Stepping Up and Stepping Out of COVID-19: Malaysian Airline Passengers’ Travel Behaviour and Does It Impact Willingness to Pay for Carbon Offset

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has become the most intense and long-lasting in aviation history. There is significant literature on the immediate impact of the outbreak, as well as speculation on the industry’s future evolution. This paper seeks to contribute to this discussion by examining flying patterns among Malaysian airline passengers and whether they are willing to contribute to carbon offset when flying during and post COVID-19. Specifically, the paper aims to measure the Malaysian airline passengers’ travel behavior during and after COVID-19 in Malaysia and whether the traveling behavior will impact passengers’ willingness to pay for carbon offset when flying. Many airlines recognize the importance of environmental protection. The airlines implement several environment-friendly activities related to in-flight services and wish to trigger passengers’ support and inquire about their preferences. Using an online survey, 150 respondents completed the survey as the sample for this study. The majority (77%) reported their travel behavior would change due to current cases of COVID-19 and the main reason is that COVID-19 worries them and will kill the patient if not prevented. Even though Malaysian traveling behavior has changed, they are still willing to pay for carbon offset as 69% of respondents are still willing to contribute. The findings have important implications for air transport management and decision-makers to tolerate the traveling behavior among Malaysian passengers and how they will support Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 13 (Climate Action), contributing to carbon offset.