Performance Evaluation in Airline Operations Using SD and DNMA Methods Within The Framework of Sustainability: The Case of Turkish Airlines

Abstract

Sustainability is essential in enabling enterprises to secure a competitive advantage and achieve long-term success. The sustainability activities of airline operations stand out in the evaluation of their performance alongside all other operational activities. Therefore, understanding how sustainability strategies affect performance in airline operations is a matter of significant concern for managers. This study aims to evaluate the performance of airline companies, particularly focusing on sustainability, using the example of Turkish Airlines (THY). In this study, the SD and DNMA methods, which are multi-criteria decision-making methods, were employed for performance evaluation. The weights of the criteria were determined using the SD method, and THY's performance between 2018 and 2022 was evaluated using the DNMA method. According to the analysis results, the three most important criteria are 'Sustainability Rating,' 'Load Factor,' and 'Number of Passengers,' with 2022 identified as the most successful performance year for THY. This study contributes to the literature by integrating sustainability performance in airline operations with both financial and non-financial indicators and by utilizing the SD and DNMA methods in an integrated manner. It is believed that the study provides significant contributions to the evaluation of sustainability practices' performance and can guide future sustainable strategies for THY and airline company managers.

Keywords

• Aviation Management
• Airline Performance
• Sustainability
• SD DNMA Method

References

1. Abdi, Y., Li, X., and Càmara-Turull, X. (2020). Impact of sustainability on firm value and financial performance in the air transport industry. Sustainability, 12(23), 9957.
2. Abdi, Y., Li, X., and Càmara-Turull, X. (2021). Exploring the impact of sustainability (ESG) disclosure on firm value and financial performance (FP) in airline industry: the moderating role of size and age. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24, 5052 - 5079.
3. Akgün, M., and Soy Temür, A. (2016). BIST Ulaştırma Endeksine Kayıtlı Şirketlerin Finansal Performanslarının TOPSİS Yöntemi İle Değerlendirilmesi (Evaluation of Financial Performance With Topsis Method of Companies Which Are Listed In Transportation Index In The Istanbul Stock Exchange), Uluslararası Yönetim İktisat ve İşletme Dergisi, 30, 173-186.
4. Aksoy, M. (2020). Kurumsal sürdürülebilirlik performansı ve marka performansı arasındaki ilişki. Borsa İstanbul Örneği (Relationship between corporate sustainability performance and brand performance: evidence from borsa istanbul), Research Journal of Business and Management, 7(3), 139-148,
5. Asker, V. (2018). Veri Zarflama Analizi ile Finansal ve Operasyonel Etkinlik Ölçümü: Geleneksel Havayolu İşletmelerinde Bir Uygulama (Analysis of Financial and Operational Efficiency with Data Envelopment Analysis: An Application in Traditional Airlines Operations). Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 18(1), 153-172.
6. Asker, V. (2021) Düşük Maliyetli Havayolu İşletmelerinde Bulanık Veri Zarflama Analizi İle Finansal Ve Operasyonel Etkinlik Ölçümü (Measurement Of Financial And Operational Efficiency With Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis In Low-Cost Airline Companies). Dicle Üniversitesi İktisadi Ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(23), 1-25.
7. Asker, V., and Kiracı, K. (2022). Sustainability and Financial Performance: Examining the Airline Industry. In Corporate Governance, Sustainability, and Information Systems in the Aviation Sector, Volume I (pp. 73- 92). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
8. Avcı, T., and Çınaroğlu, E. (2018). Ahp Temelli Topsıs Yaklaşımı İle Havayolu İşletmelerinin Finansal Performans Değerlemesi(Financial Performance Evaluation of Airline Companies by AHP Based TOPSIS Approach). Cumhuriyet Universitesi Journal Of Economics and Administrative Sciences (Jeas), 19(1).

9. Ay, Z., Seçme, Z. O., and Topcu, N. (2023). Sürdürülebilirlik Performansı Kovid-19 Salgını Sırasında Havayolu Şirketlerinin Finansal Performansını Nasıl Etkilemiştir?( How Does Sustainability Performance Affect The Financial Performance of Airline Companies During The Covid-19 Pandemic?). İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(2), 988-1002.
10. Aydın, Y. (2020). A hybrid multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model consisting of SD and COPRAS methods in performance evaluation of foreign deposit banks. Equinox Journal of Economics Business and Political Studies, 7(2), 160-176.
11. Aydoğan, E. K. (2011). Performance measurement model for Turkish aviation firms using the rough-AHP and TOPSIS methods under fuzzy environment. Expert Systems with Applications, 38, 3992-3998.
12. Badi, I., and Abdulshahed, A. (2019). Ranking the Libyan airlines by using full consistency method (FUCOM) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, 2(1), 1-4,
13. Bağcı, H. ve Yiğiter, Ş. Y. (2019). Bist’te Yer Alan Enerji Şirketlerinin Finansal Performansının Sd ve Waspas Yöntemleriyle Ölçülmesi(Measurement Of Financial Performance Of Energy Companies In Bist By Sd And Waspas Methods). Bingöl Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 9(18), 877-898.
14. Barros, C. P., and Wanke, P. (2015), An analysis of African airlines efficiency with two-stage TOPSIS and neural networks, Journal of Air Transport Management, 44, 90- 102.
15. Bilgili, M. Y. (2017). Ekonomik, Ekolojik Ve Sosyal Boyutlarıyla Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma(Economic, Ecological And Social Dimensions Of Sustainable Development). Journal of International Social Research, 10(49). 559-569
16. Brammer, S., Brooks, C., and Pavelin, S. (2006). Corporate social performance and stock returns: U.K. evidence from disaggregate measures. Financial Management, 35(3), 97–116.
17. Çakar, U. (2007). Çevreci Şirket ve Çevre Muhasebesi(Environmentalist Firm And Environmental Accounting), Mali Çözüm Dergisi, Eylül-Ekim, 83, 81-94.
18. Demir, G. (2022). Hayat dışı sigorta sektöründe kurumsal performansın Psi-Sd tabanlı Mabac metodu ile ölçülmesi: Anadolu sigorta örneği(Measurement of Corporate Performance in Non-Life Insurance Sector by PSI-SD Based MABAC Method: Anadolu Sigorta Case). Ekonomi Politika ve Finans Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7(1), 112-136.
19. Dyllick, T., and Hockerts, K. (2002). Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability. Business strategy and the environment, 11(2), 130-141.
20. Ecer, F., and Zolfani, S. H. (2022). Evaluating economic freedom via a multi-criteria MEREC-DNMA model- based composite system: case of OPEC countries. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 28(4), 1158-1181.
21. Eryılmaz, G. A., Kılıç, O., and Boz, İ. (2019). Türkiye’de organik tarım ve iyi tarım uygulamalarının ekonomik, sosyal ve çevresel sürdürülebilirlik açısından değerlendirilmesi(Evaluation of Organic Agriculture and Good Agricultural Practices in Terms of Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability in Turkey). Yuzuncu Yıl University Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 29(2), 352-361.
22. Glasby, G.P. (2002) Sustainable development: The need for a new paradigm. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 4, 333–34.
23. Goodland, R. (1995). The concept of environmental sustainability. Annual review of ecology and systematics, 26(1), 1-24.
24. Goodland, R. (2002). Sustainability: human, social, economic and environmental. Encyclopedia of global environmental change, 5, 481-491.
25. Güney, S. & Dinler, S. (2021). Sustainability Reports Frames & GRI-Specific Standard Disclosures Series: Evaluation of The Turkish Airlines 2018- 2019 Sustainability Reports. Anadolu University Journal of Faculty of Economics, 3 (2),
26. Heydari, C., Omrani, H., and Taghizadeh, R. (2020). A fully fuzzy network DEA-range adjusted Measure model for evaluating airlines efficiency: a case of Iran. Journal of Air Transport Management, 89(6), 1-18. 73-186.
27. Hezam., I, M., Mishra, A., R., Rani, P., Cavallaro, F., Saha, A., Jabir, Ali, J., Strielkowski, W., Streimikiene, D. (2022). A Hybrid Intuitionistic Fuzzy-MEREC-RS-DNMA Method for Assessing the Alternative Fuel Vehicles with Sustainability Perspectives. Sustainability, 14(9), 5463.
28. Işık, Ö. (2020). Sd Tabanlı Mabac ve Waspas yöntemleriyle kamu sermayeli kalkınma ve yatırım bankalarının performans analizi(Performance analysis of development and investment banks with sd based mabac and waspas methods). Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari İncelemeler Dergisi, (29), 61-78.
29. Kalia, D., and Aggarwal, D. (2023). Examining impact of ESG score on financial performance of healthcare companies. Journal of Global Responsibility, 14(1), 155-176.
30. Karaköy, Ç., Çakmaktepe, N. E., and Ulutaş, A. (2023). Eski SSCB Ülkelerinin Ekonomik Özgürlük Endekslerinin SD ve CoCoSo Yöntemleri ile Analizi(Analysis of Economic Freedom Indexes of the Former USSR Countries with SD and CoCoSo Methods). İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 10(1), 276-290.
31. Kasa, H., Göçmen, D., & Sümer, S. (2025). Türk hava yolları örneklemi ile havacılık sektöründe sürdürülebilirliğin önemi(The Importance of Sustainability in the Aviation Sector with the Example of Turkish Airlines). Kırıkkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 15(1), 111-138
32. Keleş, M. K. (2022). CRITIC Temelli MABAC Yöntemi İle Türk Hava Yollarının Yıllara Göre Değerlendirilmesi (Evaluation of Turkish Airlines’ Performance by Years with the CRITICBased MABAC Method). Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Uygulamalı Bilimler Dergisi, 6(1), 53-67.
33. Kiracı, K., and Bakır, M. (2018). Critic temelli Edas yöntemi ile havayolu işletmelerinde performans ölçümü uygulaması (Application of performance measurement in airlines with critic based edas method). Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (35), 157-174.
34. Kiraci, K., Tanriverdi, G., and Akan, E. (2023). Analysis of factors affecting the sustainable success of airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation Research Record, 2677(4), 350-379.
35. Koşaroğlu, Ş. M. (2020). BİST’TE İşlem gören bankaların performanslarının SD ve EDAS yöntemleriyle değerlendirilmesi (Evaluation of the performance of banks traded at bist with sd and edas methods). Finans Ekonomi ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 5(3), 406-417
36. Lai, H., Liao, H., Šaparauskas, J., Banaitis, A., Ferreira, F. A., and Al-Barakati, A. (2020). Sustainable cloud service provider development by a Z-number-based DNMA method with Gini-coefficient-based weight determination. Sustainability, 12(8), 3410.
37. Liao, H., Long, Y., Tang, M., Streimikiene, D., and Lev, B. (2019). Early lung cancer screening using double normalization-based multi-aggregation (DNMA) and Delphi methods with hesitant fuzzy information. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 136, 453-463.
38. Liedtka, S. L. (2002). The information content of nonfinancial performance measures in the airline industry. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 29(7‐8), 1105-1121.
39. Macit, D., and Göçer, S. G. (2020). Havayolu İşletmelerinin Finansal Performanslarının Ölçülmesi: Pegasus Hava Taşımacılığı AŞ ve THY AO Örneği (Measuring The Financial Performance of Airlines: Example of THY Incorporation and Pegasus Airlines Incorporation). Ordu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi, 10(3), 904-918.
40. Morelli, J. (2011). Environmental sustainability: A definition for environmental professionals. Journal of environmental sustainability, 1(1), 2.
41. Nie, S., Liao, H., Wu, X., Tang, M., and Al-Barakati, A. (2019). Hesitant fuzzy linguistic DNMA method with cardinal consensus reaching process for shopping mall location selection. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 23(6), 420-434.
42. Ömürbek, V., and Kınay, Ö. G. B. (2013), “Havayolu Taşımacılığı Sektöründe TOPSİS Yöntemiyle Finansal Performans Değerlendirmesi” (A Topsis-Based Financial Performance Assessment Study On Airline Industry), Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(3).343-363
43. Öncü, M. A., Çömlekçi, İ., and Coşkun, E. (2013). Havayolu yolcu taşıma işletmelerinin finansal etkinliklerinin ölçümüne ilişkin bir araştırma (A Research on the Measurement of Financial Efficiency of Passenger Airline Companies). Uluslararası Alanya İşletme Fakültesi Dergisi, 5(2), 77-86.
44. Özçil, A. (2020) An Alternative Method Proposal to Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods: Integrative Referance Point Approach Pamukkale University Business Administration Department PhD thesis in Business Administration.
45. Özdağoğlu, A., Keleş, M. K., and Işıldak, B. (2020). Isparta Süleyman Demirel Havalimanını kullanan havayolu firmaları performanslarının BWM, MAIRCA ve MABAC ile değerlendirilmesi (Evaluation Of Airline Companies Performances Using Isparta - Süleyman Demirel Airport With Bwm, Mairca And Maba). Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari İncelemeler Dergisi, 29, 175-194.
46. Pala, O. (2023). Sd Ve Wısp Yaklaşımları İle Gıda Sektöründe Finansal Performans Analizi (Financial Performance Analysis In The Food Industry With Sd And Wisp Approaches). Doğuş Üniversitesi Dergisi, 24(1), 59-79.
47. Porter, M. E., and Kramer, M. R. (2006). The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard business review, 84(12), 78-92.
48. Saha, A., Mishra, A.R., Rani, P., Hezam, I.M., and Cavallaro, F. (2022). A q-Rung orthopair Fuzzy FUCOM double normalization-based multi-aggregation method for healthcare waste treatment method selection. Sustainability, 14, 4171.
49. Schefczyk, M. (1993). Operational performance of airlines: an extension of traditional measurement paradigms. Strategic management journal, 14(4), 301-317.
50. Scheraga, C. A. (2004). Operational efficiency versus financial mobility in the global airline industry: a data envelopment and Tobit analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 38(5), 383-404.
51. Sinha Ray, R., and Goel, S. (2022). Impact of ESG score on financial performance of Indian firms: static and dynamic panel regression analyses. Applied Economics, 55, 1742 - 1755.
52. Sisman, M.E., and Cankaya, S. (2020). Effect of ESG data on the financial performance of companies: a study on the airline sector. Pressacademia. 9th Istanbul Finance Congress (IFC - 2020), Vol.12-p.98-100.
53. Soltanzadeh, E., and Omrani, H. (2018). Dynamic network data envelopment analysis model with fuzzy inputs and outputs: an application for Iranian Airlines, Applied Soft Computing, 63(2), 268-288.
54. THY (2022) Faaliyet Raporu. https://investor.turkishairlines.com/documents/faaliyet- raporlari/4c2022_yk_faaliyet_raporu.pdf
55. THY (2023). https://www.turkishairlines.com/tr-int/basin-odasi/oduller/
56. Torum, O., and Yılmaz, A. K. (2009). Havacılıkta Sürdürülebilirlik Yönetimi: Türkiye’deki Hava Limanları İçin Sürdürülebilirlik Uygulamaları Araştırması (The Sustainability Management In The Civil Aviation: A Sustainability Research To Airports In Turkey). Journal of Aeronautics and Space Technologies, 4(2), 47- 58.
57. Trabzon, O. (2022). Hava taşımacılığında finansal performans ölçümü ve analizi: BIST’te işlem gören havayolu firmaları üzerine bir uygulama (Yüksek lisans tezi) (Financial Performance Measurement And Analysis In Air Transport: An Application On Airline Companies Traded In Bist). Bartın Üniversitesi, İşletme Anabilim Dalı, Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü.
58. Trisnowati, Y., Achsani, N. A., Sembel, R., and Andati, T. (2022). The effect of ESG score, financial performance, and macroeconomics on stock returns during the pandemic in Indonesia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 12(4), 166- 172.
59. Tsai, W. H., Chou, W. C., and Leu, J. Der. (2011). An effectiveness evaluation model for the web-based marketing of the airline industry. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(12), 15499-15516.
60. Upham, P., Maughan, J., Raper, D., and Thomas, C. (2012). Towards sustainable aviation. Routledge. Earthscan London
61. Ustaömer, T. C., Keleş, M. K., and Özdağoğlu, A. (2021). Investigation of the effect of the pandemic on Turkish airlines with data envelopment analysis. 7th International Conference on Contemporary Issues in Business Management (pp. 34-34), UCP Business School, University of Central Punjab.
62. Ünal, E. A. (2019). Özel sermayeli ticari bankalarının finansal performansının SD ve WASPAS yöntemleri ile ölçülmesi. Ekonomi Politika ve Finans Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(3), 384-400
63. Velte, P. (2017). Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 8(2), 169–178.
64. Wang, Y. J. (2008), Applying FMCDM to evaluate financial performance of domestic airlines in Taiwan, Expert Systems with Applications, 34(3), 1837-1845
65. Wanke, P., Barros, C. P., and Chen, Z. (2015). An Analysis of Asian Airlines Efficiency with Two Stage TOPSİS and MCMC Generalized Linear Mixed Models, International Journal of Production Economics, 169, 110-126.
66. Wu, X., & Liao, H. (2019). Comparison Analysis between DNMA Method and Other MCDM Methods. ICSES Transaction on Neural and Fuzzy Computing, 2(1), 4
67. Xie, J., Nozawa, W., Yagi, M., Fujii, H., and Managi, S. (2019). Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance?. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(2), 286-300.