Investigating business traveller heterogeneity: Low-cost vs full-service airline users?

This paper investigates business traveller heterogeneity using data from a survey carried out amongst airline passengers. Traditional methods employed are usually based on mean responses, thus providing an incomplete picture of what business travellers perceive to be the main sources of differentiation in the airline industry. Factor analysis was used to find types of travellers through grouping of preferred attributes. Then, ordered discrete response methods were used to assess which attributes are perceived in a different way by the two types of travellers identified by factor analysis, controlling for route and passenger characteristics. The results show that a substantial portion of business travellers, who previously did not fly for business reasons, use low-cost air services. Furthermore, after having experienced the low-cost product, business passengers tend to reassess the valuation of some attributes in a way which is more favourable to the LCC. Hence, we conclude that LCC marketing strategies should be aimed at getting business travellers to experience the low-cost product.     

Observations of fundamental changes in the demand for aviation services

This paper addresses the seemingly inexorable decline in yield in the airline industry. The external shocks to the industry of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, wars in Afghanistan and the Arabian Gulf and SARS all had downward impacts on the demand for air travel. However, these effects mask a more fundamental change in the demand for aviation services. The analysis uses published sources and a survey of 264 travellers to examine the fall in yields. The traffic mix of economy, business and first class passengers is shown to have changed over a 10 year period as proportionally more travellers choose to use economy class products. This combined with a fall in yield by a third in this cabin during the same period has lead to a significant fall in industrywide yields. Behavioural shifts in business travel and leisure demand are examined. Business travellers have switched from business class products as the difference between business class and leisure fares have increased significantly and as economy class and low-cost carrier products are increasingly viewed as acceptable for business traveller needs, particularly in short-haul markets. Leisure travel has increased as low-cost carriers have introduced low fares, generating new traffic and winning market share from scheduled and charter airline competitors alike.     

Promoting passenger comfort and wellbeing in the air: An examination of the in-flight health advice provided by international airlines

Cases of airline passengers developing deep vein thromboses and contracting infectious diseases during flights have led to airlines' provision of in-flight customer health advice coming under increased scrutiny. By means of a manifest content analysis of the information provided in 50 international airlines’ in-flight magazines, this paper examines the nature and presentation of the health advice that is supplied and comments on the different approaches individual airlines adopt.     

The propensity of business travellers to use low cost airlines

The liberalisation of air transport regulations in the EU has led to the introduction of a number of new airlines serving short haul point to point routes (e.g. easyJet, Ryanair, Debonair, Virgin Express, Go and others). While some of these routes are clearly leisure oriented (e.g. Palma, Ibiza, Venice and Nice), anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of travellers are using these services for business related trips. A number of recent studies suggest that pressure is being brought to bear on business travellers to reduce travel expenditure (IATA, 1997. International Air Trasport Association, Press release, No. PS/13/9, 27 January 1997; Bender, A., Stephenson, F., 1998. Journal of Air Trasport Management 4 (2), 99–109; Mason, K.J., 1998. In: Selected Proceedings of the Eighth World Conference on Transport Research (forthcoming)). This paper details a stated preference (SP) survey of European business travellers to assess the propensity for business travellers to use short haul low cost airlines. The study assess the utility placed by travellers on price, airline reward schemes, flight frequency and in-flight comfort service attributes. Price is shown to be the most important purchase factor followed by in-flight comfort and then flight frequency. The study demonstrates the effect of company size on traveller's selection of these utilities.     

The desired quality of integrated multimodal travel information in public transport: Customer needs for time and effort savings

Travel information is one of the factors that contribute to the quality of public transport. In particular, integrated multimodal travel information (IMTI) is expected to affect customers’ modal choice. The objective of this research is to identify customers’ desired quality of IMTI provision in public transport. Customers’ desired IMTI quality can vary throughout the pre-trip, wayside and on-board stages of a journey. The main determinants are time savings (travel and search time) and effort savings (physical, cognitive, and affective effort). In a sample of Dutch travellers with a substantial share of young persons, the pre-trip stage turns out to be the favourite stage to collect IMTI when planning multimodal travel; desired IMTI types in this stage are used to plan the part of the journey that is made by public transport. Wayside IMTI is most desired when it helps the traveller to catch the right vehicle en route. On-board travellers are most concerned about timely arrival at interchanges in order to catch connecting modes. In the whole travel process, travel time is the most important saving. Apart from that, pre-trip search time savings are also desired, while en route affective effort is more important than cognitive effort.     

Network dependency and airline competition – Consequences for remote areas in Norway

Due to the long stretched shape of the country and sparse population many regions in Norway are dependent on air travel that involves chained trips with two or more legs. Northern Norway and the west coast are particularly dependent on such networks. In these areas a number of short take-off and landing airports and subsidised regional airlines engaged in a public service obligations route tendering systems. However, regions dependent on competitive network travel have not all benefited from the last ten years of competition which has lead to lower fares on the main routes and ‘through-fares’ for network travellers have become relatively expensive. This is because there is only one network airline offering through fares. Network travel where one leg is commercially provided and not covered by public service obligation rules, leaving regulation authorities to intervention when fares are excessively high on other legs.     

Examining airline service quality from a process perspective

Airline service is composed of a set of processes. Passengers may have distinct expectations at different stages of the service chain. In this study, air travel was divided into ground and in-flight service stages. We first examined the gap between passengers’ service expectations and actual service received and the gaps associated with passenger service expectations and the perceptions of these expectations by frontline managers and employees of a Taiwanese airline. Next, importance–performance analysis was used to construct service attribute evaluation maps to identify areas for improvement. Results revealed that these gaps did exist and passengers were more concerned about the responsiveness and assurance dimensions from airline frontline staff. The tangibles dimension was considered more important when evaluating in-flight service quality than when evaluating ground service quality.     

The in-flight shopper

This paper examined how in-flight shoppers differ from non-shoppers in terms of socioeconomic, motivational, and attitudinal characteristics. A telephone survey revealed that in-flight shoppers do not differ from non-shoppers in education and gender. In-flight shoppers, however, are older and earn more money than the average airline passenger. Additionally, in-flight shoppers are more impulsive, more brand conscious, more price conscious, and less risk perceptive than non-shoppers. They are no different from non-shoppers when it comes to convenience and variety-seeking. The in-flight shopper also has a positive attitude towards advertising.     

Travel motivations of Japanese senior travellers to Thailand

This study applies the conceptual framework of push and pull motivations to investigate travel motivations of Japanese senior travellers to Thailand. Using factor analysis, three push and four pull factor dimensions are identified. The three push factors are labelled ‘novelty and knowledge‐seeking’, ‘rest and relaxation’ and ‘ego‐enhancement’, while the four pull factors are ‘cultural and historical attractions’, ‘travel arrangements and facilities’, ‘shopping and leisure activities’ and ‘safety and cleanliness’. Among them, ‘novelty and knowledge‐seeking’ and ‘cultural and historical attractions’ are regarded as the most important push and pull factors respectively. The results of multiple regression analysis indicate that psychological well‐being (i.e. positive affect) and education are the two factors influencing travel motivations of Japanese senior travellers to Thailand. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

International university students’ travel risk perceptions: an exploratory study

Tourism researchers have identified the impact of perceived risk on destination choice and travel behaviour, and differences in general traveller risk perceptions based on both traveller and trip characteristics. However, such research has neglected the travel of international university students, despite the expansion and economic importance of this market. This paper outlines an exploratory study conducted on international university students studying at an Australian university. A total of 407 valid responses from the sample were achieved. Factor analysis identified four main risk factors which were labelled ‘human-induced risk’, ‘social–psychological risk’, ‘financial risk’, and ‘health risk’. Student origins were found to influence risk perceptions. In particular, Asian students perceived higher levels of human-induced and social–psychological risks compared with students primarily from America and Europe. Travel experience and repeat visitation significantly reduced risk factors apart from health risks. Financial risks were higher for students planning to travel in Australia compared with Asia and America. The implications for destination marketing are considered, and future research avenues based on the results are outlined.     

Perceived travel risks: the traveller perspective and manageability

Although a large number of studies both in and out of the tourism literature have examined perceived risk, the risk categories utilized are often too broad and are not generated from the perspective of current and potential travellers. This deficiency in the travel research is addressed in this study by asking more than 2,000 respondents to identify their concerns when travelling. All respondent concerns were content analyzed to derive ten travel‐specific risks and the relationship of the identified risks with demographic characteristics of the respondents was examined. The identification of these potential and actual traveller‐driven travel‐risks allows tourism officials to better understand how to respond to alleviate traveller concerns and encourage travel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The value and usage of ticket flexibility for short haul business travellers

Fully flexible business class and “full economy” airline tickets are aimed at meeting the needs of business travellers whose travel requirements may change after a ticket is purchased. The provision of these products has implications for airlines’ revenue management systems, which may lead to overbooking and denied boarding. Low-cost carriers have developed a method by which tickets can be changed only when required. This paper investigates the usage and value of ticket flexibility by business travellers as the popularity of high fare-fully flexible tickets has fallen in recent years. A survey of 284 business travellers showed that business travellers change their flight arrangements in only 32% of short haul trips. A stated preference study investigated the likelihood of respondents to change tickets in three hypothetical scenarios. The results indicate that to extend a business trip for business purposes travellers are confident that their company will bear the cost of changing a ticket valuing additional time at about £54 per hour but that the value of personal time when travelling is fairly low at £15 per hour. The study concludes that business travellers do not need to change their tickets often and that when they do, low-cost carriers offer a more cost-efficient method of providing ticket flexibility. This pay-for-usage approach to ticket flexibility undermines the traditional airlines’ pricing structures and this has contributed to the reduced, relative value of business class and full economy class tickets for short haul air travel.     

Chinese International Students. An Avant‐Garde of Independent Travellers?

Though most long‐haul Chinese travellers participate in group‐based tours, many young Chinese are now travelling overseas to acquire educational qualifications. These ‘study tourists’ travel independently around their place of study, often accompanied by friends and relatives whom they are hosting. Understanding the characteristics of such independent behaviours may offer insights into China's future outbound travel market. This study of 1400 Chinese studying in Australia highlights distinctions between independent student travellers and youth travellers more generally such as backpackers. The findings challenge established typologies of independent youth travellers and raise prospective implications for marketers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new approach to travel information sources and travel behaviour based on cognitive dissonance theory

This study examines the influences of en route information on travel behaviours, based on cognitive dissonance theory, which explains that selective exposure to new information leads to the presence of dissonance. Fifteen travel activities were identified from the related literature to measure levels of unplanned travel behaviours. Moreover, two types of information sources used during trips were tested to evaluate the degree of dissonance in accordance with new information provided to travellers while on vacation. The results indicated that during trips, those who use information technology change their intended behaviours, while those who use ‘traditional’ information sources actualize their intended behaviours. In line with cognitive dissonance theory, information technology is viewed as dissonance-increasing information, while traditional information sources used during trips are considered consonance-increasing information.     

The effect of Internet apprehension and website satisfaction on air travellers’ adoption of an airline's website

Airlines are attempting to shift consumers from traditional booking channels to their own more cost-effective online channels as fast as possible. Inhibitors to this migration may be travellers’ apprehension towards the Internet and level of satisfaction with the airline website. The effect of these two constructs on adoption and use of the airline website are examined using two models. The findings suggest that apprehension towards the Internet and satisfaction with the airline website is significantly related to certain demographic characteristics of the population and the level of use of an airline website.     

Airline type and tourist expenditure: Are full service and low cost carriers converging or diverging?

Since some years ago low-cost carriers (LCCs) are becoming less and less low-cost-like, as well as full-service airlines are becoming less and less full-service-like, thus contributing to lessen the differences between users of one airline type and the other. LCCs have made air travel available to all budgets and enabled tourists to spend more at destination by reallocating their trip expenditure. The objective of this article is to observe if airline types have been converging regarding travellers’ expenditure allocation and total trip expenditure. We use repeated cross sections of the Spanish tourist expenditure survey between 2006 and 2014, and compositional data analysis with a total in order not to confound effects involving expenditure allocation with those involving expenditure volume. Results show that users of both airline types converge in their allocation of the trip budget (between transportation and at-destination expenses, and within at-destination expenses), but diverge with regard to total trip expenditure.     

The future of airline distribution

This paper provides an overview of the changes taking place in airline distribution and evaluates the impact of these changes on the key stakeholders; the airlines, travel agents, global distribution systems companies and corporate travellers. Conclusions as to the future of airline distribution are drawn. It is likely that global distribution systems deregulation will lead to the fragmentation of airline inventories across different distribution channels. Airlines will seek to increase the proportion of sales they make directly on their own website, thereby reducing their costs. Travel management companies will need to demonstrate their value to corporate clients clearly. Corporate clients are most concerned about ensuring access to the widest possible range of airline products and tariffs, at the same time as distribution costs are removed from the value chain.     

Women's travel writing and the legacy of Romanticism

Women's travel writing reveals how literary and artistic discourses influence the way we read and write about journeys. This paper considers the way women's travel writing has adapted to, and adopted, the discourse of Romanticism, from its beginnings as a philosophy of political and sexual revolution, individual freedom and escape, to a more diffuse sense which has infiltrated modern attitudes to travel. We consider a classic travel text from the Romantic period, and discuss its legacy. Adopting Buzard's argument [(1993). The Beaten track: European tourism, literature and the ways to ‘Culture’ 1800–1918. Oxford: OUP], we consider how travel changed through the long nineteenth century. We discuss how the twentieth-century Romantic attraction of travel is marketed through the tourist industry as one of the main reasons to get away from it all and discover the ‘authentic’: this desire is reflected in travel texts. Recent writing reflects the influence of Romanticism by celebrating the individual as a wandering free spirit on a self-quest, whose writing is ‘authentic’, spontaneous and confessional: that is, the legacy of sensibility. We conclude that Romanticism has left a dual legacy for travellers, of political commitment and inner journey. Authors discussed include Mary Wollstonecraft, Gertrude Bell, Isabella Bird and Sara Wheeler.     

Airframe manufacturers: Which has the better view of the future?

For the development of Airbus’ A380 and Boeing's B787 it seems that these manufacturers have differing views of future airline networks. This paper assesses from published sources the likely preferences of leisure and business passengers for different airline network approaches and also assesses airline strategies through the economic cycle. The manufacturers seem to have substitutable aircraft types. Both leisure and business travellers are increasingly price elastic and growth in both markets means both aircraft type will be successful aircraft meeting differing needs. However, airline market-share strategies are likely to undermine the success of hub by-pass or hub-to-hub focus strategies throughout the cycle.