A novel technique for evaluating and ranking green airlines: benchmarking-base comparison

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate and rank green airlines by proposing a novel approach that integrates different multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques.Design/methodology/approachThree MCDM techniques were adopted: Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) addressed the impact relationships between Airline Green Operations (AGOs) and classified them into cause and effect; analytical hierarchy process (AHP) prioritized these actions and found their global and local weights; and Techniques to Order Preferences by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) used the weighted actions to evaluate and rank 20 green airlines as a case study.FindingsDEMATEL outcomes provide the first AGOs impact relationships map (IRM), classify AGOs into cause and effect actions and provide better understanding how these green operations affect each other. According to the AHP outcomes, “GHG1and fuel” and “GHG2 and Energy” were the most important set of actions, respectively. Finally, a new evaluation and ranking for 20 green airlines has been presented.Practical implicationsThe AGOs IRM provides a better understanding of the airline green operations and how they affect each other. The new evaluation and ranking technique helps airlines to identify their green strength and weakness areas and supports their sustainability processes.Originality/valueThe increasing importance of AGOs evaluation and analysis highlights the importance of green airlines studies like this one. This study analyzed AGOs, their impact relationships, developed their IRM and provided a new worldwide green airline benchmarking base.

Enhancement Opportunities for Conceptual Design in Aerospace Based on the Advanced Morphological Approach

“…Thus far, these have been applied to abstract and non-deterministic problems mostly in the field of aeronautical operations or to answer organizational questions. The methods have been used, e.g., for the assessment of technical factors in aviation safety [34], the evaluation and ranking of green airlines [35], the assessment of factors to reduce fuel consumption [36] and the evaluation of aircraft efficiency [37]. Additionally, AHP has been applied to develop advanced brainstorming methods for the design of novel aircraft configurations, e.g., cryogenic planes in [38].…”

Airlines practices to incorporate circular economy principles into the waste management system

“…The method is based on the hierarchy defined by (Alkhatib & Migdadi, 2020;Migdadi, 2018), and it is focused on the analysis and classification of specific sustainable practices. More concretely, material and waste management practices are addressed.…”

“…The proposed framework is focused on analysing the materials management, recycling processes, and adopting materials based on a practical and eco-efficient design. The original model (see Annex 1 in Data S1) (Alkhatib & Migdadi, 2020) is extracted from a method focused on measuring sustainable and green airline issues. As not every sustainable issue is linked to CE, the proposed framework ignores every initiative not directly related to CE and waste management.…”

“…This paper uses a method based on the analysis of CE practices adopted by airlines to improve their waste and material management. The method is based on the hierarchy defined by (Alkhatib & Migdadi, 2020; Migdadi, 2018), and it is focused on the analysis and classification of specific sustainable practices. More concretely, material and waste management practices are addressed.…”

“…This study uses the CSR reports collecting information about the practices airlines adopt to incorporate a circular economy and, at the same time, proposes a framework to identify the circular practices of individual companies from the perspective of waste management. The framework is developed based on the environmental performance assessment tool for the airline industry proposed by Migdadi (2018) and (Alkhatib & Migdadi, 2020; Migdadi, 2018), which has been conveniently adapted. The gathered information is used to answer the following research questions.…”