Yield Management—A Sustainable Tool for Airline E-Commerce: Dynamic Comparative Analysis of E-Ticket Prices for Romanian Full-Service Airline vs. Low-Cost Carriers

Abstract

For many years, the air travel market has been one of the most regulated sectors in economy. The airline industry was fast-growing until the COVID pandemic. However, it is still a main business sector considered by economists and policymakers highly competitive. Air transport has specific features contributing to the final price of a travel ticket and differentiating airline companies. The aim of this paper is to analyze if the concept of yield management is applied by the Romanian national full-service airline TAROM and to highlight which criteria could be used for evaluating airline companies, the differences between a full-service carrier (FSC) and a low-cost carrier (LCC) model, and the types of pricing techniques used by airline companies, of which consumers could take advantage. The methodology is based on the dynamic pricing analysis by a continuous online simulation method for the Romanian full-service carrier and two low-cost carriers. The research results confirm that for the investigated companies, yield management involves strategic control of available resources meaning to sell the product to the right customer at the right time for the right price and thus fill in a gap in international research. Being extremely competitive and customer-oriented, airline companies serve as an example for other businesses in which yield management can be applied.