Determining the factors affecting consumer acceptance of sustainability practices of airline companies

Environmental pollution is due to factors such as the careless use of natural resources and the release of waste generated in industrial and residential areas to nature. The effect of unconscious actions on the climate is an undeniable fact. Population growth and the growing aviation sector in recent years have increased the importance of sustainability. Although the concept of sustainability is initially thought of as environmental, the environmental, economic, and social dimensions, which are the three basic components of sustainability, should continue in balance. The United Nations has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate poverty, protect the environment, and combat inequality. The United Nations aims for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, air transport identifies ways to fly efficiently for a cleaner and quieter future. In this direction, the aim of the study is to determine the sustainable aviation practices that affect the purchasing behavior of consumers by considering the social dimension of sustainability. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were preferred in the study. First, after semi-structured in-depth interviews with the top executives of airline companies, four separate focus group interviews were conducted with generations Y and Z. Data were obtained from consumers in the aforementioned generations by the online survey method. A total of 255 online questionnaires were collected, and the collected data were first subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis to gather the expressions measuring the same feature among many expressions under one roof. After the factor analysis, the reliability of each sub-dimension was determined numerically, and Multivariate Analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied to determine whether more than one dependent variable created any difference between the groups of an independent variable. As a result of the research, six dimensions were identified within the scope of the sustainability practices of airline companies. It basically consists of three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. In addition, intention, purchase, noise, and composite dimensions were obtained in the research. Social, composite, noise, intention, and purchasing dimensions did not make a significant difference between generations. It has been determined that only economic and environmental dimensions create a significant difference between generations.