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1 – 10 of 63Tahmineh Raoofi and Sahin Yasar
This study aims to elaborate on the existing link between maintenance practices and the digital world while also highlighting any unaddressed potential for digital transformation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to elaborate on the existing link between maintenance practices and the digital world while also highlighting any unaddressed potential for digital transformation in aircraft maintenance. Additionally, explore how digital technologies contribute to optimizing efficiency within the continuing airworthiness management (CAM) processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was performed to provide a precise review of the authority regulations on CAM processes and existing literature on digital transformation, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural network and big data in civil aircraft maintenance and continuing airworthiness processes. This method is used to organize, analyze and structure the body of literature to identify research gaps in the selected scope of the study.
Findings
The high position of digital technologies in preventive and predictive maintenance and the need for legislative development for using them in CAM are emphasized. Moreover, it is shown in which area of CAM scientific research has been performed regarding the application of frontier digital technologies. In addition, the gaps between maintenance practices and the digital world, along with the potential scopes of digital transformation which has not been well addressed, are identified. And finally, how digital technologies can effectively increase efficiency in CAM processes is discussed.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, no study comprehensively determined the body of existing knowledge on the aspects of digitalization related to the field of continuing airworthiness management and aircraft maintenance. The results of this study provide a positive contribution to airlines, policymakers, manufacturers and maintenance organizations achieving additional benefits from the implementation of digital technologies in the CAM processes.
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Emine Nihan Koç, Serdar Bozkurt and Selin Karaca Varinlioğlu
This study aims to examine the moderating role of formalization in the relationship between human resources (HR) practices and work engagement (WE) in aviation industry employees…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the moderating role of formalization in the relationship between human resources (HR) practices and work engagement (WE) in aviation industry employees. The research revealed the moderator role of formalization, which is still one of the most critical components for aviation industry workers.
Design/methodology/approach
In the study, the authors used the survey method. In this explanatory and cross-sectional study, the authors examined a data set collected from aviation industry employees (n = 226) in Turkey using the partial least squares (PLS) method and tried to moderate the formalization. The authors analyzed the moderator role of formalization in the relationship between HR practices and WE with SmartPLS 3.0 and HAYES Process Macro.
Findings
The results of the study explain the effect of HR practices on WE in the context of social exchange theory through formalization. Findings show that formalization is an essential factor in HR practices’ resulting in higher WE.
Research limitations/implications
The study is cross-sectional. Research participants participated in the study voluntarily. This situation, in turn, may lead to a social desirability bias in participants' self-reported responses. To avoid this, the authors have prepared a standardized measurement tool. Again, since the authors do not request the names and institutions of the participants, confidentiality and anonymity are provided.
Practical implications
Research findings offer implications for companies and employees in developing economies, especially in the aviation sector. It refers to the necessity for companies aiming for a sustainable strategic position in the competitive aviation sector to attach importance to HR practices that will enable them to see their employees as a competitive advantage. In addition, the results emphasize the need for aviation industry companies to adopt an approach that considers both practices that can increase WE and formalization procedures that can affect employee behavior.
Originality/value
This research provides a comprehensive understanding to examine the interrelationships between HR, formalization and WE in the context of the mechanism of social change in the context of aviation industry workers. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other researcher has holistically addressed these links in general, particularly in a developing country. The findings significantly enrich the literature on HR practices and WE, particularly in the context of a developing country.
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According to regulations, aircraft must be in an airworthy condition before they can be operated. To ensure airworthiness, they must be maintained by an approved component…
Abstract
Purpose
According to regulations, aircraft must be in an airworthy condition before they can be operated. To ensure airworthiness, they must be maintained by an approved component maintenance organisation. This study is aimed to identify potential errors that may arise during the final inspection and certification process of aircraft components, categorise them, determine their consequences and quantify the associated risks. Any removed aircraft components must be sent to an approved aircraft component maintenance organisation for further maintenance and issuance of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Form 1. Thereafter, a final inspection and certification process must be conducted by certifying staff to receive an EASA Form 1. This process is crucial because any errors during this stage can result in the installation of unsafe components in an aircraft.
Design/methodology/approach
The Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) method was used to identify potential errors. This method involved a review of the procedures of three maintenance organisations, individual interviews with ten subject matter experts and a consensus group of 14 certifying staff from different maintenance organisations to achieve the desired results.
Findings
In this study, 39 potential errors were identified during the final inspection and certification process. Furthermore, analysis revealed that 48.7% of these issues were attributed to checking errors, making it the most common type of error observed.
Originality/value
This study pinpoints the potential errors in the final inspection and certification of aircraft components. It offers maintenance organisations a roadmap to assess procedures, implement preventive measures and reduce the likelihood of these errors.
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Hoang Thi Kim Quy, Mai Dong Tran and Tien Minh Dinh
The present study aims to explore the linkages among transformational leadership, workplace spirituality and frontline employee (FLE) service recovery performance in the aviation…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to explore the linkages among transformational leadership, workplace spirituality and frontline employee (FLE) service recovery performance in the aviation service industry. The resilience of individuals was taken as a mediator for the associations between transformational leadership as well as workplace spirituality and frontline employee's service recovery performance. The hypothesized research model was examined by integrating the principles of COR theory and the SDT perspective on psychological needs.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model was evaluated via partial least squares (PLS). In particular, SmartPLS 3.0 software was utilized to examine anticipated correlations through a poll of 371 air service provider frontline employees.
Findings
Results demonstrated that transformational leadership had a positive impact on both service recovery performance and spirituality in the workplace. The positive connection between workplace spirituality and service recovery performance was also supported. Further, the mediating role of an employee's resilience in these relationships was established. The paper provides a significant contribution with both theoretical and practical implications.
Practical implications
The present research also provides some practical implications for the aviation industry. Since the aviation industry is a high-contact service industry, aviation frontline employees play a crucial role in service recovery strategies. Thus, air service providers need to provide these employees with ample resources to effectively handle service failures. Moreover, the service recovery performance of air service providers may benefit from the hiring of managers with strong transformational leadership styles. Therefore, these providers should take leadership style into account when recruiting, promoting and training supervisors. Managers should, among other activities, implement transformational leadership approaches, such as inspiring and motivating, establishing a supportive organizational climate, paying attention to employees' needs and engaging in active listening.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to the stream of research on SRP and the role of transformational leadership, workplace spirituality and resilience in service recovery in particular. Furthermore, by integrating the COR and SDT theories, the current study gives more real-world proof of the importance of leadership for organizations.
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Harry Edelman, Joel Stenroos, Jorge Peña Queralta, David Hästbacka, Jani Oksanen, Tomi Westerlund and Juha Röning
Connecting autonomous drones to ground operations and services is a prerequisite for the adoption of scalable and sustainable drone services in the built environment. Despite the…
Abstract
Purpose
Connecting autonomous drones to ground operations and services is a prerequisite for the adoption of scalable and sustainable drone services in the built environment. Despite the rapid advance in the field of autonomous drones, the development of ground infrastructure has received less attention. Contemporary airport design offers potential solutions for the infrastructure serving autonomous drone services. To that end, this paper aims to construct a framework for connecting air and ground operations for autonomous drone services. Furthermore, the paper defines the minimum facilities needed to support unmanned aerial vehicles for autonomous logistics and the collection of aerial data.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the state-of-the-art in airport design literature as the basis for analysing the guidelines of manned aviation applicable to the development of ground infrastructure for autonomous drone services. Socio-technical system analysis was used for identifying the service needs of drones.
Findings
The key findings are functional modularity based on the principles of airport design applies to micro-airports and modular service functions can be connected efficiently with an autonomous ground handling system in a sustainable manner addressing the concerns on maintenance, reliability and lifecycle.
Research limitations/implications
As the study was limited to the airport design literature findings, the evolution of solutions may provide features supporting deviating approaches. The role of autonomy and cloud-based service processes are quintessentially different from the conventional airport design and are likely to impact real-life solutions as the area of future research.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provided a framework for establishing the connection between the airside and the landside for the operations of autonomous aerial services. The lack of such framework and ground infrastructure has hindered the large-scale adoption and easy-to-use solutions for sustainable logistics and aerial data collection for decision-making in the built environment.
Social implications
The evolution of future autonomous aerial services should be accessible to all users, “democratising” the use of drones. The data collected by drones should comply with the privacy-preserving use of the data. The proposed ground infrastructure can contribute to offloading, storing and handling aerial data to support drone services’ acceptability.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper describes the first design framework for creating a design concept for a modular and autonomous micro-airport system for unmanned aviation based on the applied functions of full-size conventional airports.
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Amar Benkhaled, Amina Benkhedda, Braham Benaouda Zouaoui and Soheyb Ribouh
Reducing aircraft fuel consumption has become a paramount research area, focusing on optimizing operational parameters like speed and altitude during the cruise phase. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Reducing aircraft fuel consumption has become a paramount research area, focusing on optimizing operational parameters like speed and altitude during the cruise phase. However, the existing methods for fuel reduction often rely on complex experimental calculations and data extraction from embedded systems, making practical implementation challenging. To address this, this study aims to devise a simple and accessible approach using available information.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a novel analytic method to estimate and optimize fuel consumption for aircraft equipped with jet engines is proposed, with a particular emphasis on speed and altitude parameters. The dynamic variations in weight caused by fuel consumption during flight are also accounted for. The derived fuel consumption equation was rigorously validated by applying it to the Boeing 737–700 and comparing the results against the fuel consumption reference tables provided in the Boeing manual. Remarkably, the equation yielded closely aligned outcomes across various altitudes studied. In the second part of this paper, a pioneering approach is introduced by leveraging the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). This novel application of PSO allows us to explore the equation’s potential in finding the optimal altitude and speed for an actual flight from Algiers to Brussels.
Findings
The results demonstrate that using the main findings of this study, including the innovative equation and the application of PSO, significantly simplifies and expedites the process of determining the ideal parameters, showcasing the practical applicability of the approach.
Research limitations/implications
The suggested methodology stands out for its simplicity and practicality, particularly when compared to alternative approaches, owing to the ready availability of data for utilization. Nevertheless, its applicability is limited in scenarios where zero wind effects are a prevailing factor.
Originality/value
The research opens up new possibilities for fuel-efficient aviation, with a particular focus on the development of a unique fuel consumption equation and the pioneering use of the PSO algorithm for optimizing flight parameters. This study’s accessible approach can pave the way for more environmentally conscious and economical flight operations.
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Nadia Gulko, Flor Silvestre Gerardou and Nadeeka Withanage
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has been widely accepted as a vital tool for communicating with stakeholders on a range of social, environmental, and governance…
Abstract
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has been widely accepted as a vital tool for communicating with stakeholders on a range of social, environmental, and governance issues, but how companies define, interpret, apply, integrate, and communicate their CSR efforts and impacts in corporate reporting is anything but a straightforward task. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the concept of materiality in CSR reporting and demonstrate practical examples of good CSR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting practices. We chose the aviation industry because of its economic relevance, constant growth, and future expected changes in the aftermath of COVID-19. In addition, airlines affect many of the SDGs directly and indirectly with contending results. This chapter is timely because of the growing willingness by companies to integrate CSR and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) thinking into the corporate strategy and business operations using materiality assessment and enhancing their competitive advantage and ability to maintain long-term value and because ESG and ethical investing have become part of the mainstream investing. Thus, this chapter contributes to an understanding of the wide range of existing and new reporting frameworks and regulations and reinforces the importance of discussing how this diversity of approaches can affect the work toward worldwide comparability of CSR and sustainability reporting.
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María Carmona, Rafael Casado González, Aurelio Bermúdez, Miguel Pérez-Francisco, Pablo Boronat and Carlos Calafate
In the aerial transportation area, fuel costs are critical to the economic viability of companies, and so urgent measures should be adopted to avoid any unnecessary increase in…
Abstract
Purpose
In the aerial transportation area, fuel costs are critical to the economic viability of companies, and so urgent measures should be adopted to avoid any unnecessary increase in operational costs. In particular, this paper addresses the case of missed approach manouevres, showing that it is still possible to optimize the usual procedure.
Design/methodology/approach
The costs involved in a standard procedure following a missed approach are analysed through a simulation model, and they are compared with the improvements achieved with a fast reinjection scheme proposed in a prior work.
Findings
Experimental results show that, for a standard A320 aircraft, fuel savings ranging from 55% to 90% can be achieved through the reinjection method.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first study in the literature addressing the fuel savings benefits obtained by applying a reinjection technique for missed approach manoeuvres.
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Christian Meske, Ireti Amojo and Christoph Müller
Online flight booking websites compare airfares, convenience and other consumer relevant attributes. Environmental concerns are typically not addressed, even though aviation is…
Abstract
Purpose
Online flight booking websites compare airfares, convenience and other consumer relevant attributes. Environmental concerns are typically not addressed, even though aviation is the most emission-intensive mode of transportation. This article demonstrates the potential for digital nudges to facilitate more environmentally friendly decision-making on online flight booking websites.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the digital nudging design process to implement two nudging interventions in an experimental setting on a fictitious flight booking website. The two nudging interventions are (1) an informational nudge, presented as an emission label, and (2) an understanding mapping nudge, presented as an emission converter.
Findings
This article finds that both digital nudges are useful interventions in online choice environments; however, emission labels more effectively encourage sustainable booking behavior.
Originality/value
The contributions of this article are twofold. In contribution to research, this article builds on existing research in sustainability contexts and successfully evaluates the effectiveness of anchoring and understanding mapping heuristics to influence sustainable decision-making in virtual environments. Furthermore, in contribution to practice, this article contributes knowledge to nudge design and provides hands on examples for designers or website operators on how to put nudge designs to practice in virtual choice environments. Additionally, this article contributes relevant considerations in a high-impact research field with growing importance given the global climate crisis.
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Hasim Kafali and İbrahim Güçlü
In this context, this study aims to obtain information about the noise levels emitted to the environment by modeling the noise map of Dalaman Airport and correlating these noise…
Abstract
Purpose
In this context, this study aims to obtain information about the noise levels emitted to the environment by modeling the noise map of Dalaman Airport and correlating these noise values according to the Environmental Noise Directive (END) and World Health Organization (WHO) limits.
Design/methodology/approach
Dalaman Airport Aeronautical Information Publication and 2022 flight data from the airport were analyzed. The noise levels exposed to schools and health institutions were determined using the Cnossos–Eu calculation method.
Findings
Maximum noise levels were obtained as Lden 92.29 dB(A), Lday 85.24 dB(A), Levening 89.00 dB(A) and Lnight 85.23 dB(A) according to the noise indicators. Limit values recommended by the END and WHO according to noise indicator types and measurement results were correlated and evaluated.
Originality/value
In the noise modeling of Dalaman Airport, there has previously been no evaluation of the noise limits recommended according to END or WHO in the literature.
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