Research Skills

Research Proposal

Student ID:
Contents

2
 1. Introduction
Background of the study
The fear of flying and subsequent travel restrictions affected many people. The aviation
industry has taken a major hit from the Covid-19 outbreak, which has led to nationwide
restrictions on foreign flights, bans on long-distance travel, and cancelled trips. Wuhan-
Municipal-Health-Commission in China mentioned 27 instances of viral pneumonia in
humans on December 12, 2019 (Bouwer et al., 2021), including 7 cases of severe illness.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many nations began closing their borders and restricting
domestic travel in 2020. All throughout the world, airlines have felt the effects of the near-
universal flight cancellations necessary to contain the virus (Salman et al.,
2020). Governments' rescue plans for airlines that took a hit during the epidemic varied
widely (Louis, 2021). This research analyzes how the epidemic altered the airline business.
Since the pandemic has never occurred before, it was an unprecedented event.
Scope of the project
The purpose of this study project is to examine how the global spread of COVID-19 has
affected the airline industry. The impact of the pandemic on international air travel will be the
primary focus of this research. More specifically, this study will look at the steps the aviation
industry took to keep running throughout the epidemic. Primary and secondary data will be
collected and analysed using qualitative and quantitative research approaches (HEİETS &
XİE, 2021). Case studies of airlines, such as British Airways, who were seriously impacted
by the epidemic will also be analysed to determine the unique difficulties these companies
encountered and the methods they used to lessen the pandemic's overall effect on their
business. The study's overarching goal is to illuminate the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic
on the aviation industry and the responses taken by the sector to the pandemic. The findings
of this study will aid in the formulation of plans and measures that will help the aviation
sector to recover and prepare for the future.
Aim and objectives
Aim
The research aims to analyses the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the sales of Aviation
industry: A case study of British Airways.

Objectives
 To provide an overview of the aviation industry and the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on the global aviation industry.
 To analyze the sales performance of British Airways before and during the COVID-19
pandemic.

3
  To identify the factors that have influenced the sales of British Airways during the
pandemic, including changes in customer behavior, travel restrictions, and
government policies.
 To evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken by British Airways to mitigate
the impact of the pandemic on its sales.

2. Brief literature review

How did the aviation industry get impacted by COVID-19?
Because of travel limitations and decreased demand, the pandemic had a major effect on
the airline business. There are a lot of airlines at risk, and not all of them will make it through
the pandemic unscathed (Pal, 2023). The fast globalization of the COVID-19 virus has
triggered a catastrophe unlike any in the history of humans. In light of the disease's spread
to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan, these nations have instituted travel bans. Most
nations' efforts to halt the spread have included restricting their airspace to foreigners
(Salman et al., 2020). As a first step, airlines have cancelled several flights to and from
China in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease, and nations where symptoms have
been reported have also stopped flying. In Europe, there has been a drastic drop in flights by
57% from the previous year to 6.1 million in 2020, recorded a billion decrease, according to
the research, which blames the COVID-19 epidemic for the industry's "worst year" to date
(Florido-Benítez, 2021).
AVIATION SECTOR AND COVID-19 MEASURES
As Corona virus has the potential to jump from one location to another with lightning speed,
its spread has been facilitated by the ease with which people may now cross continents via
airplane. The growth of airports as residential, commercial, and retail hubs boosts regional
accessibility beyond their original function as hubs for air and ground passengers (Tufft,
2022). The entire process, from checking in passengers to dealing with the suspicious one,
has been documented in great detail(Mason, 2021).
3. Research Methodology
a. Approaches, data collection, and data analysis
This research will make use of a method known as thematic analysis in order to determine
the nature of the data acquired from secondary qualitative sources such as academic
journals, company websites, previous studies, articles, and so on.

Justification for research approach

It was decided that primary research would be used as the research strategy for this study
because of its many advantages over secondary research. It is more precise, credible, and

4
onward than prior conclusions because it is based on unique requirements to this study.
Because the requirements were established in advance of the study (Bouwer et al., 2021).
When particularly in comparison to secondary research, primary research allows for more
precise and detailed data collection (Salman et al., 2020). With this result, the researchers
can have more faith that their samples are entirely representative of the community being
studied. While secondary research can also save both time and money, primary research
may be the opposite. After providing thoughtful consideration to all of these advantages, the
decision was made to conduct primary data collection for this research.

Data collection
For every type of research project, the first step is to collect all relevant data and construct a
complete dataset. There are a wide range of methods for obtaining information, including
surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments, and other methods (Bouwer et
al., 2021). Standard practice for data collection is to survey a statistically relevant subset of
the overall population. Interview process in-person or over the phone and asking the subject
a series of open-ended questions is an efficient form of data collection (Louis, 2021).
Researchers frequently use focus groups to obtain information by encouraging participants
to engage in in-depth conversations about a topic of interest. These groups contain a
restricted number of individuals (Tufft, 2022). Throughout the duration of an observation, it is
crucial to keep a keen eye out for and record anything unusual or intriguing that occurs. By
evaluating the relationship between the two variables, individuals can have a better grasp of
how modifying one variable affects the experimental outcomes. Personal interviews with
participants will play a crucial role in the data collection procedure for this investigation.

Data analysis
The process of reviewing gathered information in order to develop conclusions is referred to
as "data analysis,”. In this study, analysis of the data and discussion analysis will be used to
analyse the outcomes of a qualitative inquiry into how COVID-19 has impact on aviation
sector or sales of aviation sector (Salman et al., 2020). The potential applications of covid-19
effect on aviation sector is going to be the primary focus of this study. By the use of the
method known as "thematic analysis," the themes that emerge will be analyzed. By the use
of content analysis, the data contain will recurrent themes and measure the frequency with
which particular problems or subjects are brought up. It is necessary to conduct a substantial
amount of data analysis and engage in iterative coding before any method can be
implemented.

5
 4. 4. Potential outcomes
The gathered information demonstrates that English is a widely used language. The
evaluation of COVID-19's effects on quality of life, the global economy was made possible
by the analysis.
 Brought about severe economic damage
 Major losses were reported
 currency devaluation and inflation
This analysis presents the findings of qualitative research about the impact of covid in
international businesses.
GANTT CHART

The impact of Covid-19 on the aviation sector has been significant, and the resulting drop in
passenger flow has been dramatic. Most airlines have cut their flight schedules by 30–50%
due to the lack of demand. Dollar Flight Club predicts that between now and 2021, domestic
airfare will fall by an average of 41% and international airfare will fall by an average of 35%.
Most airlines have reduced their routes and slashed amenities for passengers in an effort to
lower their operating costs.

6
 5. References
Bouwer, J., Saxon, S. and Wittkamp, N. (2021) Back to the future? airline sector poised for
Change Post-covid-19, McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company. Available at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/back-to-
the-future-airline-sector-poised-for-change-post-covid-19 (Accessed: March 1, 2023).
Coronavirus: Impact on the Aviation Industry Worldwide (2022) Statista. Available at:
https://www.statista.com/study/71610/coronavirus-impact-on-the-aviation-industry-
worldwide/ (Accessed: March 1, 2023).
Florido-Benítez, L. (2021) “The effects of covid-19 on aviation sector,” Tourism Review,
76(4), pp. 829–857. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-12-2020-0574.
HEİETS, I. and XİE, Y. (2021) “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Aviation
Industry,” Journal of Aviation [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.30518/jav.933296.
“Impact of covid-19 on aviation sector ”(2020) SSRN Electronic Journal [Preprint]. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3661262.
Louis (2021) Covid-19 and the aviation industry: Impact and policy responses, OECD.
Available at: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-and-the-aviation-
industry-impact-and-policy-responses-26d521c1/ (Accessed: March 1, 2023).
Mason (2021) Impacts of covid-19 on aviation and the airport business, International Airport
Review. Available at: https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/117249/covid-19-
airport-business-aci-world-recovery/ (Accessed: March 1, 2023).
Pal, S. (2023) The impact of covid-19 on the airline industry. Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/impact-covid-19-airline-industry-subhodip-pal (Accessed:
March 1, 2023).
Salman, D., Seiam, D. and Fayaz, E. (2020) “How can the aviation sector survive after
COVID-19?,” Virtual Economics, 3(4), pp. 91–105. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.34021/ve.2020.03.04(5).
Tufft, C. (2022) Taking stock of the pandemic's impact on Global Aviation8, McKinsey &
Company. McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-
logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/taking-stock-of-the-pandemics-impact-on-global-
aviation (Accessed: March 1, 2023).