Research on the Impact of Logistics Operations on the Business Performance of Airlines from the Perspective of Sustainable Development—Based on the Entropy Weight TOPSIS Combined Method

As one of the major auxiliary businesses of airlines, air cargo transportation is profoundly reshaping their profit-making models and development landscape. Considering the high liquidity and high-risk characteristics of the air transport industry, this paper constructs a multi-dimensional evaluation indicator system covering financial and logistics operation dimensions. Taking the panel data of China Eastern Airlines from 2012 to 2024 as research samples, this paper conducts an empirical analysis of financial performance evaluation using the entropy-weighted TOPSIS combined method to verify the feasibility of the adopted approach. On this basis, with cargo indicators reflecting logistics capabilities and operational strategies as independent variables, and the comprehensive business performance index formed by coupling key financial indicators and logistics operation indicators as the dependent variable, multiple groups of experiments are designed to systematically explore the influence mechanism of changes in logistics capabilities and operational strategies on airlines’ business performance. Meanwhile, scenario experiments with varying weight coefficients are performed to observe the relevant sensitivity. The research results indicate that changes in logistics capabilities and operational strategies exert significant impacts on airlines’ business performance. This study not only reveals that enterprise operational factors can exert far-reaching influences on overall corporate performance due to varying degrees of attention they receive, but also highlights the value of air cargo, making up for deficiencies in existing research that integrates airline performance evaluation with cargo logistics. Against the backdrop of growing global economic uncertainty, this research provides decision-making references and theoretical support for airlines’ business operations and sustainable development strategic planning.