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The number of passengers in the aviation sector following COVID-19 has recovered in 2023 and is 5% higher than it was in 2019. The average annual growth of air travel is predicted to be 3.2% between 2019 and 2039. This means the need for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services will also increase. Moreover, the stakeholders require lower costs, higher effectiveness/market share and sustainability. These expectations can be realized only with the identification, development and implementation of new innovations while improving and optimizing the already used processes and procedures. Since only highly qualified graduates can reach these requirements, the need for profession-specific MSc and PhD level engineers has elevated significantly. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the development and implementation of a new MRO higher educational framework program in strong cooperation with enterprises and universities.

The emphasis is placed on the program’s scouting, investigation, development, realization and evaluation by defining key performance indexes and aiming for the optimal solution for all participants.

The result of this study is the establishment of a new educational framework, the reinvention of the MSc curriculum and the integration of PhD-level researchers in the industry in a way that fulfills the needs and requirements of the MRO sector. In return, it will give various benefits to all parties involved.

The novelty of this work comes from creating a new educational MSc and PhD level framework that can push the MRO industry forward and fill the gap of missing engineers in this field. Plus, the newly developed program is highly flexible and can be used by other players in the economy after making some adaptions and modifications.

This study aims to extend the cognitive appraisal theory by developing and validating a conceptual framework to illustrate how travelers' behavioral intention is generated via a multi-stage evaluation of health-related variables.

SEM and moderator analysis were conducted to examine the theoretical framework (post-intervention event travel intention) and to investigate how the appraisal process differs across travelers with various attitudes toward vaccination.

This study found that cruise travel intention was positively influenced by the perceived hedonic value and perceived trustworthiness and negatively influenced by perceived infection risk. Furthermore, whereas perceived hedonic value, perceived trustworthiness and perceived risk of infection were all predicted by crisis management, the dimensions of crisis management operated differently. In addition, vaccination attitudes amplified the unfavorable effect of perceived risk on intention.

Drawing on the CAT, this study developed and validated a conceptual framework to integrate crisis management with customers' behavioral intentions. This study extends existing cruise travel intention theory by demonstrating how post-pandemic travelers' behavioral intention is generated via a multi-stage appraisal-reappraisal process based on the evaluations of infection risks and cruise line crisis management.

Blockchain is the fastest-growing technology currently being used in the aviation industry, especially in aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. This study aims to create an analytic framework to assess the main factors and subfactors that have significantly influence the blockchain used in aviation MRO services. A mixed-methods approach is used to gain a comprehensive understanding of how blockchain is being adopted in aircraft maintenance facilities, Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires are used to gather data. The questionnaire is focused on the present state of the MRO industry.

Based on the literature review, a framework including four factors and 12 subfactors is developed, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is then established. This study explores how these factors influence the implementation of blockchain in aviation MRO services. The five aviation MRO services providers in Taiwan, namely, “Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation,” “Taiwan Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Co., Ltd.,” “Air Asia Company Ltd.,” “Aerospace Industrial Development Corp.” and “GE Evergreen Engine Services Corporation” are considered; furthermore, 55 experts working in these organizations were invited to evaluate the relative importance criteria in the AHP framework.

The results indicate that “inventory management” is the most important criterion, followed by “provisioning, procurement and sales” and “maintenance planning.” In addition, the three most important subfactors are “parts interchangeability,” “customer stock” and “SPEC2K interface for ATA SPEC 2000.”

Asia is ranked as the second most important aviation MRO service market in the world. Taiwan has the shortest flight hours in the western Pacific region, the seven major foreign cities in this area. Aviation MRO service providers located in Taiwan are the best choices for aircraft MRO in the Asia-Pacific region, indicating that Taiwan serves as a promising market development evaluation model for blockchain aviation MRO services. The results offer a comprehensive overview of the relative importance of different criteria for MRO services that use blockchains. In addition, the findings present the market potential for key players in the aviation industry, including aircraft engineers, airline companies, aircraft component manufacturers and aviation MRO service providers.

This paper aims to measure and unveil the relationship between customer satisfaction and efficiency levels in the most relevant Brazilian airports.

The authors utilize a two-stage network DEA (data envelopment analysis) and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) model as the cornerstones of the study. The first stage of the network productive structure focuses on examining the infrastructure efficiency of the selected airports, while the second stage assesses their business efficiency.

Although the results indicate that infrastructure and business efficiency levels are heterogeneous and widely dispersed across airports, controlling the regression results with different contextual variables suggests that the impact of efficiency levels on customer satisfaction is mediated by a set of socio-economic and demographic (endogenous) and regulatory (exogenous) variables. Furthermore, encouraging investment in airports is necessary to achieve higher infrastructural efficiency and scale efficiency, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

There is a scarcity of studies examining the relationships among customer satisfaction, privatization and airport efficiency, particularly in developing countries like Brazil.

Gillette’s historically successful “razor and blade” business model (RBM) has been a promising benchmark for multiple businesses across diverse industries worldwide in the past several decades. The extant literature deals with very few nuances of this business model notwithstanding the fact that there are several variants of this business model being put to practical use by firms in diverse industries in grossly metaphorically equivalent situations.

This study adopts the 2 × 2 truth table framework from the domains of mathematical logic and combinatorics in fleshing out all possible (four logical possibilities) variants of the razor and blade business model for further analysis. This application presents four mutually exclusive yet collectively exhaustive possibilities on any chosen dimension. Two major dimensions (viz., provision of subsidy and intra- or extra-firm involvement in the making of razors or blades or both) form part of the discussion in this paper. In addition, this study synthesizes and streamlines entrepreneurial wisdom from multiple intra-industry and inter-industry benchmarks in terms of real-time firms explicitly or implicitly adopting several variants of the RBM that suit their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of evolution in situations that are grossly reflective of the metaphorically equivalent scenario of razor and recurrent blades. Inductive method of research is carried out with real-time cases from diverse industries with a pivotally common pattern of razor and blade model in some form or the other.

Several new variants of the razor and blade model (much beyond what the extant literature explicitly projects) have been discovered from the multiple metaphorically equivalent cases of RBM across industries. All of these expand the portfolio of options that relevant entrepreneurial firms can explore and exploit the best possible option chosen from them, given their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of growth.

This study has enriched the literature by presenting and analyzing a more inclusive or perhaps comprehensive palette of explicit choices in the form of several variants of the RBM for the relevant entrepreneurial firms to choose from. Future research can undertake the task of comparing these variants of RBM with those of upcoming servitization business models such as guaranteed availability, subscription and performance-based contracting and exploring the prospects of diverse combinations.

Smart entrepreneurial firms identify and adopt inspiring benchmarks (like razor and blade model whenever appropriate) duly tweaked and blended into a gestalt benchmark for optimal profits and attractive market shares. They target diverse market segments for tied-goods with different variants or combinations of the relevant benchmarks in the form of variegated customer value propositions (CVPs) that have unique and enticing appeal to the respective market segments.

Value-sensitive customers on the rise globally choose the option that best suits them from among multiple alternatives offered by competing firms in the market. As long as the ratio of utility to price of such an offer is among the highest, even a no-frills CVP may be most appealing to one market segment while a plush CVP may be tempting to yet another market segment simultaneously. While professional business firms embrace resource leverage practices consciously, amateur customers do so subconsciously. Each party subliminally desires to have the maximum bang-to-buck ratio as the optimal return on investment, given their priorities ceteris paribus.

Prior studies on the RBM have explicitly captured only a few variants of the razor and blade model. This study is perhaps the first of its kind that ferrets out many other variants (more than ten) of the razor and blade model with due simplification and exemplification, justification and demystification.

Temperature anomalies in the upper troposphere have become a reality as a result of global warming, which has a noticeable impact on aircraft performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the total air temperature (TAT) anomaly observed during the cruise level and its impact on engine parameter variations.

Empirical methodology is used in this study, and it is based on measurements and observations of anomalous phenomena on the tropopause. The primary data were taken from the Boeing 747-8F's enhanced flight data recorder, which refers to the quantitative method, while the qualitative method is based on a literature review and interviews. The GEnx Integrated Vehicle Health Management system was used for the study's evaluation of engine performance to support the complete range of operational priorities throughout the entire engine lifecycle.

The study's findings indicate that TAT and SAT anomalies, which occur between 270- and 320-feet flight level, have a substantial impact on aircraft performance at cruise altitude and, as a result, on engine parameters, specifically an increase in fuel consumption and engine exhaust gas temperature values. The TAT and Ram Rise anomalies were the focus of the atmospheric deviations, which were assessed as major departures from the International Civil Aviation Organizations–defined International Standard Atmosphere, which is obvious on a positive tendency and so goes against the norms.

Necessary fixed flight parameters gathered from the aircraft's enhanced airborne flight recorder (EAFR) via Aeronautical Radio Incorporated (ARINC) 664 Part 7 at a certain velocity and altitude interfacing with the diagnostic program direct parameter display (DPD), allow for analysis of aircraft performance in a real-time frame. Thus, processed data transmits to the ground maintenance infrastructure for future evaluation and for proper maintenance solutions.

A real-time analysis of aircraft performance is possible using the diagnostic program DPD in conjunction with necessary fixed flight parameters obtained from the aircraft's EAFR via ARINC 664 Part 7 at a specific speed and altitude. Thus, processed data is transmitted to the ground infrastructure for maintenance to be evaluated in the future and to find the best maintenance fixes.

The altitude and weather conditions affect directly fuel consumption and engine efficiency of the aircraft engines. The thermo-physical properties of the weather of altitude play a significant role in this process. Unfortunately, engine performance based on altitude conditions also causes waste heat and environmental pollution due to engine entropy generation. However, environmental impact assessment is needed to improve environmental sustainability. This study aimed to analyse the energy and environmental performance of a piston engine based on altitude conditions.

This study is based on the entropy approach, and it aims to assess the environmental impact of the engine. Exergy analysis with together two new indices to evaluate the environmental effects caused by the engine under altitude conditions was used.

The analysis reveals that the exergy efficiency of the piston engine is 23.9% on average for the three referenced altitudes, while the exergy efficiency difference between altitude boundary conditions is 11%. In addition, the entropy production of the engine is on average 10.55 kW/K. In this case, the environmental pollution potential resulting from the entropy production of the engine is on average 3.29 times higher due to reversible conditions, while the improvement rate was found to be 58%.

This analysis shows that engine efficiency increases as altitude increases. Similarly, it can also be said that the environmental impacts are reduced and the improvement of the engine has opportunities for operational processes. Besides, in the study, some suggestions for motor performance impact analysis were presented.

This paper investigates the short-term market impact of the beginning of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine (February 24, 2022) on a set of airline stocks listed.

This study uses an event study methodology, cross-section analyses and interaction effects to study the effect of the war on airline stock prices and firm-specific characteristics that explain the cumulative abnormal return.

The authors observe a negative and statistically significant stock price reaction at and around the beginning of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, for 74 listed airlines. These results are consistent with investment portfolio rebalancing and asset pricing perspective. Moreover, this study's results show a higher negative stock market reaction for airlines based in Europe. Empirical evidence suggests the existence of a “proximity penalty” for European companies. Finally, this study's results provide insights into which airline-specific characteristics emerge as value drivers. Larger, well-capitalized (high liquidity and low debt) and profitable airlines firms with less institutional ownership have superior stock market returns and show more able to handle with the losses resulting from the war.

This paper fills a gap in the literature about the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the airline industry.

This study aims to explore the key challenges and drawbacks of smart contracts (SCs) and how they impact digital resilience within small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Whilst this type of technology is seen as a step forward in terms of traceability, transparency and immutability to increase digital resilience, we argue that it should be approached with trepidation.

In developing this paper, the authors conduct a systematic literature search using the Scopus database. Through this, we identified 931 relevant articles, of which 30 were used as the focus of this article. Thematic analysis was used as the analytical approach to develop themes and meaning from the data.

In this paper, there is an emphasis on the importance of understanding the potential risks associated with SC implementation, as well as identifying appropriate strategies for mitigating any negative impact. In our findings, we puts forward three key themes, namely legality, security and human error, which we argue are key smart contract challenges that impact SME digital resilience.

In this paper, we propose the notion of “centralised control in decentralised solutions”. This comes from the research highlighting SC weaknesses in digital resilience for SMEs. We argue that there is a need for standards, regulations and legislation to address these issues, advocating, ironically, a centralised approach to decentralised technology.

This paper explores the intricate interdependencies among core components of airline business models (BMs). In the airline industry, where BMs are complex systems, a successful BM requires an orchestrated configuration of various components. However, there is a paucity of research in BM literature pertaining to the interrelationships among key components of airline BMs.

Employing interpretive structural modelling, we gathered input from experts in Iran to assess the driving power and dependency of elements within airline BMs.

Our findings highlight the significance of operating environment conditions and competitive market dynamics as pivotal external components shaping the foundational structure. Value proposition, customer relationship management, and process monitoring are crucial linkage components that drive power and dependency. Notably, capturing value is positioned with the highest dependency.

We utilised the ISM technique to visualize interdependencies within airline business models, aiding strategic decision-making. Our findings suggest aligning business and operational strategies with market needs ensures effective value creation and capture, maintaining competitive advantage in the airline industry. In addition, our research reveals critical factors affecting value creation and capture, emphasising monitoring the operating environment and competitive market, and strategically managing value propositions and customer relationship initiatives in the airline industry. We advise adapting business models to external changes for sustained growth and recommend regular monitoring of industry trends and customer expectations.

Framed within complexity theory, these insights offer valuable perspectives on identifying and situating critical BM components in the airline industry. The practical implications derived from this study serve as strategic tools for airline managers and potential investors to optimise the design of their airline BMs.