Economia comportamental no contexto do mercado de milhas aéreas

Abstract

Loyalty programs in general, and airline frequent flyer programs in particular, are part of one of the fastest growing markets in the world. However, little is known about the decision-making process in this scenario and how consumer behavior is associated with perceptions about air miles. In general, it is assumed that consumers are rational and able to make the best decision when redeeming and using their points. However, the air mile’s market can be confusing and obscure for consumers, since there are objective difficulties in calculating the value and use of points, offering important barriers to the tourist's judgment. It is a highly profitable market, with points/miles expiring and an increasing number of participants. Understanding the behavior of tourists in the decision process when redeeming their points/miles, and their level of engagement is a relevant topic for research on consumer behavior in tourism, since most of the miles redemption is still for airline tickets. Therefore, this work aims to investigate whether the behavior of using and accumulating miles of participants in airline loyalty programs can be correlated with the variables: perception of the value of miles; miles importance; consumer engagement; consumer motivations related to miles and cognitive overload. It is also intended to provide an overview of this market, addressing the profile of its users and identifying its main mechanisms, including the trade of air miles through mileage brokers. The methodological approach adopted was a quantitative survey, built in two stages, the first one was a qualitative stage, being composed by the free elicitation method, and the second part was a quantitative stage. The present study confirms that individuals are exposed to bias in the environment of airline loyalty programs and do not always make optimal choices. The levels of engagement could reduce these biases, improving the performance of consumers in the use of their miles and helping them to make better choices in this context. The correlations found in this study show that the greater the user engagement of air miles, the greater the perception of miles as currency by users, corroborating the results of the research by Liston-Heyes (2002), which indicate that air miles are not perceived by the most users like currency. It is a market in which companies that hold airline loyalty programs still benefit from the strategy of lack of transparency and the lack of financial education in general of their users. In addition to the field of tourism, the present work also aims to motivate additional research aimed at providing useful information on the effectiveness of airline loyalty programs and providing a possible model of behavior for the accumulation and use of air miles. Loyalty programs are one of the most widely used relationship tools among managers and debated among academics in various industries, however, it is a sector that lacks specific research, both in national and international literature.