Airline Travel Research Articles

The Impact of Accommodation Taxes on Outbound Travel Demand from the United Kingdom to European Destinations

Despite the progressive introduction of accommodation taxes in many European cities, there is no consensus in the literature as to whether they have positive or negative effects. This may be related to the lack of estimates of the elasticity of visitor demand to accommodation taxes. To fill this gap, we carry out two panel-data regressions using a data set of airline travelers from UK cities to Spanish, French, and Italian destinations between 2012 and 2018. The results from the two-stage least squares regressions indicate that UK international travelers are indeed sensitive to hotel taxes. However, the impact of these taxes differs between peak and off-peak periods and across destination countries, with French destinations showing the most negative effect on visitor flows. The analysis of tax elasticities at a destination level also reveals the lack of a significant negative impact on visitor flows to major cities like Venice or Barcelona.

The Third Annual Thomas S. Tenforde Topical Lecture HPS Ask the Experts: The Most Intriguing Questions and Answers.

The Health Physics Society (HPS) conceived of the idea of an online "Ask the Experts" (ATE) feature in 1999 when the Society created its website. ATE features are popular now, but at that time it was a novel idea, so there was no assurance it would succeed. Now 20 y later, the HPS considers its ATE feature a success and the most valuable service the Society offers for the public. Nearly 13,000 questions have been submitted to the feature. They come both from members of the public and from health physicists. All have been answered personally by radiation safety experts. While it is important to answer questions personally, it is recognized that the most far-reaching impact of the feature is the written material on the ATE section of the website, which is provided for people searching for answers to their concerns and questions. Posted material includes frequently asked questions, summary papers on topics of interest, and links to other pertinent information. This is in addition to answers to a select group of submitted questions. To enhance the information search, all postings, including answers to questions, have headlines. These serve as keywords that facilitate website searches. The feature, managed by one lead editor, 20 topic editors, and more than 300 experts, draws over one million visitors per year. This statistic suggests that a substantial number of people are finding answers to their questions on the site and, therefore, do not need to submit personal questions. ATE editors have learned much about effective interaction with questioners, especially members of the public. Most important, answers should show compassion, present the bottom line first, be brief, and use plain language. Heavy reliance on peer-reviewed documents adds to the credibility of the information. Questions from the public cover a wide range of subjects; however, by far the most frequent deal with medical exposures, especially computed tomography procedures. Other questions deal with a wide range of concerns including products from Japan, granite countertops, radon, smoke detectors, luggage and whole-body scanners, and radiation exposure from airline travel. Another major concern is exposure to nonionizing radiation sources such as cell phones, radar, ultraviolet radiation, lasers, and power lines. Examples are provided of the most intriguing questions that have come to the ATE feature and the answers provided by the experts.

Chemical belt buckles and a century of hard hats

Chemical bling Recently, the Newscripts gang has been collecting belt buckles. It all started at a western-attire store on US Route 30 near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with the purchase of a leather belt that allows you to swap out the buckle. Belt buckles are like neckties for your pants. You want to change them, not wear the same one all the time. All manner of companies make belt buckles—John Deere, Peterbilt, Ford—but this is a chemistry magazine, which raises the question: Do chemical company belt buckles exist? A search on eBay reveals that indeed they do. The first addition to the collection was a buckle from ICI Explosives, a company that isn’t around anymore. Australia’s Orica runs what’s left of ICI Explosives today. The buckle cost about $10, and while it is prized, it’s safely packed away for airline travel. Next came a BASF belt buckle. It seems fitting that the

Sensory/Health-Related and Convenience/Process Quality of Airline Meals and Traveler Loyalty

Little evidence is available on how airline meals and their dimensions affect customers’ loyalty generation procedure and behaviors towards airline products. This research is designed to elucidate airline customer loyalty generation procedure by uncovering the specific role of airline meals and their dimensions, attitude, satisfaction, and love. Using a quantitative method, empirical findings from the structural analysis successfully offer a good understanding of airline food quality and its role, identify the vital triggers of customer loyalty, and uncover the silent mediating role of airline love in affecting loyalty. Taking one step further beyond the theorizations in the existing studies of airline customers’ post-purchase behaviors, the present study builds a strong conceptual framework relating airline food quality, attitude, satisfaction, airline love, and customer loyalty.

Strengthening the aviation sector to minimize the risk of spread of COVID-19 infection

The Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became a public health emergency of international concern owing to its ability to spread across international borders through travelers. The epidemiological analysis suggest that the spread of the disease from one nation to another was through the travelers and thus to contain the further spread of the infection, many of the nations have temporarily closed international as well as domestic airline travel. However, this lockdown and travel restrictions cannot go for prolonged periods of time, as it has affected the global economy. Thus, sooner or later the aviation services are expected to start and it is the responsibility of the concerned stakeholders to take adequate measures for the detection of suspect cases during their journey and assist the public health authorities in initiating a timely emergency public health response. In conclusion, the aviation sector is expected to play a very important role in reducing the further transmission of the COVID-19 infection and thus it is the responsibility of all the concerned authorities to improve their readiness to respond to the demands and challenges linked to air travel in these difficult times.

The Effect of International Travel on the Spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

We examine the relationship between incoming international passengers and COVID-19 case or death counts during the first wave of the pandemic in the U.S. We find passengers from Italy, but not China, were an important source of exposure, and thus increased the early spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. These results suggest stopping travel from Europe earlier likely would have had greater impact on reducing the spread of the virus in the US, compared to the earlier ban on travel from China. Further, banning travel from pandemic hotspots may be smart policy, depending on the specific characteristics of the virus.

Service recovery satisfaction and customer commitment in the airline business

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the precursors and outcomes of service recovery satisfaction and customer commitment among airline business customers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from airline travellers in South Africa using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results revealed that recovery expectations and perceived equity exert significant influence on levels of recovery satisfaction, which in turn influence overall satisfaction, trust and commitment. The study also revealed that trust and overall satisfaction are antecedents of customer commitment and that customer commitment has a significant positive relationship with positive word of mouth. It was also established that the quality of past service performance moderates the relationship between recovery satisfaction and commitment.Practical implicationsAirlines are advised to stimulate customer trust in the service delivery process through transparency in the procedures by which they resolve service failures and to remain committed to their service recovery promises to customers. It is also proposed that airlines should secure increased positive word of mouth through offering satisfactory service recovery.Originality/valueVery little research in the South African context exists which focusses on the influence of customers satisfaction and commitment in the airline industry. This paper helps in establishing the antecedents of customer commitment after service failure in the airline industry.

Anticipating long-distance travel shifts due to self-driving vehicles

Increasing population and travel demand has prompted new efforts to model travel demand across the United States. One such model is rJourney that estimates travel demand among thousands of regions and models mode and destination choice. rJourney includes records representing 1.17 billion long-distance trips throughout the year 2010. Although inter-regional impacts caused by an increase of automated vehicles (AVs) has been investigated, there is little research on inter-regional travel and how longer distance destination and mode choices will change. Because of conveniences offered by AVs, the value of travel time of drivers is expected to fall, thus reducing the generalized cost of AV travel. To initially analyze the impacts of AVs in the United States, a new AV mode was added to a subset of the rJourney mode and destination choice models. With an initial scenario assuming an operating cost of AVs that is 118% of traditional cars, two outcomes are observed that are solely based on model results. First, the attractiveness of AVs severely digs into the airline travel market, reducing airline revenues to 53%. Second, the introduction of AVs results in a shift of destination choice, increasing travel in further distances for personal vehicles, but favoring closer distances across all modes, for an overall 6.7% decline in US passenger-miles traveled on existing long-distance trips. While this preliminary research has revealed an initial perspective on how an existing model can support AVs, the increasing availability of data as AVs emerge will refine nationwide long-distance modeling.

An awakening in medicine: the partnership of humanity and intelligent machines

An awakening in medicine: the partnership of humanity and intelligent machines

Self-Enhancement Driven First-Class Airline Travelers’ Behavior: The Moderating Role of Third-Party Certification

This study was designed with a focus on self-enhancement by flying in first class to understand the intricate associations in the formation of well-being, brand attachment, and word-of-mouth. In addition, this study aimed to examine the moderating effect of third-party certification among consequent variables. For this, data were collected from 199 first-class airline travelers. A quantitative method that was comprised of structural equation modeling and multiple-group analysis wasused to test the research hypotheses. Our findings revealed that both achievement and power were significant drivers of well-being perception of first-class airline travelers and their perceived well-being contributed to building positive brand attachment and word-of-mouth. The association between brand attachment and word-of-mouth was also statistically supported. Furthermore, the moderating role of third-party certification was identified in the causal relationship between well-being perception and brand attachment. Implications were discussed along with diverse approaches for customized and exclusive offerings such as butler services pre- and post-flights or during transit at airports, and mini stretching sessions in flights to improve self-enhancement during the whole journey of a first-class experience.

Kajian Dampak Kenaikan Harga Avtur Terhadap Keuntungan Pendapatan Maskapai Penerbangan (Rute Jakarta-Yogyakarta)

Assessment of tire Tariff Schedules Commercial Scheduled Air Transport Related to Fuel Price illcrease Aircraft illtematio1wl Ai1port Yogyakarta Adi Sucipto is to know haw the effect of rising prices of aviation fuel or aircraft fuel to air freight carrier rates, namely PT. Garuda llldonesia (Garuda Airlines), PT. Sun Lion (Lion Airlines), and PT. Metro Batavia (Batavia Airlines) for route Jakarta - Yogyakarta during the period January to September 2011. Assess111c11 t method used is descriptive quantitative method to calculate the total cost of airline travel route Jakarta - Yogyakarta with calculation components include (a) Type of aircraft and aircraft type, (b) Using the assumption of hvo load factor is 65% lower load factor and load factor is high 80%, (c) Using tire asswnption of hvo aviation fuel prices are the lowest aviation fuel jet fuel price range, - and the highest price of aviation fuel during the period January to September 2011, the average ticket price flight route Jakarta - Yogyakarta period from January to September 2011. 17re results of the assessment indicates there is a difference significant benefits from each airline operator, when associated with the load factor and the difference in price of aviation fuel.

Association between air travel and importation of chikungunya into the USA.

Abstract Background: During infectious disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, the number of air passengers travelling from the outbreak source to international destinations has been used as a proxy for disease importation risk to new locations. However, evaluations of the validity of this approach are limited. We sought to quantify the association between international air travel and disease importation using the 2014–2016 chikungunya outbreak in the Americas as a case study. Methods: We used country-level chikungunya case data to define a time period of epidemic activity for each of the 45 countries and territories in the Americas reporting outbreaks between 2014 and 2016. For each country, we identified airports within or proximate to areas considered suitable for chikungunya transmission and summed the number of commercial air passengers departing from these airports during the epidemic period to each US state. We used negative binomial models to quantify the association between the number of incoming air passengers from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the annual rate of chikungunya importation into the USA at the state level. Results: We found a statistically significant positive association between passenger flows via airline travel from countries experiencing chikungunya epidemics and the number of imported cases in the USA at the state level (P < 0.0001). Additionally, we found that as the number of arriving airline passengers increased by 10%, the estimated number of imported cases increased by 5.2% (95% CI: 3.0–7.6). Conclusion: This validation study demonstrated that air travel was strongly associated with observed importation of chikungunya cases in the USA and can be a useful proxy for identifying areas at increased risk for disease importation. This approach may be useful for understanding exportation risk of other arboviruses.

Comparisons of service quality perceptions between full service carriers and low cost carriers in airline travel

ABSTRACTWe apply latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling to a vast number of passenger-authored online reviews for airline services to compare service quality between full service carriers (FSCs) and low cost carriers (LCCs). Representing key features of airline service quality, topics are extracted from the reviews and matched to the five typical dimensions used by the SERVQUAL model. Based on the measure of word frequency statistically distributed to topics, we quantitatively determine the dimensions of service quality that are deemed as most essential by travelers. The results show that the most significant dimensions for FSCs and LCCs are tangibles and reliability, respectively. The least significant dimensions are assurance and empathy, respectively. By comparing extracted features in detail, we discover specific differences in traveler perceptions between FSCs and LCCs. Air carriers should be aware of these differences, as it would help them better differentiate themselves. Moreover, inflight meal services and seats, which have typically been regarded as tangible features, are subdivided into different topics, and the subdivisions are simultaneously matched to multiple dimensions (eg tangibles, empathy, and reliability). This suggests that research needs to reflect the diverse aspects of traveler perceptions for primary service items.

“Un orgullo de Cuba en los cielos del mundo”. Cubana de aviación from Miami to Bagdad (1946–79)

This article focuses on the transformation of the carrier Cubana de aviación before and after the 1959 Cuban revolution. By observing Cubana's management, labour force, equipment, international passenger and freight traffic, this article aims to outline an international history of this Latin American flag carrier. The touristic air relationships between the American continent and Spain that could be observed in the 1950s were substituted – in the 1960s and 1970s – by a web of political “líneas de la amistad” [Friendship Flights] with Prague, Santiago de Chile, East Berlin, Lima, Luanda, Managua, Tripoli and Bagdad. This three-decade period allows us to interrogate breaks and continuities in the Cuban airline travel sector and to challenge the traditional interpretations of Cuban history. This work is based on diplomatic and corporative archives from Cuba, United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain and France and the aeronautical international press.

Airline passengers’ perceptions of service quality: themes in online reviews

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the main themes shared in online reviews by airline travellers, as well as which of these themes were linked with higher and lower value for money ratings.Design/methodology/approachThe research used mixed content analyses (i.e. quantitative and qualitative) to examine 1,200 reviews of six airline companies shared by airline travellers in a social media platform.FindingsThe analyses revealed nine themes in descriptions of airline travel experiences. These are the core services during “flights”, “airport” operations, crew and ground “staff”, ticket “classes”, “seats”, inflight “services”, “entertainment”, overall experiences of “airlines” and post-purchase recommendations of with which companies to “fly”. Low value for money ratings are linked with the “airport” and “flights” themes.Originality/valueThe results offer useful insights into airline travellers’ overall experiences based on social media information and facilitate the identification of the main themes linked with different value for money ratings.

Utility function for airline travel in Nepal and its comparison with India

The competition in the airline market provides an airline passenger with ample open choices to evaluate before finalising a travel decision. The final travel decision is an outcome of a consideration of multiple parameters. In the last decade, Nepal has witnessed impressive growth in international and domestic air traffic, which in turn has led to a growth in tourism in Nepal. It has, therefore, become crucial for competing airlines in Nepal to monitor their services and align the same with respect to airline passengers' preferences. We study the domestic airline travel in Nepal to create a utility function for it and compare the performance of one airline with other competing airlines. The model is based on the logarithmic goal programming model and multiple criteria decision-making. This development also provides a unique opportunity to compare utility functions for airline travel across India and Nepal, two neighbouring countries with different socio-economical setups.

Utility Function for Airline Travel in Nepal and Its Comparison with India

The competition in the airline market provides an airline passenger with ample open choices to evaluate before finalising a travel decision. The final travel decision is an outcome of a consideration of multiple parameters. In the last decade, Nepal has witnessed impressive growth in international and domestic air traffic, which in turn has led to a growth in tourism in Nepal. It has, therefore, become crucial for competing airlines in Nepal to monitor their services and align the same with respect to airline passengers' preferences. We study the domestic airline travel in Nepal to create a utility function for it and compare the performance of one airline with other competing airlines. The model is based on the logarithmic goal programming model and multiple criteria decision-making. This development also provides a unique opportunity to compare utility functions for airline travel across India and Nepal, two neighbouring countries with different socio-economical setups.

The most reliable flight itinerary problem

Travel itineraries between many origin‐destination (OD) pairs can require multiple legs, such as several trains, shared rides or flights, to arrive at the final destination. Travelers expect transparent reliability information to help improve decision‐making for multi‐leg itineraries. We focus on airline travel and making a priori decisions about flight itineraries based on the reliability of arriving at the destination within the travel time budget. We model the reliability of multi‐leg itineraries and, given publicly available data, create probability distributions of flight arrival and departure times. We use these values in our reliability calculations for the entire itinerary. We implement a stochastic network search algorithm that finds the most reliable flight itinerary (MRFI). We also implement several ideas to improve the efficiency of this network search. Computational experiments help identify characteristics of the MRFI for a diverse set of OD pairs.

Seasonal and interannual risks of dengue introduction from South-East Asia into China, 2005-2015.

Due to worldwide increased human mobility, air-transportation data and mathematical models have been widely used to measure risks of global dispersal of pathogens. However, the seasonal and interannual risks of pathogens importation and onward transmission from endemic countries have rarely been quantified and validated. We constructed a modelling framework, integrating air travel, epidemiological, demographical, entomological and meteorological data, to measure the seasonal probability of dengue introduction from endemic countries. This framework has been applied retrospectively to elucidate spatiotemporal patterns and increasing seasonal risk of dengue importation from South-East Asia into China via air travel in multiple populations, Chinese travelers and local residents, over a decade of 2005–15. We found that the volume of airline travelers from South-East Asia into China has quadrupled from 2005 to 2015 with Chinese travelers increased rapidly. Following the growth of air traffic, the probability of dengue importation from South-East Asia into China has increased dramatically from 2005 to 2015. This study also revealed seasonal asymmetries of transmission routes: Sri Lanka and Maldives have emerged as origins; neglected cities at central and coastal China have been increasingly vulnerable to dengue importation and onward transmission. Compared to the monthly occurrence of dengue reported in China, our model performed robustly for importation and onward transmission risk estimates. The approach and evidence could facilitate to understand and mitigate the changing seasonal threat of arbovirus from endemic regions.

"Spanish Flu": When Infectious Disease Names Blur Origins and Stigmatize Those Infected.

Despite not originating in Spain, the 1918 influenza pandemic is commonly known as the "Spanish flu"-a name that reflects a tendency in public health history to associate new infectious diseases with foreign nationals and foreign countries. Intentional or not, an effect of this naming convention is to communicate a causal relationship between foreign populations and the spread of infectious disease, potentially promoting irrational fear and stigma. I address two relevant issues to help contextualize these naming practices. First is whether, in an age of global hyperinterconnectedness, fear of the other is truly irrational or has a rational basis. The empirical literature assessing whether restricting global airline travel can mitigate the global spread of modern epidemics suggests that the role of travel may be overemphasized. Second is the persistence of xenophobic responses to infectious disease in the face of contrary evidence. To help explain this, I turn to the health communication literature. Scholars argue that promoting an association between foreigners and a particular epidemic can be a rhetorical strategy for either promoting fear or, alternatively, imparting a sense of safety to the public.