Airline Employees Research Articles

변혁적 리더십이 항공사 케이터링 종사원의 직무만족 및 직무성과에 미치는 영향 연구

The studies related to leadership, job satisfaction and organizational performance are gathering strength and moreover, the speed of change is becoming an essential factor in air transportation business of which speed of change is faster and competition is more intense than any other businesses. The purpose of this study closely examined transformational leadership among airline employees in catering department in a way to expand the scope of study related to leadership. This study also examined the effect of subordinate factors of transformational leadership on employees’ job satisfaction and performance and effect of job satisfaction on job performance, and clarified differences based on demographical characteristics. Upon these data, this study was conducted to suggest a desirable way forward in human resources management as well as supply substantial data for effectively managing human resources in airline catering business

PTSD Reactions and Coping Responses of American Airlines Flight Attendants Who Were Former Employees of Trans World Airlines: Further Support of a Psychological Contagion Effect

Previous findings comparing the psychological reactions and functional coping of East Coastand West Coast-based American Airlines (AA) flight attendants after the attacks on September 11 provide support for a psychological contagion phenomenon (Lating, Sherman, Lowry, Everly, & Peragine, 2004). The purpose of this investigation was to expand these results by creating an additional comparison group consisting of current AA flight attendants not working on either the East Coast or the West Coast and who were also previously working for Trans World Airlines (TWA) before AA took over operating authority in April 2001. As predicted, the results revealed that the rate of probable posttraumatic stress disorder for the former TWA flight attendants (15.1%) was not significantly different from the East Coast and the West Coast AA flight attendants. Moreover, there were no significant differences among the three groups onmeasures of life functioning, and as hypothesized, there was no difference between the West Coast-based flight crews and the former TWA flight attendants in whether they knew someone who lost his or her life in the aftermath of September 11. Health implications, including multicomponent treatment interventions, are suggested. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 6:144–153 (2006)]

Ergonomic Evaluation: Part of a Treatment Protocol for Musculoskeletal Injuries

Ergonomic analyses and interventions are used as primary prevention methods to reduce physical stressors in the workplace and to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). These methods can also be used for the treatment of injured employees. In this study, 103 employees with WMSDs resulting in more than 5 days away from usual work received an ergonomic evaluation which consisted of observation of usual work tasks, recommendations to minimize identified stressors, and case coordination. The goal of the intervention was to make simple job changes that would assist employees to return safely to usual job duties. The process for implementing this protocol for health care, airline, and university employees is described. The results show that after ergonomic evaluations were performed, the majority of recommendations were fully or partially (89%) implemented. Behavior changes were more likely to occur than administrative and equipment changes (p < .001). Occupational health nurses can use a similar program to enhance treatment plans for clients with WMSDs.

Job Burnout among Airline Employees in Japan

The present study focuses on the cultural meaning and effectiveness of coping strategies on the process of burnout among Japanese employees in the airline industry. The role of self-applied and other-applied strategies for coping with burnout is investigated. Voluntary absence and supervisory support were chosen as the self- and other-applied coping mechanisms because of their theoretical and contextual relevance. The study was guided by the restorative model of absence. A sequential model of burnout with emotional exhaustion leading to both depersonalization and diminished personal accomplishment was used to study the moderating effects of coping mechanisms. Data were collected from 90 airline service employees working in Tokyo, Japan. Existing instruments of measurement with appropriate translations were used. Absence was found to moderate the relationship between emotional exhaustion and diminished personal accomplishment, while supervisory support was found to moderate the relationship between emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The theoretical implications of differential moderating effects in a burnout episode as well as its practical implications for the Japanese workplace are discussed.

Airline Security After the Event

Interviews with airline and security employees and public information are used to examine the real and perceived outcomes of public policy reactions to the terrorist attacks of September 11. The examination uses the classic functionalist perspective of Robert Merton and the more recent insights of Raymond Boudon. Attempts to reduce the threat of terrorist success and to foster confidence in the flying public had mixed results. Clearly governments and airlines were not well prepared for terrorist attacks, a fact that was well known to insiders but not widely known to the public. Many of the illusions of security that preceded the attacks were exposed by discussions and policy reactions following September 11.

The Consumer as Serf

A few years ago, frustrated consumer Mark Evanier searched the different Los Angeles grocery stores in vain for a particular brand of orange juice. Stores would carry other products from the same company, but not the orange juice. As he was about to ask one store's manager for assistance, he noticed a sign above the podium saying, If we don't stock what you want, we will be happy to special-order it for you. But when he asked the manager for a special-order, he was told, don't do special-orders.... It's just too much hassle. The manager apparently felt it was an adequate explanation to say that he didn't personally put the sign there, though he also admitted that he had been manager of that store for more than six years and had never made any special-orders, but had never felt compelled to take down the sign (Evanier 2003, 124-128). When shopping for a new washer and dryer at Sears, I expressed the not-improbable concern that the products might go on sale right after we had them installed. But we were told not to worry, since we would be rebated the price difference if anything purchased went on sale for a lower price anywhere, at any competitor, in the following 30 days. Sure enough, toward the end of the month we spotted a sale at Sears for our exact item, getting to the store on our next available day. However, we were told we could not get the rebate because their sale had ended the day before--never mind that nowhere did the offer say we had to come in while a sale was in progress. We argued, but we were told we'd have to meet with our original salesman, who was off that day and whose return time was uncertain. We asked for the manager, but he refused to come out of his office, telling the salesperson on duty over the phone that she had to us understand the apparently hidden terms of the rebate offer. Many readers of JCA might have added another comment in an effort to gain cooperation from these store managers. University faculty often try to make a stronger case for better service when they mention how such a consumer-insensitive encounter would make for an interesting discussion topic in our classes. At the very least, the manager might fear a negative customer reaction from all those students, or so we hope, though I am repeatedly surprised of those times that managers respond to the frustrated consumers with their own strange efforts at retaliation. Years ago, as the passengers milled around to beg, plead, or cajole access to a flight to get home after their assigned aircraft had mechanical problems, a less-than-service-oriented airline employee was visibly taking down names of the most disgruntled customers on his own list. People took down his name to complain to the company, yet he tried to intimidate everyone as he made it clear that he was taking down their names for reasons unknown. Around the same period, I sent information to a magazine about a clearly false advertising claim in their pages. I sent my letter on personal stationery and the business owner who was forwarded my letter from the magazine publisher made note of my campus-town home address and directed his own complaint to the magazine saying I was an ignorant student trying to earn points in a marketing class. (And he never did show how my evidence of false advertising might be in error.) Today, if I send a letter of service complaint on university stationery to emphasize my interests as also related to lecture materials, I risk a response sent to my department chair or dean saying that I should not be allowed to criticize their fine company in my classes. My class comments on news reports of a deceptive advertising claim impelled two students to write letters to companies to ask for more information. In turn, I later received an envelope from the university provost forwarding a letter of complaint about my lectures that he had received from the company. Most recently, one of the off-campus bookstores informed me that they had decided to order the newer edition of a textbook than the one I requested, even though the new book would not be delivered for my review until days before the semester started. …

Turbulence and Its Impact on Commercial Aviation

The hazards posed by turbulence remain an important issue in commercial aviation. Safety experts say turbulence is the leading cause of in-flight injury to passengers and airline employees, especially flight attendants. Extensive research into methods for alleviating this turbulence hazard has been continuing for many years. This paper addresses the issues pertaining to turbulence, including the causes, impact on commercial aviation, and initiatives undertaken to prevent turbulence related mishaps today and in the future.

The satisfaction of human needs in airport passenger terminals

This paper reviews the physical and psychological needs of all users of airport terminals. It starts with the conventional ergonomic setting of the workplace, as experienced by the airport, airline and other employees. It then moves on to consider the functional needs of the passengers and their escorts, reviewing the extent to which the needs are met by following ‘handbook’ design procedures. Particular attention is given to efficient navigation through a terminal, since this provides one of the strongest tests of a building's ability to satisfy a passenger's primary needs to minimize unproductive time and to eliminate unknowns. The paper then focuses on the wayfinding needs of the significant minority of passengers with some impaired mobility, since these present the major challenge to terminal designers and operators and new legislation will require improved provision for their needs. The spectrum of impaired people is identified, together with some of the ‘best practice’ initiatives that are being taken to meet them. Finally, a case study identifies the specific problems encountered by visually impaired people in a sample of European airport terminals. Conclusions are drawn as to the best practices that might be adopted.

The satisfaction of human needs in airport passenger terminals

This paper reviews the physical and psychological needs of all users of airport terminals. It starts with the conventional ergonomic setting of the workplace, as experienced by the airport, airline and other employees. It then moves on to consider the functional needs of the passengers and their escorts, reviewing the extent to which the needs are met by following ‘handbook’ design procedures. Particular attention is given to efficient navigation through a terminal, since this provides one of the strongest tests of a building's ability to satisfy a passenger's primary needs to minimize unproductive time and to eliminate unknowns. The paper then focuses on the wayfinding needs of the significant minority of passengers with some impaired mobility, since these present the major challenge to terminal designers and operators and new legislation will require improved provision for their needs. The spectrum of impaired people is identified, together with some of the ‘best practice’ initiatives that are being taken to meet them. Finally, a case study identifies the specific problems encountered by visually impaired people in a sample of European airport terminals. Conclusions are drawn as to the best practices that might be adopted.

Investigation of Information Needs of Departing Air Passengers

Specific information needs of departing air travelers for pretrip and enroute phases of trips to the airport were studied and identified. From the results, effective plans for providing supplementary information in support of groundside travel information can be developed by local, state, and national agencies. To better understand air passenger information needs, personal interviews were conducted with 216 passengers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. One major finding from this research was that, in general, passengers are content with the types of real-time travel information that are presently available. Specifically, survey results showed that passengers currently use and prefer access to flight information including confirmed schedules, flight delays, and gate assignments. Also, most passengers prefer to receive travel information earlier in their trip (i.e., before beginning their trip), thus validating theories that suggest that if passengers are to effectively evaluate transportation options, they must have information earlier in the decision-making process. Lastly, based on the survey results, air passengers indicated they prefer to use airline employees, e-mail, telephones, and the Internet when making future travel information inquiries. In particular, business travelers were found to have a higher affinity toward e-mail and pagers, whereas younger travelers simply preferred newer technologies to receive travel information. As a result, these population categories are prime targets for information services marketing. Overall, each of these findings was similar to—and confirmed the results from—previous studies.

A Critical Incident Approach to Examining the Effects of Service Failures on Customer Relationships

This article presents the results of empirical studies of critical incidents in airline services in Sweden and the United States. The main aim is to describe and analyze service break downs from the customer's point of view and thus create a basis for crisis management. The aim is also to compare Sweden, a monopoly market, with the United States, a market with keen competition in airline services. The discussion is based on personal interviews with 320 customers and 80 airline employees in Sweden and 241 customers and 100 employees in the United States. The study focuses on negative critical incidents in the relations between the service provider and business passengers.

Occupational Differences in Involvement with Ownership in an Airline Employee Ownership Program

This study found that involvement in employee ownership-positive feelings about the program and participation in ownership opportunities-varied by occupation. Highest status employees were most involved. Lower status employees were either uninvolved or cynical about the program. Involvement also varied as a result of union commitments. Employees who favored a union which did not support ownership were less involved in the ownership program.

Déjà vu for airline industrial relations

Fifteen years after deregulation, labor relations in the airline industry returned to thestatus quo ante, as union power, particularly ALPA’s, still dominates. Without a long-term shift in bargaining power between the parties, costs and productivity have not changed much. Labor accounts for 60 percent of the cost difference between strong and low-cost carriers. American, Delta, United, Northwest, and USAir would require some combination of labor cost concessions or productivity increases of $1.6 billion to match the productivity-adjusted labor costs for low-cost carriers’ flight crews. To remain competitive, strong carriers and unions must develop strategies to deal with anachronistic work rules, provisions to contract out work, and premium pay for airline employees.

Airline Employee Slowdowns and Sickouts as Unlawful Self Help: A Statistical Analysis

Labor relations literature and numerous trade journals are replete with stories of labor slowdowns and sickouts. The consequences of this usually illegal activity are minimal because of the difficulty, if not impossibility, of proving a concerted effort. The authors suggest a means by which "slowdown" activity as a matter of chance can be ruled out. Further research suggestions are offered.

Service Breakdowns: A Study of Critical Incidents in an Airline

Presents the results of an empirical study of critical incidents in an airline. Describes and analyses service breakdowns from the customers′ point of view and thus creates a basis for “crisis management”. The discussion is based on interviews with 320 customers and 80 airline employees. Focuses on negative critical incidents in the relations between the service provider and business passengers. Provides a background as to why quality in services is an important aspect of management and a major research field. Discusses the typical features of service production and defines the term critical incident. Considers the strengths and weaknesses of the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and describes the choice of method and model for the empirical study. Presents and discusses the results of the survey. Reveals, among other things, that there is a considerable difference between the way customers perceive critical incidents and the view of the airline employees as to what causes critical situations for the customer. This shows how important direct information from customers is. Further, it appears that many critical incidents can be explained by faults in the production system, primarily regarding information to and communication with customers.

Airline Workers' Earnings and Union Expenditures under Deregulation

This study examines the early effects of deregulation on airline employees' earnings and union expenditures, broken down by craft and firm. The results of an analysis of data for the years 1972–89 generally do not support the common belief that deregulation decreased earnings, and only the results for the flight attendants' unions support the hypothesis that deregulation increased union expenditures.

In-flight Emergencies: Doc Riders in the Sky-Reply

In Reply.— The interesting experiences of Drs Bonchek and Glass hint at a vast, unknown reservoir of anecdotes about medical emergencies during air travel. Since publication of our articles1-3on this topic, we have received numerous personal accounts of the resourcefulness of traveling emergency personnel as well as airline employees. Simply asking for medications possessed by other passengers has been so effective so often that all traveling physicians should try it. The technique succeeds most noticeably with tranquilizers and hypnotics (at least with US passengers), but can also quickly produce nitroglycerin, aerosolized bronchodilators, antiemetics, insulin, diuretics, and analgesics. We have received accounts of passengers who have performed intubation in flight (a traveling anesthesiologist), relieved obstructed airways, and organized passenger teams to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than 2 hours. Some occasional rigid thinking on the part of flight attendants has led to unfortunate episodes, such as failure to let

Emerging as a Major Carrier: A Case Study of America West Airlines

Emerging as a Major Carrier: A Case Study of America West Airlines

Airline deregulation and the airline labor market

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 has had a significant impact on the airline industry and its labor market. The structure of the airline labor market before the Act is examined in light of certain significant historical events including legislative intervention and regulatory practice. The Act and other coincident extraneous events are considered to show how deregulation and other unrelated economic and technological factors operated as a catalyst, sparking substantial short-term upheaval in the airline labor market. It is argued that in the longer term airline employees have little to fear from deregulation and that deregulation may eventually enhance labor’s position in view of the increased employment opportunities that an expanded market may bring and the abolition of the industry strike insurance scheme.

Alternate rationales for severance pay compensation under airline deregulation

Our paper has considered possible justifications for compensation in the specific context of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. While the concept of severance pay for dislocations caused by deregulation is consistent with all of the pro-compensation rationales discussed in Section 4, specific severance pay schemes are generally consistent only with particular rationales. This suggests that some insight into the true rationale(s) for compensation may be gained by examining the specific severance pay features of the Airline Deregulation Act. The particular severance pay arrangements in the airline case were found to be consistent with the equity rationale for compensation set forth by Michaelman, and to a lesser extent, with the Hochman fairness rationale. However, it was argued that one common equity rationale, the transitional aid rationale, would not justify establishing a separate severance pay scheme targeted only at airline employees. Moreover, the particular arrangements in the Airline Deregulation Act seem inconsistent with the view of severance pay as a ‘political buyout’ of well-paid airline employees and with the argument that compensation promotes better calculations of the impacts of policy changes. This latter result suggests that equity rather than efficiency considerations motivated the implementation of severance pay guidelines. More generally, our analysis suggests that development of rational and coherent compensation programs is facilitated by explicitly confronting basic rationales for and against such programs. Such rationales provide broad insights concerning whether such programs are necessary. In addition, various rationales have specific implications for how compensation schemes should be implemented.