The Exploration of the Studies: Environmental Sustainability Dimensions of Airline Business in Thailand and International Contexts

Abstract

          Today, there are many studies examining the topics of environmental sustainability dimensions in various tourism businesses, following the global trend to respond to the sustainable development goals such as hotels, food & beverage businesses, and tour operators. However, airline business, one of the key elements of tourism industry, has few studies of such issues. In order to expand knowledge regarding environmental sustainability dimension, this study employs the documentary research with the objective to preliminary explore the environmental sustainability dimension of the airline business in Thailand and international contexts. Data are collected through online databases, namely, Scopus, TCI (Thailand Citation Index), and Google Scholar. Contexts and description analyses are used to analyze the data.

           According to the findings, during the past 10 years there are 21 studies, Thai and international contexts, examining the topics of environmental sustainability dimension in airline business. Among them, there are only 3 studies examining the airlines in Thailand, together with international airlines. Most studies are undertaken by international scholars. In addition, the studies of environmental sustainability dimension of airline business are classified into 4 issues: innovation of aircraft technology, energy conservation management, sustainable fuels, and waste management.