Nigerian Aviation Research Articles

Statistical Learning Insights on Nigerian Aviation Service Quality

Statistical Learning Insights on Nigerian Aviation Service Quality

Factors Influencing the Airline Decision-Making Process in Planning Pricing Mechanisms in the Nigerian Aviation Industry

The airline industry is faced with a lot of challenges based on their various operations in terms of the carriage of goods and passengers. Part of this challenge is the issue of the best pricing strategies to be adopted. Prior to setting fare, the airline industry considered a number factors before the decision is implemented looking at customer satisfaction and profit making. Therefore, based on that, this study set out to assess the factors that influence airline pricing decisions in the Nigerian airline industry. The scope of the study covers all the domestic airlines operating in Nigeria. A questionnaire was administered to three hundred forty-nine staff consist of three categories of staffers (directorate, managerial, and supervisory) of all the domestic airlines in Nigeria. The collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Eleven variables (factors) were selected as attributes and tested. These include: demand, cost of inputs and supply, prevailing market airfare price, prices (fares) of alternative modes, route status, period (time) of supply and demand, distance between origin and destination, landing fees, availability of slots in peak periods, security on the origin-destination (O-D) market, and availability of aircraft maintenance. The results revealed that distance between the origin and destination, time of supply, and demand are the most significant factors influencing airline pricing decisions in the Nigerian airline industry. Therefore, based on the findings of the study, the study recommends that the airline industry must ensure that passengers are fully informed if prices are changed and also ensure the security of passengers from origin to destination.

Environmental Accounting Practice and Financial Performance of Listed Aviation Firms in Nigeria

Environmental accounting practices is a concept that has received attention in recent times especially after the world experienced the adverse effect of environmental abuse. It was however discovered that the discourse focused majorly on the manufacturing sector with little attention on another sensitive sector such as the aviation industry. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of environmental accounting practices on the financial performance of Nigerian aviation firms, with a specific focus on their environmental research and development, environmental pollution control policy, and environmental waste management. An ex-post facto research design was used in the study. The population comprised the five aviation firms listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group as of 31st December 2021. A census sampling technique was used which automatically made the five firms the sample size of the study. Data were obtained from secondary sources through the published annual reports of the firms covering the period of 2016 – 2021. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis. Findings revealed that environmental research and development, and environmental waste management had a negative and significant effect on return on assets; while environmental pollution control policy positively and significantly affect the return on assets of Nigeria aviation firms. The study concluded that environmental research and development, and environmental waste management could adversely affect financial performance if not well managed. It is recommended that the environmental management of firms should be given priority in order to maximize financial performance.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEES’ PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF ETHICAL CLIMATE IN THE NIGERIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY

In this study, the researchers investigated the causal influence from strategic management practice to employee’s performance using three competing techniques, MLE, GLS and ADFE, for a sample of Nigerian aviation industry. The three techniques provided a unanimous evidence that strategic planning and strategic management/evaluation maintained positive relationship with employee’s contribution to time management, while, we found that employee’s performance is not significantly sensitive to strategic formulation. Thus, the study recommended that employees should reduce their productive hours, required to formulate policies, rather they should allocate much hours in the process that leads to the achievement of the overall goal of the organization.

ANALYSIS OF PLANE CRASH IN NIGERIA AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM SPECIFIC DISASTER: DANA AIR 0992, 5N-RAM CRASH

Modern society continues to depend heavily on the wealth and services generated by highly automated and mechanised systems. Therefore, physical assets, including manual and automated systems, must be directed and safeguarded. When these assets fail, life, property, credibility, and trust are typically lost. In the face of rapidly changing technology and maintenance philosophies, one way to avoid failures and catastrophes is to learn from past failures and implement the lessons or recommendations derived from such analyses and reports. Nigeria, like other nations, has experienced disasters caused by asset failures in businesses, factories, and residences.Consequently, the purpose of this article is to raise public awareness and alarm regarding the repercussions of the Nigerian aviation industrys failure to learn from past failures and disasters. As a case study, it employs a documented Dana Air aircraft accident report. In addition, it employs Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), a deductive failure technique, and Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) to gain a deeper understanding of the aircraft accident and its root causes. As a result, a feedback loop is established for the development of additional ideas and actions to prevent future disasters in Nigeria.

Sustainable supply of aviation fuel in Nigeria: the status quo and the challenges

<span>Adequate fuel supply and availability are vital for economic sustainability. Aviation fuel accounts for more than 30% of an airline’s operating expenditure. Jet fuel price is one of the factors that determine airfare and airlines’ profitability. Nigerian airlines run on civil grade jet A-1 fuel, and almost annually, the aviation sector is plagued with jet fuel scarcity and the resulting flight delays, rescheduling, and cancellations. Jet fuel scarcity and the escalating cost are products of multifaceted factors that are related to finance, logistics, management, and policy. This study highlighted the operational specifics of the Nigerian aviation fuel sector; it identified various business opportunities that affect air transportation and discusses the main industry challenges responsible for jet fuel price volatility and scarcity in Nigeria. Instability and shortage of foreign exchange (Forex), non-refining of jet fuel locally, and absolute dependence on jet fuel importation are some of the key causal factors. A total revamp of the aviation infrastructure, a review of the current incident of multiple and exorbitant operating fees, and licensing of private and modular refineries for jet fuel production will help address jet fuel scarcity issues in Nigeria.</span>

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE NIGERIA AIRLINE INDUSTRY: A CUSTOMERS PERSPECTIVE

This study sought to assess the effect of diversity management on service delivery in the Nigeria aviation industry from a customers’ perspective due to the observed problem of increasing customer complaints and migration. The study was restricted to customers of the aviation industry in Abuja Nigeria who served as the population of the study. The study adopted the survey research design while multiple regression technique was used to analyze the primary data collected for the study through a structured questionnaire. From a purposefully selected sample of 384 respondents, the study found that age diversity and gender diversity both have a positive and significant effect on service delivery in the Nigerian Aviation Industry. The study therefore recommends that the management of the aviation companies should make concerted efforts towards optimally managing the diversity of their workforce with a good blend of male and female across the younger and older generations in order to maximize service delivery outcomes for the companies and boost performance ultimately.

The impact of passenger's traffic on exchange rate and economic growth in Nigerian aviation industry

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of passengers’ traffic on Exchange Rate (ER) and economic growth in Nigerian aviation industry. This study adopts an ex-post facto research design, a systematic empirical inquiry in order to carry out the research. Secondary data was obtained from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The study employed trend analysis on the time series data and regression analysis to explore the cause-and-effect relationship among variables. The result showed that the trend of exchange rate and aviation contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have been on increase over certain periods. Hence, the linear trend line shows a steady increase in the pattern of exchange rate and economic growth over the sample period of 2000 to 2020 with R-squared values of 0.714 and 0.824, respectively indicating a good fit of the line to the data. The regression analysis revealed that Passengers’ Traffic (PT) has a positive impact on ER and economic growth. Thus, with a T-statistic of 3.296 and probability of 0.004, it indicates a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable (i.e. Exchange Rate). Also, with a T-statistic of 6.119 and probability of 0.000, it indicates a statistically significant impact on the dependent variable (i.e. Economic Growth).

Competition dynamics in Nigerian aviation industry: a game theoretic approach

BackgroundThis paper develops a game theoretic model that analyses the dynamics of competition among the leading domestic aviation firms in the Nigerian aviation industry. It probes the abilities of the prisoner dilemma to describe the subjective behaviour of the firms, which provide a yardstick for assessing the optimal competitive strategies available to the firm to survive the business environment.ResultsThe solution of the game provides different optimal competitive strategies for the firms. While findings show that Aero Contractors placed more weight on flight pricing to survive in the industry, Arik Air needed to retain non-pricing competitive strategy to remain the leading domestic aviation firm in Nigeria.ConclusionBased on our findings, we conclude that if both firms stick to the optimal strategy, they would both share the market.

Low Cost Strategy as a Remedial Prescription for Resuscitating Nigeria’s Ailing Domestic Airline Industry: The customers’ perspective

The number of domestic airlines operating in the Nigerian aviation industry have been on a steady decline for a number of years. This is despite a gradual increase in the average number of domestic travelers. Reasons adduced for this anomaly is related to high operational costs, debt burden and outstanding financial obligations. This study therefore examined low cost strategy as a prescription for struggling airlines in the Nigerian domestic airline industry. Stated preference theory served as the theoretical framework because it allowed the construction of realistic alternatives that respondents could choose from based on their preferences. The study was conducted in two phases using conjoint analysis. The first phase identified competitive tools relevant to Nigeria while the second phase involved respondents choosing from an orthogonal content analysis matrix based on selected factors and their attribute levels. Results indicated a high internal correlation value between observed and estimated preferences while no significant correlations was observed between the competitive tools, suggesting good model fit. Findings revealed that out of the six competitive tools, Refund policy and In-Flight Menu were the most important to passengers while Channel of ticket purchase was the least important. Based on the computer-generated path-worth utility matrix, the authors suggested a workable low-cost model that airlines could adopt to ensure survival and profitability. Implications are discussed.

Spatio-temporal patterns of air crashes in Nigeria between 1960 and 2012

Air transport is considered the safest among the modal transport options. Over the years the passenger travel by air has double necessitating stricter national and international regulatory framework. In spite of the concerted efforts toward ensuring safety on the global scale, incidents of air crashes are still prevalent especially in the developing countries like Nigeria. The Nigerian aviation sector has suffered series of air mishaps since independence in 1960. This study seeks to examine the spatio- temporal pattern of air crashes in Nigeria. The methodology involves longitudinal research design covering over 30 years, from 1960 to 2012. These cut across many segments such as location, factor responsible for the crash, number of survivor, number of death, number of accident per year and number of carrier involved. The data is analysed with descriptive analytical techniques. The study reveals the classification of causal air crashes in Nigeria as human, mechanical, environmental and mixed themes. The study also reveals that the pattern of air crashes in Nigeria follows a cyclic pattern of occurrence over the years. The implication is that stability of the sector against accident is still far-fetched. Therefore more investment is still needed in the sector to achieve a healthier and danger free airspace.

Explicating innovation-based human resource management's influence on employee satisfaction and performance

PurposeThis study aims to build and test an empirical model that investigates the mechanism with which innovation-based human resource management (HRM) impacts employee satisfaction and performance in Nigerian international airports.Design/methodology/approachA time-lagged approach that involved three-waves was used to collect data from passenger-contact employees and their immediate managers for three-month period starting from January to March 2019. A total of 247 dyads of passenger-contact employees and managers were used for the data analysis.FindingsResults from data analysis showed that coworker support and absorptive capacity mediate the impact of innovation-based HRM on employee satisfaction and performance. Innovation-based human resource effort is best applied when coworker support is evident in the workplace.Originality/valueThe development and application of innovation-driven human resources in the Nigerian aviation context encourage satisfaction with assigned task roles, leading to employee performance. Theory-based implications for managing passenger-contact employees were also given. A significant strength of this study is that it is among the forerunners of scholars that investigated innovation-based HRM as a continuum rather than different aspects of broader management issues.

Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Development in Nigerian Aviation

Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Development in Nigerian Aviation

Managerial Mentoring Behaviour and Corporate Vitality in the Nigerian Aviation Sector

Despite substantial evidence on managerial roles in ensuring performance in work organizations, there is heightened need targeted at exploring and examining managerial behaviour that shapens and strengthen employee capacity that in turn stimulate the needed corporate vitality. This study therefore, examined the empirical link between managerial mentoring and corporate vitality in the Nigerian Hospitality subsector. The study used the questionnaire as the primary instrument for data generation from a sample of 226 respondents. The reliability of the survey instrument was ascertained relying on the Cronbach alpha of 0.78 and benchmarked with the Nunally alpha threshold of 0.7. the data were inferentially analyzed and the findings clearly indicates that a strong positive and significant relationship exist between managerial mentoring dimension of idea clarification empathizing, shared experience and attentiveness and corporate vitality measured with resourcefulness, responsiveness and innovativeness. this is as shown by R=0.74 and it is concluded that managerial mentoring relates with corporate vitality therefore it was recommended amongst others that managers should undertake deliberate and target mentoring initiative that will provide employees with much needed experience and skills that will strengthen the organization for goals.

An Analytic Hierarchical Approach to Building Airline Safety Management Systems

The airline literature has attracted considerable attention of scholars and significant modelling and empirical reports have been contributed. However, despite being significantly agitated in the recent past in view of unprecedented airline failures, the Nigerian airline industry is least studied. The safety management system (SMS) meant to be a constant measuring tool has been downplayed in research concerning this country’s airline system. To correct this anomaly, this study takes a frontline empirical initiative to prioritize the safety management system components and elements which hitherto has been very challenging and currently being approached by intuition. In this paper, the collective wisdom of experts is integrated into a framework of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) wherein experienced professionals’ ideas are obtained through questionnaire administration and interviews. The AHP methodology is a classical, merit-driven and validated approach in decision making and applied in this instance to the Nigerian aviation industry. The results indicated an effective prioritization of SMS elements and further validate the efficacy of the AHP model developed originally by Thomas Saaty.

Empirical analysis of extreme weather conditions and aviation safety in Nigeria

The frequency of delay, diversion and outright cancellation occasioned by poor weather has affected the Nigerian aviation industry and serious safety implication.This study therefore examines the influence of weather conditions on aviation safety in Nigeria. Secondary data basically from Nigeria Meteorological Agency such as information on thunderstorm, fog occurrence and rainfall from 2004 to 2013 and data obtained from Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria on air accident induced by extreme weather within the same period were analysed using Multiple Regression Analysis. Results show that low visibility as a result of fog occurrence causes four (4) air traffic accidents more than other weather conditions and that Lagos experienced two (2) air accidents more than other airports during the period under study. So also the value of R2 shows a value of 77.8% which implies that there is variation in the dependent variable (Airport Operation) which can be predicted by independent variables (Weather conditions). The F-statistic value of 62.892 is also found to be statistically significant at 5% (p<0.05) which shows that weather condition has significant influence on aviation safety. Baseline studies on flight operation, government intervention in aviation industry, maintenance culture were recommended.Keywords: Fog, Thunderstorm, Rainfall, Safety, Accident

A Study of the Application of Information and Communications Technology in Customer Relationship Management in Selected Airlines in Nigeria

This study examined the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices used in selected airlines in the Nigerian Aviation industry. It investigated the factors influencing the effective deployment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for CRM and determined the effects of ICT on the performance of the industry. The study was conducted in the Head Offices of the local airlines (Lagos state and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja). A multistage sampling technique was employed to select ten local airlines and ten travel agencies. Two hundred Airline passengers were randomly selected for the study. Primary data were collected using three sets of questionnaire. Data obtained were analysed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the adoption of ICT in airlines operations significantly reduced operational costs (r = 0.791*, p = 0.011), improved service quality (r = 0.732*, p =0.025) and improved identification of high value customers. The study concluded that the effective deployment of ICT assisted the Airlines in rendering better services to their passengers and facilitated a robust performance of their operations.

Analysis of emergency response procedures and air traffic accidents in Nigeria

Incessant air transport accidents have been a source of concern to stakeholders and aviation experts in Nigeria, yet the response and process has not been adequately appraised. This study attempts an evaluation of the emergency response procedures in the aviation industry with particular focus on Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja which is unarguably the nation’s busiest airport and has had considerable emergencies that had necessitated the deployment of emergency curtailing procedures. The objectives of the study includes the functionality of the emergency response plan systems; assessment of magnitude and frequency of emergency situations and examination of the magnitude of lives and properties involved in the emergency situations. Emanating from the study is that there is growing rate of air accidents in Nigeria and no adequate emergency response plan nor manpower equipment to combat air accidents in Nigeria, so also, the Chi Square result shows that the Nigerian Aviation Industry is not in compliance with the International recommendation of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as regards emergency management. Recommendations such as establishment of a central body to co-ordinate emergency situations in Nigeria and international agreement with neighbouring states amongst others were proffered for an efficient and effective emergency response procedure in the Nigerian aviation sector. Empirical analysis was used to analyse the observed emergency response procedures of the agencies involved in emergency response plan against the expected level. Key Words: Emergency Response Plan, Accident, Response Procedures, Functionality

Empirical Analysis of the Contribution of the Aviation Industry to the Nigerian Economy

The study revealed the contribution of the Nigerian Aviation Industry to the National GDP of Nigeria. To this end we determined the performance of the aviation workers with regards to contribution to national GDP; determined the performance of the Nigerian labour force’s contribution to the GDP and did compared the contribution per head of aviation workers to the aviation industry’s revenue of aggregated product; we ascertained the aviation industry’s percentage contribution to the National GDP and did forecasted the growth of the GDP, aviation industry and its workers’ contribution to GDP. To achieve what we did we used secondary data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics from 1985 to 2012 for National GDP; aviation industry’s contribution to the GDP; the annual estimates of Nigerian labour force; the annual estimates of labours employed in the aviation industry; the annual throughput and revenue in the industry. We were able to determine that an average aviation industry worker is more productive than an average member of the Nigerian Labour force as a whole. We found that the aviation industry’s contribution to National GDP is very small, but noted that it contributes a lot towards ensuring the smooth flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria. We were able to forecast that the industry will grow at about 25.4% rate on annual basis. We also discovered that in the contribution of the Transport Sector as a whole to National GDP, aviation industry made the least contribution, while road transport made the most. Road transport could even make more if all the informal sectors of the road transport mode are accounted for. Aviation industry is great and serves as a great face-lift for the nation, however, it serves less than 10% of the population and contributes less than expected, judging from the capital investment involves in the sector. We therefore suggest that land based transportation and their associated systems should be upgraded and more attention should be paid to them. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p115

An investigation of air accidents in Nigeria using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework

Increasing air traffic growth has been achieved along with substantial improvement in safety globally. While air traffic is equally growing in Nigeria, safety levels do not appear to be growing side by side. This was gleaned from the spate of accidents and fatalities recorded in the last couple of decades. The study therefore set out to assess safety performance in Nigeria's air transport industry by comparing accidents and fatality rates with global average levels during the period 1985–2008. A content analysis of the accident reports was done using the Human Factors Analysis Classification System (HFACS) as a conceptual framework; this was augmented with results of industry experts assessment of the Nigerian aviation industry. Their assessments were also discussed in the context of the conceptual framework. Accidents and passenger fatality rates in Nigeria were higher than global average figures for most of the years included in the analysis period. Findings on aircraft ages show that these are also higher than world average levels. The aviation industry experts' assessment presented various challenges which include inadequate airport facilities, absence of timely meteorological information and dearth of skilled personnel in Nigeria's aviation industry. The content analysis of the accident reports using the HFACS shows that skill based errors; physical environment and inadequate supervision are the most frequently occurring categories influencing accident occurrences. The Chi-square and Fishers's test used to analyze significant relationships in the HFACS categories obtained in the accident reports showed five pairs of significant associations between adjacent categories. Based on these associations, Supervisory Violations:-Crew Resource Management:- Decision Errors path is deemed the most potent for accident occurrences. Findings from the research point to the need to address personnel skill, physical environment issues (mostly weather related) and supervisory competence.