THE VIABILITY OF ON-DEMAND AIR TRAVEL IN DYNAMIC MARKETS

Business travel has become a considerable part of the daily lives of scarce human resources. Adding to the frustration is the requirement to travel with the current available modes of transport in developing countries, which effectively create a constraint in the ability of scarce human resources to apply their limited time more effectively. This study seeked to understand how and why business travel impacts the productivity of scarce human capital as well as how alternative methods of travel can contribute to increased productivity. In the study the researcher aimed to determine if an on-demand air travel service could be viable in a dynamic market such as South Africa and if so, what value a successful implementation will add to a company and the country. The research was conducted by making use of a descriptive quantitative study over two populations namely business travellers and aircraft pilots. This allowed the researcher to answer the three research questions that were identified. The study has found that not only productivity, but also the work-life balance of scarce human capital is affected negatively by the requirement to conduct business travel. It was also found that on-demand air travel could soon be a viable alternative mode of transport in dynamic markets, which would contribute to improved productivity levels of scarce human capital. This in turn will stimulate company growth and ultimately increase the overall economic growth of the country. I