The impact of customer focused innovative technologies on passenger growth for a domestic low-cost carrier airline

Abstract

The technological innovations that are increasingly available to air travel have increased significantly over the years since the deregulation of the airline industry within South Africa and the African continent at large. Within the low cost carrier sector of the airline industry, the competition is extremely tough and the longevity of the low cost airline is prompted by the innovative ideas that direct customers to the “no frills” mode of air travel that low cost carriers centre their business model around. The purpose of this research study is to determine the impact of customer focused innovative technology implementations on the passenger numbers of a low cost carrier airline in South Africa. The research focuses on one particular domestic low cost carrier that is known to be technologically forward thinking and that consistently endeavours to use advanced technology in the increasing competitive market within which it operates. The report provides an overview of the business models used by low cost carriers across the world and those employed by the low cost carrier at the focus of the study in South Africa. As the data is of time series in nature, the granger causality statistical model is employed to assess how the customer technology projects affect the customer numbers. The results indicate that there is a causal relationship over time between the implementation of technology and the growth of passenger numbers