A RESEARCH ON MANAGERIAL RESPONSES OF THE AIRLINES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 virus affects the aviation industry negatively, economically, socially and politically, as in many other industries. Airlines are suspending their flights due to the continuing effect of the virus. The reactions of airline operators in the face of an unexpected crisis and the strategies they implement are important in terms of preserving their future positions and getting out of the crisis without much damage. In the study, four airline companies from the European region were selected and their responses in the COVID-19 pandemic process were investigated. It was aimed to determine the strategies and measures implemented by the airline companies selected within the scope of low cost and traditional airline business models during the pandemic process. In this direction, document and document analysis method was used within the scope of qualitative research methods. As the research design, the holistic multi-case design approach was used within the scope of the case study / case study. In the analysis part, content analysis was made by examining the news and announcements published on the corporate websites of airline companies. As a result of the study, it has been revealed that airline companies generally adopt similar strategies within the scope of flight status, reservation and ticket options, measures taken and special lounge services provided. Looking at the applications for personnel; Lufthansa and Ryanair appear to be implementing similar strategies such as unpaid leave, wage cuts and layoffs. On the corporate websites of Turkish Airlines and Pegasus, no information on personnel status was available.

Keywords

• Strategy
• COVID-19
• Airline Business Models
• Airlines
• Air Transport

HAVAYOLU İŞLETMELERİNİN COVID-19 PANDEMİ SÜRECİNDEKİ YÖNETSEL TEPKİLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Öz

COVID-19 virüsü birçok sektörde olduğu gibi havacılık sektörünü de ekonomik, sosyal ve politik açıdan olumsuz etkilemektedir. Virüsün etkisinin devam etmesi nedeniyle havayolu işletmeleri uçuşlarını askıya almaktadır. Havayolu işletmelerinin beklenmeyen bir kriz karşısında verdikleri tepkiler ve uyguladıkları stratejiler gelecekteki konumlarını koruyabilmeleri ve krizden çok fazla hasar almadan çıkabilmeleri açısından önemlidir. Çalışmada Avrupa bölgesinden dört havayolu işletmesi seçilerek COVID-19 pandemi sürecindeki tepkileri araştırılmıştır. Düşük maliyetli ve geleneksel havayolu iş modelleri kapsamında seçilen havayolu işletmelerinin pandemi sürecinde uyguladıkları stratejilerin ve aldıkları önlemlerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu doğrultuda nitel araştırma yöntemleri kapsamında belge ve doküman analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma deseni olarak ise, örnek olay/vaka incelemesi kapsamında bütüncül çoklu durum deseni yaklaşımı kullanılmıştır. Analiz kısmında, havayolu işletmelerinin kurumsal sitelerinde yayınlanan haberler ve duyurular incelenerek içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda, havayolu işletmelerinin genel olarak uçuş durumu, rezervasyon ve bilet seçenekleri, alınan tedbirler ve verilen özel yolcu salonu (lounge) hizmetleri kapsamında benzer stratejiler belirledikleri ortaya konulmuştur. Personele yönelik uygulamalarına bakıldığında ise; Lufthansa ve Ryanair’in ücretsiz izin, maaş kesintisi ve işten çıkartma gibi benzer stratejiler uyguladıkları görülmektedir. Türk Hava Yolları ve Pegasus’un ise kurumsal sitelerinde personel durumlarına yönelik herhangi bir bilgiye ulaşılamamıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Strateji
• COVID-19
• Havayolu İş Modelleri
• Havayolu İşletmeleri
• Hava Taşımacılığı

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