An empirical analysis of American Passenger's willingness to fly in commercial airplanes after vaccination against COVID-19

• Published in: Technology in society 2023-05, Vol.73, p.102241-102241, Article 102241
• Main Authors: Rice, Stephen, Ruskin, Keith J., Winter, Scott R., Crouse, Sean R., Rice, Connor, Richards, Grace
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air travel; Airlines; Aviation; Consumer perceptions; COVID-19; experimental Design
• ISSN: 0160-791X; 1879-3274; 0160-791X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102241

Although several studies have explored the effects of the pandemic on aviation, little remains known about whether members of the public are willing to fly again after they have been vaccinated. The current study uses the Health Belief Model (HBM) to fill this missing gap by manipulating the following variables: 1) whether or not the participant is vaccinated; 2) whether or not airlines require that all passengers and crew receive vaccinations; 3) length of flight; 4) destination; and 5) the number of passengers. The data from 678 participants revealed that willingness to fly is much higher if the participants themselves have been vaccinated, if the airlines require all passengers to be vaccinated, if the flight is short, if the destination is domestic, and if the number of passengers is low. These findings did not appear to differ as a function of flying business versus pleasure. We discuss the practical implications of these data as airlines struggle to bring back their customer base. •Two experiments were conducted to determine willingness to fly based on vaccines.•A quantitative method with an experimental design was used.•Willingness was highest when participants have been vaccinated.•Short, domestic flights, with fewer passengers also had high willingness to fly.