Blue skies or dark clouds for the pilots and flight attendants? : Loyalty, self-loyalty, commitment and motivation in the flight industry

Sammanfattning: While worldwide the flight industry was increasing in the last decade, little is known about the working environment of pilots and flight attendants. This paper aims to develop a deeper understanding based on the theories of loyalty, self-loyalty, commitment, and motivation for pilots and flight attendants in the low-cost segment and the carrier segment in the flight industry. A qualitative study with a semi-structured interview is provided. In total, three pilots and three flight attendants who work for a low-cost airline and carrier airlines from all over the world were interviewed. The findings show that a differentiation between before the COVID 19 pandemic and during COVID 19 has to be made. Before COVID 19, pilots were almost satisfied with their working conditions whereas flight attendants felt their working conditions could have been improved in terms of better wages. However, during the COVID 19 time, both the flight attendants and pilots are afraid of losing their job. Due to COVID 19, many flights were cancelled which might have an impact on the flight industry in the future. My studies open up possibilities for new research in the future about the transformation of the flight industry after COVID 19.