Academic literature on the topic 'Airline e-commerce websites'

Increased costs, competition and a dynamic environment have led to South African domestic airlines relying more on their own websites as outlets for airline tickets. Customers’ e-commerce uptake with respect to buying airline tickets online has been slow, attributed mostly to a lack of website trust. A well-designed online service scape has been identified as an important contributor to website trust by several authors, but not yet in this particular context or industry. This study investigates the extent to which three online service scape dimensions predict website trust in the South African domestic airline industry. A quantitative and descriptive research design was followed, and 300 responses were collected through self-administered questionnaires from domestic airline passengers who had purchased an airline e-ticket from a website. A multiple regression analysis indicates that online financial security is the best predictor of website trust, followed by layout and functionality and aesthetic appeal. Consequently, it is recommended that South African domestic airlines that wish to cultivate website trust should focus primarily on enhancing the online financial security of their websites, followed by customising the layout and functionality of their websites, and lastly improving aesthetic appeal by increasing the entertainment value of their websites.

Abstract: Website attributes of an e-commerce website enhance its visual and responsive appeal for the website. To have a closer view and insight of the website attributes, we investigated that how different website attributes such as aesthetic, affective, functional and symbolic affects the customer engagement and retention. We compared furniture and airline sector specifically; Interwood and Habitt, and PIA and Serene Air websites and its effect of customers engagement and retention. Data was collected from respondents after showing them the websites of each company and they were asked to evaluate them in terms of their aesthetic, affective, functional and symbolic appeal. All the relationship in this research were significant except few. Affective attributes of Habitt, PIA, Serene Website does not engage customers while aesthetic properties of Habitt and Serene Airlines do not retain customers. Also, affective properties have the most significant relationship with customer retention for all the customers of each company. Overall, results added useful insight into the literature on E-commerce and Marketing.

E-service markets for airlines have been growing rapidly over the past several years. Because they reduce the waiting time compared to offline shopping transactions. e-commerce and e-service marketing activities have attracted a great deal of attention as a means of increasing customers' awareness and favorable perceptions of online shopping. In this study we surveyed 236 international travelers who had purchased airline tickets from 30 different airline service websites in Taiwan. The results illustrate that customers' perceptions of both trust and usefulness, which are the factors of the technology acceptance perspective, positively moderate the relationship between e-service quality, perception of service value and service satisfaction.

The internet offers enormous development opportunities for airline firms and a lot of information for consumers to pick the finest available options. This research aims to study the consumer buying intention of e-commerce airfares in an emerging economy based on the technology acceptance model. This article employed a sample of 3064 respondents at six airports in Thailand. It used cluster analysis (a multivariate analysis approach) to determine two main customer segments and then used a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique utilizing demographic segmentation as a moderator to explain the behaviors of those two segments. The findings demonstrated two customer segments: (1) the older with high and middle-income segment, and (2) the young with low-income segment. The empirical results revealed that price sensitivity and perceived ease of use substantially impacted behavioral intention to use e-commerce airfares in both segments. The users from segment (1) are more likely to look for the fun experience and entertainment value of using e-commerce airfares than those from segment (2). However, perceived usefulness is unlikely to be a vital factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions about using e-commerce airfares. It is recommended that airline companies and online travel agencies should consider perceived ease of use, price sensitivity, and hedonic motivation when implementing e-commerce airline websites for selling tickets.

Phishing attack is a cybercrime that can lead to severe financial losses for Internet users and entrepreneurs. Typically, phishers are fond of using fuzzy techniques during the creation of a website. They confuse the victim by imitating the appearance and content of a legitimate website. In addition, many websites are vulnerable to phishing attacks, including financial institutions, social networks, e-commerce, and airline websites. This paper is an extension of our previous work that leverages the favicon with Google image search to reveal the identity of a website. Our identity retrieval technique involves an effective mathematical model that can be used to assist in retrieving the right identity from the many entries of the search results. In this paper, we introduced an enhanced version of the favicon-based phishing attack detection with the introduction of the Domain Name Amplification feature and incorporation of addition features. Additional features are very useful when the website being examined does not have a favicon. We have collected a total of 5,000 phishing websites from PhishTank and 5,000 legitimate websites from Alexa to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. From the experimental results, we achieved a 96.93% true positive rate with only a 4.13% false positive rate.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the application of the control chart procedure to monitor the characteristics whose profile over time resembles a set of connected line segments. Design/methodology/approach Fit a regression spline model by taking the subgroup average of the characteristic as response variable and time as the explanatory variable. Then monitor the response variable using the regression spline control chart with the fitted model as center line and upper and lower control limits at three standard deviation units of the response variable above and below the center line. Findings The proposed chart is successfully deployed to monitor the daily response time profile of a client server of an application support process. The chart ensured the stability of the process as well as detected the assignable cause leading to the slowing down of the server performance. Practical implications The methodology can be used to monitor any characteristics whose performance profile over time resembles a set of connected line segments. Some of the examples are the consumption profile of utility providers like power distribution companies, usage profiles of telecom networks, loading profile of airline check-in process, e-commerce websites, etc. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, construction of control charts using regression spline is new. The usage of the control chart to monitor the performance characteristics which exhibits a nonlinear profile over time is also rare.

Purpose: This study examines the current state of the airline’s e-commerce platforms and seek to identify their benefits and disadvantages in the aspect of user experience. Design/methodology/approach: The study commenced by first reviewing the literatures on actual sale figure from the studied Thai LCC, user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). It then proceeded to gather the empirical evidences using questionnaires from 135 active air passengers who have online purchasing experience. The composite findings from literature review and surveys were then used to design and apply for the final phase which is a series of in-depth interviews of air passengers on their usability test sessions and experts from the related industries. Coding and clustering was utilised to analyse the qualitative data obtained. Findings: The study examines the differences in online ticket purchasing platforms including airline's website, mobile-site and mobile application. The results identified five areas of factors: physical, trust, willingness to learn, context of use and adjustment. With regard to these factors, there are no single platform that outperform others. Airlines need to ensure that UX/UI of all platforms meet the users’ requirements in all circumstances. Originality/value: The study reveals the customer thinking processes on online purchasing behaviour. It focuses on web-usability and user experience of different booking platforms. The findings allow the subjected LCC to improve customer experience and optimise its platforms. The paper could also benefit other entrepreneurs who are in the related industry or similar contexts. In addition, the study of user-experience in the context of airline industry, particularly in the emerging countries like Thailand is limited.

The chief objective of the current research is to offer significant novel perspectives into the creation and execution of e-business strategies managed and applied by Kuwait Airways, together with an evaluation of their suitability and ability to lead other airlines to secure a competitive advantage. The degree of achievement resulting from the application of e-business strategies for Kuwait Airways depends on the overall value added to its business operations and processes. The researcher adopted a case study of Kuwait Airways (KAC) and Jazeera Airways as a research method. This study shows that a good website can provide positive input for the fundamentals of a trade procedure and change compared to other related technologies, including the telephone, while the basis of the determined benefit is modified, with information becoming an essential asset and electronic commerce being a crucial enabler. This study reveals that the expansion of information through a web-site is related to both technology and policy. The Internet can be considered as a mode or a distribution channel to interact with clients; it is a crucial method to seeking new clients and maintaining associations with existing clients. Both the trade and the clients cannot afford to overlook the latest technology evolution. The current study showed that combining crucial functions including web technologies, marketing, and system solutions can help the KAC to attain competitive benefits.

In order for e-commerce businesses to attract customers and consequently increase revenue, it is essential to understand the behaviour of online consumers. This involves understanding how consumers react to website elements, and what could influence the adoption of online channels. Given the applied nature of this research area, a number of studies have been carried out by marketers and information systems experts in order to develop a better understanding of consumer behaviour and web elements impact on adoption of online services. However, as web services continue to expand, so does the need for further research concentrating on specific types of products or services. Many academic articles have been published to cater for specific web portals such as retailing, banking, governmental transactions, hotel booking, and many other areas. Whilst this is the case, there remains a lack of research examining customer behaviour when using airline websites. Given the specific nature of online consumers, and the amount of business surrounding e-ticketing, it is imperative that this gap in research is addressed. Multi-faceted limitations surrounding online consumer behaviour within the airlines industry emerge from the literature. For example, the majority of previous research has relied solely upon traditional theories and as such, other important perspectives related to travel warrant investigation. Additionally, apparent links between website qualities and website adoption remain under investigated in the context of the airline industry. Another gap in research relates to the investigation of the moderating role of travellers’ characteristics such as their demographics, internet experiences, and travel habits. Based on these limitations, this research aims to develop a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary (i.e. consumer behaviour, information systems, travel and tourism) theoretical model that is capable of examining the factors that influence travellers’ online satisfaction and intention to purchase air tickets from airline websites. In developing this model, this research adopts a positivist, deductive, and quantitative approach. Thus, based on the analysis and synthesis of literature, a conceptual model comprised of nine constructs is proposed. Inspired by the Information Systems Success Model, e-satisfaction is centralised in the model and suggested as the main predictor of intention to purchase airline tickets. Information web qualities and system web qualities are considered as antecedents of e-satisfaction. The two constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) are also integrated into the model. Other important factors such as e-trust, airline reputation, and price perception are also embedded. The suggested model has been validated using a measurement scale based on previously validated items. This research adopts an online survey that targets real travellers from Saudi Arabia who have used airline websites. Interviews, focus groups, and a pilot study were conducted to validate the survey items. Data collection procedures utilized the social media channels for the two operating airlines in Saudi Arabia as well as a snowball method. Data analysis techniques including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were used to validate the relationships and to test overarching research hypotheses. Additionally, group comparison techniques including invariance analysis were used to explore the moderation effect of demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, education level, monthly income, occupation, and location), internet experience, and travel habits (i.e. origin of the airline used, actual tickets purchase, travel frequency, motivation for travel, type of travel, and type of funding). The results from this research suggest that the most influential factors motivating travellers to purchase online are e-satisfaction followed by website trust. Furthermore, travellers’ perceptions of website quality also played an important role in influencing e-satisfaction. Price was the next influential factor. Several other factors appeared to have direct and indirect associations with intention to purchase and e-satisfaction. Additionally, findings emanating from group analysis suggest that some demographic factors and travel habits have a moderating influence over the research hypotheses. As such, this research makes several contributions to the consumer behaviour and web quality literature within the travel and tourism context. The findings from this research can assist airlines in shaping their web development priorities and enable them to focus on the most influential factors. This thesis concludes with a discussion of the application of these findings, an evaluation of the studies undertaken, and suggestions for future research.

In promoting tourism, businesses in entertainment industry should provide e-commerce to their potential customers. Amongst the businesses in entertainment that are engaged in e-commerce include Sunway Lagoon, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), Escape-Room and KidZania. Hence, this chapter presents an evaluation of online marketing strategies and tools used by airlines industries like Malaysia Airlines System (MAS), Firefly, AirAsia, and Malindo Air, besides entertainment industries such as Sunway Lagoon, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), Escape-Room and KidZania. This research noted that websites need to be more interactive, enable customers to interact and socialize among each other through membership management and additional value-added information. Website with graphics and hyperlinks are not persuasive enough, website should improve with additional suggestions or ‘show more' features to invite customer perform additional clicks and explore to the website. Most of the website offers membership to its customer. This, this membership function should be fully utilized.

In promoting tourism, businesses in entertainment industry should provide e-commerce to their potential customers. Amongst the businesses in entertainment that are engaged in e-commerce include Sunway Lagoon, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), Escape-Room and KidZania. Hence, this chapter presents an evaluation of online marketing strategies and tools used by airlines industries like Malaysia Airlines System (MAS), Firefly, AirAsia, and Malindo Air, besides entertainment industries such as Sunway Lagoon, Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), Escape-Room and KidZania. This research noted that websites need to be more interactive, enable customers to interact and socialize among each other through membership management and additional value-added information. Website with graphics and hyperlinks are not persuasive enough, website should improve with additional suggestions or ‘show more' features to invite customer perform additional clicks and explore to the website. Most of the website offers membership to its customer. This, this membership function should be fully utilized.

This chapter focuses on the navigation experience in ecommerce. The authors address the impact of a number of hedonic dimensions, specifically perceived visual attractiveness, perceived enjoyment, and sociability, in consumers' online experiences. They develop and test a research model explaining how these factors affect trust, satisfaction, and ultimately, website loyalty. Findings from a survey carried out with 132 users of an airline's website, which displays a virtual customer service agent, support the model proposed. Specifically, results confirm that enriching consumers' sensory experiences online through aesthetics, an enjoyable experience, and a social interaction interface positively affects trust, satisfaction, and subsequently, loyalty.

The Internet has changed the way many consumers shop, not just in the digital domain, but also in the physical world. E-tailing is a subset of e-commerce, which encapsulates all “commerce” conducted via the Internet. It refers to that part of e-commerce which entails the sale of product merchandise and does not include sale of services viz. Railway tickets, airlines tickets, job portals, etc. In 2012, the size of India's e-commerce market was USD 10 billion, while that of the e-tailing market was USD 0.6 billion. The current small size of e-tailing has led to it rarely being assessed on standalone basis. It is either clubbed with e-commerce or with brick & mortar retail, which, while not incorrect, does not allow for e-tailing's evaluation on its own merit. Consumer's perception regarding shopping has been changed with the introduction of internet media. Retail industry has witnessed major revolution in the changing technology oriented business scenario of the twenty-first century in India. Internet has shrunk the entire World. The rules of the game in retailing are fast changing with the introduction of Information Technology. The e-Retailing website is the front door of the online store that interacts between the e-retailer and consumers. The electronic retailing (e-Tailing, e-Retailing, internet retailing etc.) is the model of selling of retail goods using electronic media, in particular, the internet. In this research paper the authors propose to explore the factors contributing to the growth of e–Retailing in India and to investigate conceptually the issues and challenges involved in e- Retailing An attempt in this paper will also be made to study the present scenarios of e-tailing opportunities, its market, the viabilities and trends.