Air Travellers` Sustainable Choices: Awareness, Behavioural Gaps, and Price Sensitivity

Sara Sousa, Flora Lobo, João Ramos, Marcos Lacerda

Abstract


In today's world, commercial aviation plays a crucial role in driving economic growth and facilitating global mobility. However, it also poses significant challenges, such as carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. To address these concerns, airlines have begun implementing sustainable initiatives, including using alternative fuels and adopting carbon offset programs. For these initiatives to be effective, air travel consumers must embrace and adopt sustainable practices, which requires a shift in their perspective. This study examines the attitudes and behaviours of air passengers living in Portugal, focusing on the relationship between environmental concerns and travel choices. The aim is to assess the level of environmental awareness of air travellers, exploring the factors that influence their decisions and how this awareness translates into more sustainable choices. Through an online questionnaire, the data collected from 209 passengers revealed that, despite growing awareness of ecological impacts and strong pressure on airlines to adopt sustainable practices, passengers do not consistently prioritise environmental factors when choosing flights. The primary decision-making factor remains price, underscoring the gap between environmental concern and individual pro-environmental behaviour already described in the literature. The results underline the crucial need for collaboration between policymakers and airlines to increase environmental literacy, thereby promoting more environmentally responsible consumer behaviour in air travel. Airlines must balance environmental protection initiatives with the need to maintain service quality and affordable prices.


Keywords


Air travel, Sustainability, Consumer Behaviour, Carbon Emissions

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References


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Portuguese Journal of Finance, Management and Accounting

e-ISSN: 2183-3826

DOI: 10.54663/2183-3826

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