You (expect to) get what you pay for: A system
approach to delay, fare, and complaints
In
this paper, an analytical framework integrating delay, fare, and complaints
with passenger air travel has been laid out. Examining aggregate monthly data
for US domestic air travel, we have identified causal relationships among fare,
complaints, and levels of delay. An analytical framework is proposed that
formalizes these relationships in an integrated manner. This integrated
framework is then estimated in a set of simultaneous equations by using
118 months of data from January 1997 to October 2006. Results show that
complaints are influenced by levels of delays. However, complaints are
positively influenced by average yield. These findings lead us to support the
central hypothesis that complaints are responsive to levels of delays, but they
tend to vary according to fare. That is, air travelers are less likely to
complain in return for lower fares, even when faced with the same or even
higher levels of delays. These findings have important policy implications,
including the passengers’ bill of rights and regulator’s choice between market
and operational performances.
