Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis

Sinem Onat; Burak Buğrahan Devran

doi:10.30518/jav.1866610

Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis

Abstract

The in-depth analysis of customer feedback in improving service quality forms the basis of modern marketing strategies. This study aims to examine user experiences with airline mobile applications using Text Mining methods based on the Service Dominant Logic (S-DL) framework, with reference to the SERVQUAL model dimensions. Within this scope, 22,296 user reviews of airline applications selected from the Google Play Store were analyzed in the Python environment. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling was used to identify dominant themes, and the DistilRoBERTa-base algorithm was used to detect emotional states. The analysis results show that users' digital experiences cluster around the topics of User Experience, App Performance, App Updates, Flight and Booking Experience, Login Problems and General Issues, Digital Service Satisfaction, and Ticketing and Reservation Process. The findings reveal that technical issues, particularly login problems and software updates, disrupt the value-creation process. The findings of the research provide actionable strategic insights for airlines to improve service quality in mobile applications, which are operational resources, and to prevent value destruction.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval - Not applicable.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Transport Economics, Air Transportation and Freight Services

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Sinem Onat ^*
0000-0001-5294-6357
Türkiye

Burak Buğrahan Devran
0000-0003-0600-8022
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

February 27, 2026

Publication Date

February 27, 2026

Submission Date

January 19, 2026

Acceptance Date

February 23, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.1866610

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA49GA78AE

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Onat, S., & Devran, B. B. (2026). Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis. Journal of Aviation, 10(1), 157-165. https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.1866610

AMA

1.Onat S, Devran BB. Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis. JAV. 2026;10(1):157-165. doi:10.30518/jav.1866610

Chicago

Onat, Sinem, and Burak Buğrahan Devran. 2026. “Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis”. Journal of Aviation 10 (1): 157-65. https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.1866610.

EndNote

Onat S, Devran BB (February 1, 2026) Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis. Journal of Aviation 10 1 157–165.

IEEE

[1]S. Onat and B. B. Devran, “Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis”, JAV, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 157–165, Feb. 2026, doi: 10.30518/jav.1866610.

ISNAD

Onat, Sinem - Devran, Burak Buğrahan. “Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis”. Journal of Aviation 10/1 (February 1, 2026): 157-165. https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.1866610.

JAMA

1.Onat S, Devran BB. Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis. JAV. 2026;10:157–165.

MLA

Onat, Sinem, and Burak Buğrahan Devran. “Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis”. Journal of Aviation, vol. 10, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 157-65, doi:10.30518/jav.1866610.

Vancouver

1.Sinem Onat, Burak Buğrahan Devran. Examining Consumer Reviews of Airline Mobile Applications Using Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis. JAV. 2026 Feb. 1;10(1):157-65. doi:10.30518/jav.1866610