Strategic Airline Service Review in the Time of the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

This study extracted airline data from several online source to examines operational and service strategy of the airline industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results have suggested that airlines were losing market shares in this pandemic situation except for those with high assets. In addition, this study utilizes text analytics techniques to provide insight into service characteristics that distinguish positive from negative reviews. The results suggest that satisfied travelers are demanding services with high empathy and responsiveness, while negative reviewers frequently complaints about insufficient operational aspects such as ground operations, mishandled baggage, system glitches, and staff management on handling cancellation.