Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Comparison of the Effects of Service Characteristics in Airline Companies on the Intention to Recommend the Airline Company

Öz

The aviation sector is a rapidly developing industry operating in an increasingly competitive environment driven by rising travel demand. It has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and there have been significant declines in passenger numbers. The aviation sector has entered a post-pandemic recovery phase. Businesses in the aviation sector, which showed strong resilience in the face of Covid-19, must understand changing passenger expectations. In this sense, the effects of service characteristics on the intention to recommend an airline in the pre- and post-Covid-19 periods are an important question mark. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of service features on the intention to recommend airlines in the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. Using online consumer reviews of the five leading traditional airline business models operating in Europe, the effects of service features on the intention to recommend airlines were examined using binary logistic regression. Turkish Airlines, Air France, Swiss International Airlines, Iberia, and British Airways, the top five airlines in Skytrax's 2023 ranking of Europe's best airlines, were selected as the sample, and 2,094 valid online consumer reviews were collected from the Skytrax platform and examined using binary logistic regression analysis. The result obtained is that while the value of money affected airline passengers' recommendation behavior 20 times more in the pre-Covid-19 period, it affected it 34 times more in the post-Covid-19 period. On the other hand, the order in which service types affect recommendation behavior has not changed. However, only the seat comfort variable among the service types has had a reduced effect on the recommendation behavior of airline passengers after Covid-19. The effect of the value of money variable on the recommendation behavior of airline users has increased. In conclusion, Covid-19 has caused significant changes in airline passenger recommendation behavior. This study has revealed the significant changes and nuances in airline passenger recommendation behavior after a global crisis such as Covid-19.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Recommendation Behavior
• Logistic Regression
• Airline Service Quality
• Covid-19

Havayolu İşletmelerinde Hizmet Özelliklerinin Havayolu İşletmesini Tavsiye Etme Niyeti Üzerindeki Etkilerinin Karşılaştırılması, Covid-19 Öncesi ve Sonrası

Öz

Havacılık sektörü artan seyahat talepleriyle yoğun rekabet ortamında giderek gelişen bir sektördür. Covid-19 pandemisinden etkilenmiş ve taşınan yolcu sayısında büyük düşüşler gerçekleşmiştir. Havacılık sektörü, pandemi sonrası toparlanma evresine girmiştir. Covid-19 karşısında güçlü bir direnç gösteren havacılık sektöründeki işletmeler değişen yolcu beklentilerini anlamak zorundadır. Bu anlamda hizmet özelliklerinin covid-19 öncesi ve sonrası dönemlerinde havayolunu tavsiye etme niyeti üzerindeki etkileri önemli bir soru işaretidir. Bu makalenin amacı; havayolu işletmelerinde hizmet özelliklerinin tavsiye etme niyeti üzerindeki etkilerini covid-19 öncesi ve sonrası dönemlerde analiz etmektir. Avrupa’da faaliyet gösteren önde gelen 5 geleneksel havayolu iş modelindeki havayolu işletmelerinin çevrimiçi tüketici değerlendirmelerini kullanarak hizmet özelliklerinin tavsiye etme niyeti üzerindeki etkileri ikili lojistik regresyonla incelenmiştir. Örneklem olarak Skytraxda ki 2023 yılı Avrupa’nın en iyi havayolları sıralamasına göre ilk 5 havayolu olan Turkish Airlines, Air France, Swiss International Airlines, Iberia ve British Airways seçilmiş ve 2094 adet geçerli çevrimiçi tüketici değerlendirmesi Skytrax platformundan toplanarak ikili lojistik regresyon analizi ile incelenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuç; Covid-19 öncesi dönemde paranın değeri havayolu yolcularının tavsiye etme davranışını 20 kat etkilerken, Covid-19 sonrası dönemde paranın değeri havayolu yolcularının tavsiye etme davranışını 34 kat etkilediğidir. Diğer yandan hizmet çeşitlerinin tavsiye etme davranışını etkileme sırası değişmemiştir. Fakat hizmet çeşitlerinden sadece koltuk konforu değişkeninin Covid-19 sonrası havayolu yolcularının tavsiye etme davranışına olan etkisi azalmıştır. Havayolu kullanıcılarının tavsiye etme davranışına paranın değeri değişkeninin etkisi artmıştır. Sonuç olarak covid-19 havayolu yolcu tavsiye etme davranışı üzerinde anlamlı değişikliklere sebep olmuştur. Bu çalışma havayolu yolcuları tavsiye etme davranışının covid-19 gibi küresel bir krizden sonra anlamlı değişiklikleri ve inceliklerini ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Tavsiye Etme Davranışı
• Lojistik Regresyon
• Havayolu hizmet kalitesi
• Covid-19

Kaynakça

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