Operational Service Strategy for COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from the Airline Industry

Abstract

This study explores the key determinants of the impact of product line strategy on airline industry services performance during the COVID-19 epidemic. The study extracted airline data from several online sources. The results suggested that the airlines used a product and service differentiation strategy to gain some market shares under the circumstance. In addition, using data from traveler reviews, text analysis techniques provide insightful information about service characteristics that differentiate positive and negative reviews. Results suggest that satisfied travelers seek sympathetic and responsiveness, while negative reviews suggest complaints of poor operational activities such as IT operations and flight cancellations.