-efficacy in terms of avoiding infection. Two studies were conducted among US consumers, using different methods of data collection and analysis. The first study utilised an open market valuation technique to explore how governmental aid might be prioritised among the tourism and hospitality industries. The second study used AMOS/SEM to examine travellers’ positive perceptions of the likelihood of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. Study 1 found that all six industry subsectors investigated (hotels, airlines, restaurants, car rentals, casinos and cruise lines) had been influenced negatively by COVID-19, with the heaviest impact felt by hotels and cruise lines. Study 2 indicated that the level of public satisfaction with the US government’s performance in addressing the pandemic was positively related to expectations of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. The findings could guide policymakers in deciding how best to allocate public funds between the different subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry. Full article

COVID-19 hit the global economy hard in early 2020, and airline industry was among the biggest commercial victims. Governments closed borders, the virus scared off travelers and the aircraft stayed on the ground to a large extent. The forecasted record year turned out to be the worst in the history of aviation. This study focused on the concerns of airline customers and analyzed the differences between the customer behavior in two focus markets, Finland and Sweden. The article is based on a questionnaire and the answers of 2004 airline customers. The results show that even though the overall COVID-19 strategy was very different between the focus markets, the same concerns still arose. The main concerns were related to quarantines and convenience of traveling, but health was also a major worry. The impact on climate change and public opinion were among the least concerning factors for most. The Swedes were less concerned about the quarantine upon returning, which may not be surprising due to their more liberal COVID-19 strategy at the time. Other attributes that were analyzed (gender, airline loyalty tier, age) suggest that females are categorically more concerned than males, the travel-related annoyances affect all travelers regardless of the tier and that travelers from different age groups are concerned about different aspects of traveling during a pandemic. The data gathering for this research was carried out in collaboration with Finnair, Finland’s national carrier. Full article

Introduction: Since 2008, Italian legislators, with the aim of ensuring public safety, have made it mandatory for an occupational doctor (OD) to assess specific categories of workers to exclude those who may have consumed drugs of abuse. Due to the relevance of work activities relating to the civil aviation and airport sector, a policy based on the use of training and information tools, as well as a health surveillance protocol, has been undertaken since 2009. Materials and methods: A total of 61,008 workers at a commercial airline underwent health surveillance between 2009 and 2019. Following ≤24 h notification, their urine was screened for opiates, cocaine, cannabinoids, amphetamines, methamphetamines, and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) using an immunochemical test. Positive results were confirmed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) or Liquid Chromatography -Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS). In confirmed cases, the workers were declared unfit and sent to a specialized laboratory for a second level analysis. Results: Positive results, initially >1%, have halved in the last four years (<0.5%). The percentage of positive results was consistently very low among pilots and, moreover, the rare positive cases detected were due to a cross-reactivity phenomena. The highest and most discontinuous percentages seen occurred in the population undergoing a pre-employment examination. Regarding the types of substance used, a prevalence of cannabis (58.52%) and cocaine (35.2%) use was observed. Conclusions: The data presented indicate that the air transport sector, in all its components (ground workers and air crews), has a very limited number of substance abusers, and this number tends to decrease over time and with work seniority. Another aspect of particular interest, and which is more specific to toxicology, concerns the detection of cross-reactivity in urinary immunochemical screening between the antibodies to drugs of abuse and certain other drugs, such as anti-inflammatories or antibiotics; as well as foods, and other commonly used substances. Full article

This study expands Carroll’s CSR typology with the public health and safety dimension to examine how the airline industry’s CSR and public health and safety activities influence flight attendants’ organizational identification, self-esteem, and commitment to the company during COVID-19. A total of 342 South Korean flight attendants participated in online surveys. Based on social identity theory and using structural equation modeling (SEM), the study reveals that ethical-, economic-, and philanthropic-CSR and public health and safety are positively related to organizational identification and that all are linked to the self-esteem and organizational commitment of flight attendants. However, legal-CSR did not affect their organizational identification. The results suggest that “public health and safety” should be applied when initiatives aim to enhance flight attendants’ organizational behavior. The study’s findings contribute to the literature by extending the original CSR model and providing theoretical and practical implications for academic researchers and airlines during a pandemic. Full article

The COVID-19 crisis has transformed the delivery of services and goods by public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with one of the largest impacts being in air transport systems. This paper focuses on related opportunities and challenges within air freight transport management, exploring sustainability in light of recent, heavy human and economic costs across the world. There is, in the resulting process of recovery, the potential to create changes in the airline industry and across a number of private and public partnerships that will improve long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability and stability. This paper also describes the impact of the current environment on air cargo operations to include the role of significantly reduced airline schedules on overall air cargo capacity. It considers the potential role of government in providing the infrastructure for collaboration between sectors, addressing the goals of sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness, and citizen responsiveness. NGOs provide a voice for community groups in ways that governments and corporations may not. Efficient markets link producers at various stages to consumers through global and local supply chains. Integrating key concepts from sustainable development and logistics, this paper explores short-run and long-run planning required by each of the three sectors to tackle the immediate shortfalls in global transportation by air. It then investigates urgent but longer-term environmental issues tied to air transport, such as global climate change, air pollution, and the nonrenewable nature of fossil fuels. Many of the infrastructural changes in the airline industry may offer solutions across public administration. With the tremendous impact of air transport on a number of other goods and services, carefully constructed solutions may have sustainability benefits across industries. As the tragedies of COVID-19 inevitably shake the foundations of organizational systems in all three sectors, this paper offers recommendations for advancing opportunities for a more efficient freight supply industry that minimize negative impacts through sustainable development. Full article

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major virus outbreak of the 21st century. The Australian government and local authorities introduced some drastic strategies and policies to control the outspread of this virus. The policies related to lockdown, quarantine, social distancing, shut down of educational institute, work from home, and international and interstate travel bans significantly affect the lifestyle of citizens and, thus, influence their activity patterns. The transport system is, thus, severely affected due to the COVID-19 related restrictions. This paper analyses how the transport system is impacted because of the policies adopted by the Australian government for the containment of the COVID-19. Three main components of the transport sector are studied. These are air travel, public transport, and freight transport. Various official sources of data such as the official website of the Australian government, Google mobility trends, Apple Mobility trends, and Moovit were consulted along with recently published research articles on COVID-19 and its impacts. The secondary sources of data include databases, web articles, and interviews that were conducted with the stakeholders of transport sectors in Australia to analyse the relationship between COVID-19 prevention measures and the transport system. The results of this study showed reduced demand for transport with the adoption of COVID-19 prevention measures. Declines in revenues in the air, freight, and public transport sectors of the transport industry are also reported. The survey shows that transport sector in Australia is facing a serious financial downfall as the use of public transport has dropped by 80%, a 31.5% drop in revenues earned by International airlines in Australia has been predicted, and a 9.5% reduction in the freight transport by water is expected. The recovery of the transport sector to the pre-pandemic state is only possible with the relaxation of COVID-19 containment policies and financial support by the government. Full article

In most consumer markets, higher prices generally imply increased quality. For example, in the automobile, restaurant, hospitality, and airline industries, higher pricing generally conveys a signal of complexity and superiority of a service or product. However, in the healthcare industry, there is room to challenge the price-quality connection as both health prices and health quality can be difficult to interpret. In the best of circumstances, health care costs, prices, and quality can often be difficult to isolate and measure. Recent efforts by the Trump Administration and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have required the pricing of hospital services to be more transparent. Specifically, hospital chargemaster (retail) prices must now be available to the public. However, many continue to question if the pricing of health care services reflects the quality of service delivery. This research focuses on investigating the prices hospitals charge for their services in relation to the costs incurred and the association with the quality of care provided. By analyzing data from a nationwide sample of U.S. hospitals, this study considers the relationship between hospital pricing (as measured by the charge-to-cost ratio) and hospital quality performance as measured by the Value Based Purchasing Total Performance Score (TPS) and its associated sub-domains. Results of the study indicate that hospital prices, as measured by our primary independent variable of interest, the charge-to-cost ratio, are significantly and negatively associated with Total Performance Score, Patient Experience, and the Efficiency and Cost Reduction domains. A marginal statistically significant positive association is shown in the Clinical Care domain. The findings indicate that unlike most other industries, in medicine, higher pricing compared to cost does not necessarily associate with higher quality and, in fact, might indicate the opposite. The results of this study suggest that purchasers of healthcare, at all levels, have justification in challenging the pricing of healthcare services considering the quality scores available in the public domain. Full article

The use of apron buses has become a common practice at many European airports. Previous studies related to airplane boarding rarely apply when apron buses are used, leaving airlines with no well-researched option except to use the random boarding method. In this paper, we test the time to complete boarding a two-door airplane using various boarding methods with two apron buses. These methods were inspired by the classical outside-in, back-to-front, and reverse-pyramid methods considering the limited number of boarding groups corresponding to the limited number of apron buses used for transporting passengers from the terminal to the aircraft. Unlike earlier publications, we test these methods under partial aircraft occupancy. Furthermore, we test the boarding methods under conditions involving: different passenger occupancy rates, different luggage situations, and with two types of seating assignments—random and based upon passenger seating preferences—by considering the advantages brought by the symmetric layout of the aircraft. Experimental results indicate that the best performing method can reduce the boarding time by up to 38.6% compared to the time resulting from the random boarding method. When the airplane is partially occupied, the best performing methods are reverse pyramid–A, hybrid–A, and hybrid–B, all with similar performances. Full article