The influence of uncertainty on consumer decisions. An explorative study on the acceptance of flexible time-range tickets in the airline industry.

At the moment the airline industry has to cope with low load factors and especially network-carriers have to face low yields. This thesis introduces flexible time-range tickets as a new ticket type which does not specify the actual routing for a flight from A to B at the time of purchase. Therefore, it is offered to time insensitive passengers at a discount. A certain time prior to departure, passengers are assigned to a specific flight with ample capacity based on more accurate demand forecasts. The goal of the author was to find out if flexible time-range tickets would be accepted by customers and how they would have to be designed. In order to answer these questions, the author provides a theoretical background about how consumers and airlines deal with uncertainty in the first part of the paper. It has been conducted on the basis of relevant literature such as recent journal articles, books and an interview with an airline representative. The analysis itself consists of a qualitative study on the acceptance of flexible timerange tickets. It is based on eleven in-depth interviews with persons who could represent potential customers of flexible time-range tickets. The author found out that flexible time-range tickets would be accepted by a number of potential customers if certain restrictions and requirement are met by the airlines. They could tap this market potential in order to induce additional demand and thereby improve revenues. (author's abstract)