Traffic growth, capacity constraints, climate change and the necessity to develop a more cost efficient system led to an ambitious initiative to reform the architecture of airspace management. This initiative, launched by the European Commission (EC), is called Single European Sky (SES). The four Key Performance Areas (KPAs) of SES are environment; cost efficiency; capacity; and safety. In the environment KPA Performance Indicators for Air Navigation Services Providers (ANSPs) are established to ensure that improvement in sustainability is achieved. In addition, aviation is included in the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS): the EC sets limits on CO2 emissions and provides economic incentives to airlines to reduce emissions by establishing a market-based trading system. EU-ETS can be used to simultaneously promote economic efficiency and achieve environmental goals on a sustainable basis. The PhD research examines the existence of cancel-out effects between supply-led, i.e. SES, and demand-led management, i.e. EU ETS, policies by following a holistic approach. Environmental economics theory and industrial economics are applied to identify factors that have a significant influence on the two policies. Interestingly, and in spite of common objectives, the two schemes are governed by different bodies, which may fail to streamline their communication process. Hence, the PhD thesis also addresses the issue of governance and its possible failure regarding the full implementation and efficiency of the schemes. From a methodological perspective, Delphi is conducted in two rounds to encapsulate policy complexity at an in-depth level. The target population comprises stakeholders involved in SES and EU ETS. To select candidates purposive and snowball sampling was used. Thus, the sample consists of 39 senior managers/experts from Civil Aviation Authorities; ANSPs; aviation-related organisations and institutions; and airlines. Based on the results of the Delphi and building on its theoretical background, the PhD thesis then develops a conceptual model to address governance failure, thus effectively linking supply- to demand-oriented aviation policies in a holistic manner.

Pricing strategies (e.g. yield management) in the tourism industry, known as non-transparent pricing, have raised fairness issues, and more recently, new pricing schemes in the airline industry have been controversial issues in terms of price fairness. Nonetheless, few tourism researchers have studied price fairness from a consumer perspective. Thus, an understanding of the cognitive processes associated with perceived price fairness could have far-reaching implications for tourist behavior research. The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedents and consequences of tourists‟ perceived price fairness of the ancillary revenue (i.e. extra fees of airlines). In particular, a conceptual model was based on Weiner's (1980) attribution theory, which was expected to complement shortcomings of the traditional dual entitlement principle (Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler, 1986). Following the study purpose, four objectives of the study were established: (1) to examine the dimensionality of price fairness in a price change context; (2) to examine the antecedents of price fairness; (3) to examine the consequences of price fairness; and (4) to compare differences in the price fairness model between high and low price sensitivity groups. To achieve the study objectives, this study developed a conceptual model of price fairness with three antecedents (price comparison, cognitive attribution, and emotional response) and four consequences (behavioral loyalty, willingness to pay, complaining, and revenge), and determined the model that best predicted the hypothesized model using Structural Equation Modeling. Data were collected from an online survey and the respondents (n=524) were leisure travel passengers in the United States who had taken domestic flights in the past 12 months. The initial model fit the data well from a global perspective, yet, some hypotheses were not supported. Results suggested that price comparison evaluation and cognitive attribution are antecedents to price fairness, but emotional response was found to be influenced by price fairness as opposed to what was hypothesized. It was also revealed that while price fairness directly influenced favorable behavioral intentions (e.g. behavioral loyalty and willingness to pay more), it also influenced unfavorable behavioral intentions (e.g. revenge and complaining behavior), mediated by negative emotional response. The revised model was alternatively proposed. In addition, significant differences in price fairness, emotional response, willingness to pay more, and revenge intention between high and low price sensitivity groups were found. Results of this study provide potentially important direction for the development of a theoretical framework for the conceptualization of antecedents and consequences of price fairness in a tourism context. It is further expected that findings of this study from an attributional perspective provide managerial guidance for the utilization of marketing strategy when a company encounters inevitable price increases or extra fees.

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.

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.