Measuring the effect of aviation safety risk reduction on flight choice in young travellers

More information about safety is becoming more generally available to travellers, but the extent to which passengers use safety information to make decisions about which airlines to take is relatively unknown. This study attempts to examine the extent to which safety information plays a role in travellers' flight choices. Using the stated choice methodology, we modelled how the choice of a flight option is related to factors, including price, schedule, safety, travel time and airline inflight service quality. The study found that, in the context of a young adult college student population, price and safety information emerge as the most important factors influencing airline choices. Interestingly, the study found that most of the potential travellers surveyed, when asked about the factors they consider when making flight choices, do not nominate safety. However, when specific safety-risk information is introduced in the stated choice conditions, respondents considered this factor in making their choices between flight alternatives. This paper contributes towards a more complete understanding of how passengers use safety information and notes how this can be analytically translated into commercial implications for the aviation industry.