Assessing Airline Operational Efficiency during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-Pandemic Performance

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the global aviation industry, with airlines being one of the hardest-hit subsectors. Different airlines have demonstrated varying levels of resilience. This study aims to assess airline operational efficiency during the COVID-19 focusing on two types of airlines which are full-service carriers (FSC) and low-cost carriers (LCC) airlines. A comparative analysis based on total revenue and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency models and Malmquist indices are conducted to assess airline efficiency. The results indicate that LCC have fared better; in contrast, FSC have faced more challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason may be that LCC generally have more flexible operating models and lower fixed costs, while FSC typically have higher fixed costs and more complex operating models. In addition, changes in total factor productivity for both types of airlines depend on variations in technological progress during the pandemic.