Data-driven Airline Operational Efficiency Evaluation using the Slack-based DEA Model

To analyze the reasons for the imbalanced development levels of Chinese airlines and explore the balance between self-development and collaborative development, this paper constructs a slack-based DEA model based on the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) framework. The model analyzes airline efficiency from an inefficiency perspective using a slack matrix and combines peer efficiency evaluation with self-appraisal to rank the decision making units (DMUs). The results show that most airlines exhibit a significant contradiction between self-development and collaborative development, failing to achieve a good balance. Case studies with a few airlines operational data, such as Kunming Airlines and Okay Airways, show a relatively balanced efficiency between self-development and collaborative development, reflecting their strategy of balancing self-growth and industry cooperation during their development process.