Human factor issues related to flight deck automation require thorough knowledge of airline pilots’ perceptions of advanced automated aircraft. This understanding is important in designing effective training programmes and developing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of an airline that are needed to fly these aircraft safely. The purpose of this study was to identify the core components of advanced flight deck automation and to construct a valid and reliable instrument to measure the perceptions of airline pilots with regard to automated flight deck systems on modern commercial jet aircraft. An Automation Attitude Questionnaire, the AAQ, was constructed and distributed to all the pilots employed at a major South African carrier. The subsequent data, received from 262 respondents, was interpreted and then analysed using the SPSS and StatsPac statistical software packages. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that five distinct factors were responsible for a significant portion of the variability in pilots’ perceptions of advanced flight deck automation systems and training on those systems. After analysis, these factors were labelled ‘comprehension’, ‘training’, ‘trust’, ‘workload’ and ‘design’. The results indicated that those pilots who operated mainly Airbus-manufactured aircraft types had a statistically significantly more positive perception of the design of the automation system than those of their counterparts who flew mainly Boeing-manufactured aeroplanes. Co-pilots who operated primarily on the company’s long-range aircraft expressed significantly more positive perceptions of advanced flight deck automation training than the line captains dedicated to long-range flying. It was found that captains flying the company’s short-range aircraft also held a more positive perception of automation training than captains operating long-range aircraft. The biographical variables of age, years of flying experience and total flying hours, appeared to be negatively related to both the comprehension and training dimensions of advanced flight deck automation. However, the mere opportunity to fly these advanced automated aircraft seemed to affect pilots’ perceptions of these systems more positively than negatively. Finally, the overall responses of the majority of participants in this study were very positive with regard to the five core factors related to perceptions of advanced flight deck automation. It is suggested that future studies of this nature should incorporate a larger sample consisting of cross-cultural carriers in the global industry. This will confirm the external validity of the present study and support the transfer of findings to other airline pilot populations. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

While 3.3 billion people flew worldwide in 2014 a large number of these were from developed countries. It is emerging countries which offer the greatest potential for future air traffic growth, with forecasts suggesting that 7.3 billion people will fly by 2034. The greatest proportion of this traffic will be in the Asia-Pacific region where there is already high low-cost carrier penetration. Given increasing price-based competition within short-haul markets, there are many significant challenges in terms of how Asian network airlines respond to LCC competition, and a popular response is the use of low-cost subsidiaries. Thus, the aims of this research are to establish the sources of competitive advantage of Asian airlines generally, and to examine the competitive responses of Asian network airlines and the strategic capabilities of them in competing with low-cost carriers, with a particular focus upon the use of low-cost subsidiaries. This research is underpinned with competitive advantage theory, particularly the resource-based view which concerns the internal environment of firms where each firm possesses a collection of unique resources and capabilities that provide the foundation for competitive strategy. For this research, data were collected from 49 senior airline management personnel using questionnaire surveys, resource surveys, and semi-structured interviews. The data were then analysed using VRIN analysis, the importance and difficulty of 37 competitive responses, strategic capability analysis, and the product and organisational architecture model. The results found that both a strong strategy and stable leadership are crucial. The strategies of Asian network airlines must be flexible to respond appropriately to competitive threats as they materialise, with this responsiveness contributing to the attainment of competitive advantage. Out of an analysed 36 intangible resources, the top resources for competitive advantage and responding to competitive threats for Asian airlines generally are slots, brand, and product and service reputation, with the importance of these based more on being hard to copy than valuable. Each analysed airline business model has a relatively distinct core bundle of intangible resources which explains the internal sources of their competitive advantage. The need for Asian network airlines to strengthen their competitive advantage and their ability to compete is because low-cost carriers impact them in many ways, most notably through a reduction in market share and reduced yields given the key motivation of customers within short-haul markets and economy class is now price and value-for-money. Asian network airlines are most likely to respond to low-cost carriers if they focus upon their core markets, grow their market share, and target the core higher-yielding passengers on which network airlines rely. In such instances, Asian network airlines should respond by focusing more on their brands and meeting the needs of their core targeted market segments. There is a strong positive correlation between profit margin and the strategic capability to compete with low-cost carriers. Yet, Asian network airlines have relatively weak capabilities overall. While Vietnam Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia are reasonably well placed to compete, network airlines from Northeast Asia, in particular, must strengthen their capabilities especially as Japan, China, and Taiwan are witnessing fast low-cost carrier growth. However, the possession of a strong capability does not mean it is fully or properly leveraged. To compete more effectively with low-cost carriers, the most important competitive responses, based upon analysis of 37 responses, are the ability of management to quickly introduce changes, leveraging brand strength, and increasing aircraft utilisation. Based on the relationship between the importance and difficulty of responses, the most crucial responses for competitive advantage of Asian network airlines are reducing costs to within 30% of LCCs and increasing aircraft utilisation. If achieved, these should lead to meaningful sustained advantage. Low-cost subsidiaries are easier to implement than for network airlines to significantly reduce costs, change to one fleet, or reduce the use of direct distribution, which may explain their popularity within Asia and them being a borderline very essential competitive response. For network airlines, low-cost subsidiaries are a more effective way to compete with low-cost carriers, to participate in the growth of the budget segment, a means of operating uneconomic routes, and to remove unprofitable customers. Network airlines can then focus upon their core market segments and their core competencies. However, their creation is reactive and not proactive which undermines their effectiveness, likewise that low-cost subsidiaries suffer from poor profitability, higher costs, and much smaller size and scale than their key low-cost competitors. This research recommends that Asian network airlines strengthen their existing and primary sources of competitive advantage while pursuing new sources of advantage. While the strategic capabilities of Asian network airlines have strengthened over time, it is essential that they are further strengthened and fully acted upon given increasing competitiveness. The use of low-cost subsidiaries will continue, but it is crucial for themselves and their parent network airlines that they improve their ability to compete and thereby their performance.

The main efforts in this paper are directed towards the "crew complement" problem on American Airlines, and the solution found in the Tripartite Agreement. Included is an account of the major events in the airline industry that led to the present "crew complement" problem, and its existence on other airlines.

No description available.

This thesis expands on the literature in the under-researched field of airline risk management by exploring organisational structures and practices of airline risk management systems and their technical and institutional drivers. In particular, it focuses on the phenomenon of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and its alignment to the requirements of airline business contexts. The theoretical framework informing this study combines structural contingency theory with two strands of institutional theory, namely old institutional economics and new institutional sociology. In this thesis, the phenomenon of risk management is investigated in situ as an organisational practice through a two-stage empirical study. Firstly, an exploratory field study was undertaken in a panel of ten international airlines. Secondly, the field study was complemented with findings from two explanatory case studies. This study explains how in developing risk management systems airlines balance the sometimes conflicting technical and institutional demands of their respective task and institutional environments. The adoption and implementation of ERM in airlines are found to be driven primarily by coercive and normative pressures, and expectations of improved organisational effectiveness and efficiency. This study additionally improves general understanding of the nature of ERM and its coupling and fluidity in the organisational settings of airlines. It lends evidence for systematic variations in roles, uses, and organisational design choices of ERM systems. It shows the interdependent nature of airlines’ ERM systems and other management systems. The study also demonstrates that the adoption of ERM in airlines drives development of new institutions, rules, and routines for comprehensive management of risks. Consistent with the tenets of contingency theory, this study conveys lack of a universally appropriate design of an airline ERM system. The main contribution of this thesis is to assess airline risk management systems, identify core drivers of effective risk management practice, and provide a framework with the aim of guiding airlines in the development of enterprise-wide risk management approaches aligned with the requirements of their institutional and technical contexts. Furthermore, this research overcomes the limitations of previous, mostly quantitative studies of ERM coupling and dynamics in organisations, as it explores and explains the structures, practices, and rationales of airline risk management systems within wider organisational contexts through the use of qualitative methodologies.

Background and problem discussion: Society's increased concern about environmental pollution, the greenhouse effect, climate change and human rights violations have inspired business practices that take greater account of social responsibility. This has led to the fact that since 2017 it is mandatory for companies of a certain size to report non-financial information on how they deal with social and environmental issues in a sustainability report. An industry that has high pressure to report how they work for sustainable development is the aviation industry, but previous studies show that there is uncertainty about how to report sustainability and that it has led to a lack of quality in the reports. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine and add understanding of quality in sustainability reporting. The study also aims to compare sustainability reports over time and examine if the quality within sustainability reporting has changed. Method: This study uses a comparative and longitudinal research design. The study is based on a qualitative research strategy with quantitative elements using a qualitative content analysis. An encoding scheme is used to assess the companies' sustainability reports. Results: The study's empirical data shows that the quality of the sustainability reports within European airlines has improved considerably between 2015-2018, but there is still room for sustainability reporting to develop. Through a review of the companies‟ sustainability reports, you can see a clear direction that the sustainability reports are showing more and more similarities in terms of quality, and the companies have focused most on improving the reporting of trends over time as well as their performance in environmental issues. / Bakgrund och problemformulering: Samhällets ökade oro kring miljöförstöring,växthuseffekten, klimatförändringar och kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter har inspirerattill affärsmetoder som tar större hänsyn till socialt ansvar. Detta har lett till att det sedan 2017 är obligatoriskt för företag av en viss storlek att redovisa icke-finansiell information kring hur de bemöter sociala och miljörelaterade frågor samt utmaningar i en hållbarhetsrapport. En bransch som har hög press på sig att redovisa på vilket sätt de arbetar för en hållbar utveckling är flygbranschen, men tidigare studier visar att det råder en osäkerhet kring hur man ska hållbarhetsrapportera och att det lett till en bristande kvalité på rapporterna. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka samt tillföra förståelse för kvalité inom hållbarhetsredovisning. Vidare syftar studien till att jämföra hållbarhetsrapporter över tid och undersöka om det skett någon förändring gällande hållbarhetsredovisningens kvalité. Metod: Denna studie använder sig av en komparativ samt longitudinell forskningsdesign. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi med kvantitativa inslag där en kvalitativ innehållsanalys används. Ett kodningsschema används för att undersöka företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Slutsats: Studiens empiri visar att kvalitén på hållbarhetsredovisningen inom Europeiska flygbolag har förbättrats avsevärt mellan år 2015-2018, men det finns ännu stort utrymme för hållbarhetsredovisningen att utvecklas. Genom en granskning av bolagens hållbarhetsrapporter ser man en tydlig riktning mot att hållbarhetsredovisningarna visar alltmer likheter kvalitetsmässigt, och bolagen har lagt mest fokus på att förbättra redovisningen av trender över tiden samt deras prestationer inom miljömässiga frågor.

<p>During the early 1990´s, the Swedish commercial air traffic was de-regulated and the new market-condition made it possible for low-budget airlines to enter the Swedish market. The former monopolistic airline company, Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS), was facing a new type of competition which had the advantage of offering much cheaper air trips than SAS. Adding the decrease of profitability that struck SAS as well as other airline companies after the terrorist attacks on the 11th of September, forced them to carry out a mayor reorganization programme. The programme, called “Turn Around 2005”, was a direct economical measure that begun in 2002 and lasted until 2005 and resulted in a cost saving of 14,5 billion SEK as well as a notice or a transfer of 6000 employees.</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to investigate if the opinion of the consumer, the image, corresponds with the profile that SAS wishes to mediate today. Our intentions are also to see if the changes during the reorganization have reached the consumers. This essay is a case study based on both a quantitative and a qualitative method. The quantitative study included questionnaires handed out to 143 persons and a former costumer satisfaction study made by “Svenskt Kvalitetsindex”. The qualitative study included deep interviews with employees on SAS. The results of the questionnaires, interviews and theories about image, profile, identity and GAP-analysis, clearly shows that SAS’s profile of being a low- cost airline and being the most price worthy alternative doesn’t correspond with the opinion of the consumers. The result also shows that the consumers have not detected any of the changes, apart from the price reduction, that was made during the reorganization. However SAS have succeeded to be known by the business-passengers as a bit better regarding the ground services and departures, and that part of their image are therefore close to their profile. Our conclusion states that there is an indistinctness regarding SAS profile since the costumers cannot decide if SAS is a low-cost or a traditional airline company.</p>

Background: The airline industry is unique and fascinating. It was protected through government controls until the early 1980s. However, due to deregulation policy the industry opened to free competition. As a result, collaborations and alliances were formed and low budget airlines were able to enter the market. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to present the current stage of the European airline industry by investigating the strategies of Ryanair and SAS with the help of strategic management tools. Procedure: Two companies were chosen, Ryanair as a low budget airline and SAS as a mature airline. The investigation was based on secondary data found in financial -, annual -, business - and company reports as well as in independent analyst reports and on the Internet. Results: Ryanair’s and SAS’ strategies differ a lot. While Ryanair is focusing on lowest costs it is able to offer low fare tickets but also puts effort into increasing service. On the other hand, SAS’ complicated situation in the weak industry leads to many strategic adjustments. Its diverse choice of prices and services underlines its current instability. Concerning the European airline industry, moves toward consolidation are observable. The industry is reshaped

After the deregulation of the airline industry new actors entered the market and among them were the low-cost airlines. These actors are not involved in the same traditional airline alliance used by the traditional airlines to strengthen their position on the market. Little research has been made regarding the benefits for low-cost airlines to engage in strategic alliances. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate if low-cost airlines benefit from engaging in strategic alliances or collaborations, and identify possible alliance configurations. To fulfill the purpose we have used a qualitative method and case studies. Interviews with respondents from two low-cost airlines as well as an airline industry field expert were used to gather information about the thesis subject. We have concluded that the low-cost airlines in this study benefit from engaging in strategic alliances. The low-cost airlines are using vertical as well as horizontal alliances principally to gain cost-reduction or efficiency benefits. Both cases were against traditional airline alliances due to the high costs involved, and the fact that they do not share the same motives for alliances.

During the early 1990´s, the Swedish commercial air traffic was de-regulated and the new market-condition made it possible for low-budget airlines to enter the Swedish market. The former monopolistic airline company, Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS), was facing a new type of competition which had the advantage of offering much cheaper air trips than SAS. Adding the decrease of profitability that struck SAS as well as other airline companies after the terrorist attacks on the 11th of September, forced them to carry out a mayor reorganization programme. The programme, called “Turn Around 2005”, was a direct economical measure that begun in 2002 and lasted until 2005 and resulted in a cost saving of 14,5 billion SEK as well as a notice or a transfer of 6000 employees. The purpose of this essay is to investigate if the opinion of the consumer, the image, corresponds with the profile that SAS wishes to mediate today. Our intentions are also to see if the changes during the reorganization have reached the consumers. This essay is a case study based on both a quantitative and a qualitative method. The quantitative study included questionnaires handed out to 143 persons and a former costumer satisfaction study made by “Svenskt Kvalitetsindex”. The qualitative study included deep interviews with employees on SAS. The results of the questionnaires, interviews and theories about image, profile, identity and GAP-analysis, clearly shows that SAS’s profile of being a low- cost airline and being the most price worthy alternative doesn’t correspond with the opinion of the consumers. The result also shows that the consumers have not detected any of the changes, apart from the price reduction, that was made during the reorganization. However SAS have succeeded to be known by the business-passengers as a bit better regarding the ground services and departures, and that part of their image are therefore close to their profile. Our conclusion states that there is an indistinctness regarding SAS profile since the costumers cannot decide if SAS is a low-cost or a traditional airline company.