Passengers' decision making in the airline industry: lessons from a famous Middle Eastern carrier

Abstract

If we think about how mobility was decades ago, it is nothing like nowadays. Most people were using transportation vehicles like cars, trains and cruises if they wanted to travel abroad, due to the fact that little was known about aviation yet, not until 1914 onwards, with the introduction of the first commercial flight ever. Ever since, the airline industry was exposed to a continuous growth, becoming one of the most flourishing worldwide industries, contributing to the national and global GDP of economies, creating employment opportunities and contributing to the development of better lives. In this perspective, from a marketing and management point of view, it is curious to analyze and understand the drivers of consumers’ final decision upon choosing a specific airline for travelling. This thesis will be structured in three main building blocks: firstly, a broad overview on the industry and a literature review will be presented; secondly, the consumer behavior main theories, in particular relative to the industry analyzed, will be presented; thirdly, an international Arabian carrier will be selected as a case study to explain its success and how it became one of the leaders in the industry and top of mind brand among customers. For this purpose, an ad hoc online survey will be used for collecting data as the main quantitative research method.