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Purpose This paper aims to critically evaluate the definition of the brand concept, support the critique with an empirical study and provide a definition to resolve the problems that have been identified. Design/methodology/approach This paper combines a conceptual critique with empirical research using a sample of 730 journal papers to analyse the scope and number of brand-related concepts in extant literature. Findings The brand concept has evolved to become problematic with no clarity of definition. There has been an explosion in the number of brand-related concepts that make the brand concept opaque and unwieldy. Based upon the findings, the authors argue that it is necessary to return to a “label and associations model” of the brand concept to ameliorate these issues. Research limitations/implications The empirical research presented examines only 730 papers from a much wider body of brand literature. Nonetheless, it illustrates the fact that researchers and theorists are not talking about the same concept when using the term “brand”. Practical implications Practitioners are not being served by academic branding literature because no two researchers appear to be studying the same entity. This prevents a body of research from being built to guide practitioners. Originality/value This paper makes an original contribution by combining a conceptual critique and empirical study to examine the problems arising from the absence of an agreed definition of the brand concept and uses this as a foundation for creating a resolution to the problems.

While the potential risks of unmanned aircraft have received significant attention, there is little in the academic literature that examines how operational risks are mitigated by users. This study examines the prevalence of key operational risk mitigations amongst a sample of 812 unmanned aircraft users in New Zealand, their confidence levels in identifying and complying with airspace requirements, and their ability to read visual navigation charts (VNCs) and use AirShare (a local tool that shows airspace requirements). Significant differences exist between the number and type of mitigations applied, users’ confidence levels in identifying and complying with airspace requirements, and users’ ability to read VNCs and use AirShare based upon user characteristics. Education, practical assessment, membership of a professional body, professional/semi-professional use, and operating for a certificated organisation all improve risk mitigation (greater number and variety of risk mitigations applied). The only risk mitigation employed by almost all users was conducting a pre-flight check of their aircraft, identifying the need for users to view risk mitigation more holistically. The findings support policy directions related to educational requirements, the ability for member-based organisations and professional bodies to self-regulate, and the fitness of the current regulatory system in New Zealand.

Registration of unmanned aircraft is a common policy around the world and forms part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s model regulations for unmanned aircraft. This study conducts a review of the various registration policies that have been implemented amongst advanced economies to find commonalities and differences. New Zealand is then used as a case study. The country does not currently have registration of unmanned aircraft; however, their Ministry of Transport has put forward the idea of implementing a registration scheme. As part of this case study, the ownership characteristics of 919 New Zealand unmanned aircraft users were collected using an online survey. The results highlight that personally owned aircraft tend to only be used by their owner, with the number of users being lower than the number of aircraft. For organisationally owned aircraft, there are multiple users per aircraft; however, these users tend to only be employees of the organisation. These findings suggest that for New Zealand, the best way to implement a registration scheme would be to register users and organisations rather than individual aircraft. While specific to New Zealand, these findings also prompt the need for future research worldwide to see whether registration schemes reconcile with ownership data.

This article presents a review about Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations using unmanned aircraft in forest environments. Forest environments present unique challenges for unmanned aircraft operations due to the presence of trees as obstacles, hilly terrain, and remote areas. BVLOS operations help overcome some of these unique challenges; however, these are not widespread due to a number of technical, operational, and regulatory considerations. To help progress the application of BVLOS unmanned aircraft operations in forest environments, this article reviews the latest literature, practices, and regulations, as well as incorporates the practical experience of the authors. The unique characteristics of the operating environment are addressed alongside a clear argument as to how BVLOS operations can help overcome key challenges. The international regulatory environment is appraised with regard to BVLOS operations, highlighting differences between countries, despite commonalities in the considerations that they take into account. After addressing these points, technological, operational, and other considerations are presented and may be taken into account when taking a risk-based approach to BVLOS operations, with gaps for future research to address clearly highlighted. In totality, this article provides a practical understanding of how BVLOS unmanned aircraft operations can be done in forest environments, as well as provides a basis for future research into the topic area.

The authors identify a new type of brand concept, which they term as a compound brand. Compound brands have their brand associations multi-created such that the focal brand entity, their tenants, and ancillary entities all act as sources of primary brand associations. To test the possibility of compound brands, two potential compound brands are studied, airports and shopping malls. This was completed by undertaking 480 semi-structured interviews (240 for each entity) to identify the underlying brand association structure and which associations are important for consumer brand choice. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Participant responses support that compound brand association structures are created by the focal branded entity (e.g., an airport), its tenants (e.g., shops and restaurants), as well as ancillary entities (e.g., location and customers). The contributions of tenants and ancillary entities towards the brand association structures of airports and shopping malls were also statistically significant with large effect sizes. A continuum exists as to how much of the compound brand’s association structure is created by its tenants, with statistically significant differences between airports and shopping malls in terms of how much tenants contribute to overall brand association structures for the compound brand.

Safety reporting has long been recognised as critical to reducing safety occurrences by identifying issues early enough that they can be remedied before an adverse outcome. This study examines safety occurrence reporting amongst a sample of 92 New Zealand civilian uncrewed aircraft users. An online survey was created to obtain the types of occurrences that these users have had, how (if at all) these are reported, and why participants did or did not report using particular systems. This study focussed on seven types of occurrences that have been highlighted by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand as being reportable using a CA005RPAS form, the template for reporting to the authority for uncrewed aircraft occurrences. The number of each type of occurrence was recorded, as well as what percentage of occurrences were reported using a CA005RPAS form, an internal reporting system, or were non-reported. Qualitative questions were used to understand why participants did or did not report using particular systems. Categorical and numerical data were analysed using Chi-Squared Tests of Independence, Kruskal–Wallis H Tests, and Mann–Whitney U Tests. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that 85.72% of reportable safety occurrences went unreported by pilots, with only 2.74% of occurrences being self-reported by pilots using a CA005RPAS form. The biggest reason for non-reporting was that the user did not perceive the occurrence as serious enough, with not being aware of reporting systems and not being legally required to report also being major themes. Significant differences were observed between user groups, providing policy implications to improve safety occurrence reporting, such as making reporting compulsory, setting minimum training standards, having an anonymous and non-punitive reporting system, and through working with member-based organisations.

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This study examines the nature of brand associations that air travellers form with airports and which associations are important when choosing between airports. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, this study collected information about 240 participants’ most recent trips using air travel, encompassing 642 airport visits and 88 airports worldwide. The associations that participants made with the airports they travelled through were collected, as well as the sorts of associations that are important for choosing between airports and why those associations are important. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, revealing 13 themes each for airport brand associations and important associations for choosing between airports and 14 themes for reasons why those associations were important. Single-sample t-tests reveal that each of these themes has a different effect size in terms of its effect on airport brand association formation and its effect on attitudinal brand choice. This study contributes to the air transport and tourism literature by providing a detailed account of which associations air travellers form with airports and which are used for choosing between airports by contextualising these findings by viewing airports as compound brands. Managerial implications are also provided along with avenues for future research.

Abstract This chapter has documented the changing roles and dynamics of New Zealand’s airports between 2001 and 2016. New Zealand has well-developed airport systems for both international and domestic air passenger and air freight services. New Zealand airports have experienced marked growth during the study period and growth looks to continue throughout the country. Moreover, New Zealand’s airport system plays a direct role in New Zealand’s air transport and tourism sectors, as well as contributing to other major economic sectors. International and domestic connections to New Zealand airports facilitate the continued growth and importance of tourism, acting as a backbone to the New Zealand economy. In addition to tourism, airports play a crucial role in the facilitation of imports and exports and the development of regional business hubs and supporting activities for New Zealand’s other major industries. Importantly, New Zealand airports are a critical part of its economy and will continue to be so in the decades to come.