IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v96y2021ics096669232100257x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An assessment of air passenger confidence a year into the COVID-19 crisis: A segmentation analysis of passengers in Norway

Author

Listed:
  • Budd, Thomas
  • Suau-Sanchez, Pere
  • Halpern, Nigel
  • Mwesiumo, Deodat
  • Bråthen, Svein

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has become the most intense and long-lasting in the history of aviation. There is already a significant literature on the immediate impact of the outbreak, as well as on speculation on the future evolution of the industry. This paper seeks to contribute to this discussion by assessing a year into the crisis the demand related aspects and passenger behavioural impacts of the pandemic. Specifically, the paper aims to identify discrete market segments of air passengers according to their shared attitudes and preferences about air travel in light of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as past behaviour and future travel intentions. To achieve this, we analyse data from a large (n = 2096) online questionnaire survey of air passengers in Norway. The cluster analysis identifies four distinct passenger segments, with each displaying varying attitudes, behaviours, and levels of concern about air travel. One of these groups, described as the ‘Apprehensive Elders’, were identified as having the highest level of concern about flying, and subsequently showed a sharp decline in their intention to travel in the future. Another group, termed the ‘Cautious Commuters’, showed similarly enhanced levels of concerns about flying, but maintained a high propensity to fly following the pandemic despite these concerns. Regarding possible interventions to increase confidence in flying in the future, across all segments the data shows a clear preference for more ‘traditional’ active interventions, including wearing of face masks and enforcement of physical distancing, over and above passive or technological interventions. Norway represents a valuable case as a possible signal for future policy and practice in relation to the recovery of air travel following the pandemic. The findings have important implications for air transport managers and decision makers in terms of managing the perceptions and expectations of different passenger groups as air travel begins to return.

Suggested Citation

  • Budd, Thomas & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Halpern, Nigel & Mwesiumo, Deodat & Bråthen, Svein, 2021. "An assessment of air passenger confidence a year into the COVID-19 crisis: A segmentation analysis of passengers in Norway," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:96:y:2021:i:c:s096669232100257x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103204
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096669232100257X
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103204?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Halpern, Nigel & Mwesiumo, Deodat & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Budd, Thomas & Bråthen, Svein, 2021. "Ready for digital transformation? The effect of organisational readiness, innovation, airport size and ownership on digital change at airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Bombelli, Alessandro, 2020. "Integrators' global networks: A topology analysis with insights into the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Zhang, Junyi & Hayashi, Yoshitsugu & Frank, Lawrence D., 2021. "COVID-19 and transport: Findings from a world-wide expert survey," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 68-85.
    4. Jimenez, Edgar & Suau-Sanchez, Pere, 2020. "Reinterpreting the role of primary and secondary airports in low-cost carrier expansion in Europe," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Abate, Megersa & Christidis, Panayotis & Purwanto, Alloysius Joko, 2020. "Government support to airlines in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Rodríguez-Déniz, Héctor & Suau-Sanchez, Pere, 2017. "Vulnerability of the European air transport network to major airport closures from the perspective of passenger delays: Ranking the most critical airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 119-145.
    7. Schultz, Michael & Evler, Jan & Asadi, Ehsan & Preis, Henning & Fricke, Hartmut & Wu, Cheng-Lung, 2020. "Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    8. Rebecca Brough & Matthew Freedman & David C. Phillips, 2021. "Understanding socioeconomic disparities in travel behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 753-774, September.
    9. Albers, Sascha & Rundshagen, Volker, 2020. "European airlines′ strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (January-May, 2020)," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Anable, Jillian, 2005. "'Complacent Car Addicts' or 'Aspiring Environmentalists'? Identifying travel behaviour segments using attitude theory," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 65-78, January.
    11. Graham, Anne & Kremarik, Frances & Kruse, Willy, 2020. "Attitudes of ageing passengers to air travel since the coronavirus pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Gudmundsson, S.V. & Cattaneo, M. & Redondi, R., 2021. "Forecasting temporal world recovery in air transport markets in the presence of large economic shocks: The case of COVID-19," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Harumi Ito & Darin Lee, 2005. "Comparing the Impact of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks on International Airline Demand," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 225-249.
    14. Liu, Anyu & Kim, Yoo Ri & O'Connell, John Frankie, 2021. "COVID-19 and the aviation industry: The interrelationship between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the frequency of flights on the EU market," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Dube, Kaitano & Nhamo, Godwell & Chikodzi, David, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and prospects for recovery of the global aviation industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Nikolaou, Paraskevas & Dimitriou, Loukas, 2020. "Identification of critical airports for controlling global infectious disease outbreaks: Stress-tests focusing in Europe," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    17. Adrienne, Nena & Budd, Lucy & Ison, Stephen, 2020. "Grounded aircraft: An airfield operations perspective of the challenges of resuming flights post COVID," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    18. Ito, Harumi & Lee, Darin, 2005. "Assessing the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. airline demand," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 75-95.
    19. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2020. "How did COVID-19 impact air transportation? A first peek through the lens of complex networks," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    20. Budd, Thomas & Ryley, Tim & Ison, Stephen, 2014. "Airport ground access and private car use: a segmentation analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 106-115.
    21. Bauer, Linus Benjamin & Bloch, Daniel & Merkert, Rico, 2020. "Ultra Long-Haul: An emerging business model accelerated by COVID-19," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    22. Macilree, John & Duval, David Timothy, 2020. "Aeropolitics in a post-COVID-19 world," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    23. Brown, Richard S. & Kline, William A., 2020. "Exogenous shocks and managerial preparedness: A study of U.S. airlines’ environmental scanning before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    24. Bråthen, Svein & Eriksen, Knut Sandberg, 2018. "Regional aviation and the PSO system – Level of Service and social efficiency," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 248-256.
    25. Tisdall, Lucas & Zhang, Yahua, 2020. "Preparing for ‘COVID-27’: Lessons in management focus – An Australian general aviation perspective," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    26. Halpern, Nigel & Bråthen, Svein, 2011. "Impact of airports on regional accessibility and social development," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1145-1154.
    27. Lamb, Tracy L. & Winter, Scott R. & Rice, Stephen & Ruskin, Keith J. & Vaughn, Austin, 2020. "Factors that predict passengers willingness to fly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    28. Halpern, Nigel & Mwesiumo, Deodat & Budd, Thomas & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Bråthen, Svein, 2021. "Segmentation of passenger preferences for using digital technologies at airports in Norway," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    29. Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Cugueró-Escofet, Natàlia, 2020. "An early assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on air transport: Just another crisis or the end of aviation as we know it?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sismanidou, Athina & Tarradellas, Joan & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & O'Connor, Kevin, 2024. "Breaking barriers: An assessment of the feasibility of long-haul electric flights," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    2. Su, Junbiao & Wu, Hanjun & Tsui, Kan Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Lei, Zheng, 2023. "Aviation resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of the European aviation market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Heejoon Kim & Woon-Kyung Song & Jin-Woo Park, 2022. "The Effect of COVID-19 Countermeasures on Korean Air Passenger Confidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Randrianarisoa, Laingo M. & Gillen, David, 2023. "Policy responses and travellers’ preferences in pandemics: Evidence from Europe," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 305-316.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zheng, Changhong & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Successfully navigating the paper hurricane," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Kim, Myeonghyeon & Sohn, Jeongwoong, 2022. "Passenger, airline, and policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis: The case of South Korea," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Chen, Yuting & Fuellhart, Kurt & Grubesic, Tony H. & Zhang, Shengrun & Witlox, Frank, 2024. "An analysis of the context factors influencing the diverse response of airports to COVID-19 using panel and group regression," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2022. "STARTUPS: Founding airlines during COVID-19 - A hopeless endeavor or an ample opportunity for a better aviation system?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 10-19.
    5. Liao, Maozhu & Wu, Chuntao & Yan, Hongmeng, 2022. "Recovery of Chinese low-cost carriers after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    6. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2021. "Technological and educational challenges towards pandemic-resilient aviation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 104-115.
    7. Warnock-Smith, David & Graham, Anne & O'Connell, John F. & Efthymiou, Marina, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Kuo, Pei-Fen & Brawiswa Putra, I Gede & Setiawan, Faizal Azmi & Wen, Tzai-Hung & Chiu, Chui-Sheng & Sulistyah, Umroh Dian, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on O-D flow and airport networks in the origin country and in Northeast Asia," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    9. Gualini, Andrea & Zou, Li & Dresner, Martin, 2023. "Airline strategies during the pandemic: What worked?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    10. Su, Junbiao & Wu, Hanjun & Tsui, Kan Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Lei, Zheng, 2023. "Aviation resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of the European aviation market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    11. Hiney, Noel & Efthymiou, Marina & Morgenroth, Edgar, 2023. "Impact of Covid-19 on Irish airport stakeholder relationships," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Hanson, Daniel & Toru Delibasi, Tuba & Gatti, Matteo & Cohen, Shamai, 2022. "How do changes in economic activity affect air passenger traffic? The use of state-dependent income elasticities to improve aviation forecasts," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Sugishita, Kashin & Mizutani, Hiroki & Hanaoka, Shinya, 2024. "Disruption and recovery of the US domestic airline networks during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    14. Yiu, Cho Yin & Ng, Kam K.H. & Yu, Simon C.M. & Yu, Chun Wah, 2022. "Sustaining aviation workforce after the pandemic: Evidence from Hong Kong aviation students toward skills, specialised training, and career prospects through a mixed-method approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 179-192.
    15. Santos, Luca J. & Oliveira, Alessandro V.M. & Aldrighi, Dante Mendes, 2021. "Testing the differentiated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel demand considering social inclusion," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Michelmann, Johannes & Schmalz, Ulrike & Becker, Axel & Stroh, Florian & Behnke, Sebastian & Hornung, Mirko, 2023. "Influence of COVID-19 on air travel - A scenario study toward future trusted aviation," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    17. Sun, Xiaoqian & Wandelt, Sebastian & Zhang, Anming, 2023. "A data-driven analysis of the aviation recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    18. Mutascu, Mihai & Sokic, Alexandre, 2023. "Air transportation under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions: A wavelet analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 155-181.
    19. Salesi, Vinolia Kilinaivoni & Kan Tsui, Wai Hong & Fu, Xiaowen & Gilbey, Andrew, 2022. "Strategies for South Pacific Region to address future pandemics: Implications for the aviation and tourism sectors based on a systematic literature review (2010–2021)," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 107-126.
    20. Wu, Tsung-Pao & Zheng, Yi & Wu, Hung-Che & Deng, Ruixin, 2024. "The causal relationship between the COVID-19, Delta and Omicron pandemic and the air transport industry: Evidence from China," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:96:y:2021:i:c:s096669232100257x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.