Abstract To date there has been little research in air transport into the eco-positioning of airlines, that is, their environmental image relative to other airlines and how actual environmental performance relates to this eco-positioning. This paper identifies the environmental perceptions that passengers hold of twelve airlines and relates these perceptions to airlines' actual environmental performance, using load factors, aircraft age and the atmosfair Airline index as proxies for environmental performance. Based on a survey of over 600 passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the research analyses air travellers' perception of airlines from an environmental perspective. The results show that while there are significant differences in people's environmental perception of airlines, the eco-positioning of the airlines is not correlated to their actual environmental performance. The results support previous research findings in other industries that in many cases actual performance is less important than communicating environmental messages to the public in creating a superior eco-positioning.
Highlights Environmental performance indicators are compared with airlines’ eco-positioning. The atmosfair Airline Index has no significant effect on airlines’ eco-positioning. Airlines with higher load factors do not hold a better eco-positioning. Airlines with a lower average aircraft age do not hold a better eco-positioning.
Eco-positioning of airlines: Perception versus actual performance
Journal of Air Transport Management ; 44-45 ; 82-89
2015-03-05
8 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
ANALYSIS - Airlines' perception problem
Online Contents | 2012
|Actual, Adjacent, and Potential Competition Estimating the Full Effect of Southwest Airlines
Online Contents | 2001
|Passenger Emergency Exit Usage in Actual Emergencies of Jet Airlines 1960-1989
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1991
|Attribute Perception Mapping Services Domestic Airlines Using Correspondence Analysis
DOAJ | 2015
|Luftfahrt - Perception of rates of european low cost airlines
Online Contents | 2006
|