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This study analyzes the relation between chief executive officer (CEO) personal risk-taking, corporate risk-taking, and total firm risk. We find evidence that CEOs who possess private pilot licenses (our proxy for personal risk-taking) are associated with riskier firms. Firms led by pilot CEOs have higher equity return volatility, beyond the amount explained by compensation components that financially reward risk-taking. We trace the source of the elevated firm risk to specific corporate policies, including leverage and acquisition activity. Our results suggest that nonpecuniary risk preferences revealed outside the scope of the firm have implications for project selection and various corporate policies.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the parallel and serial multiple mediating effects of job insecurity (JIS) and occupational self-efficacy (OSE) in the association between servant leadership and work engagement (WENG). Design/methodology/approach Data collected from 296 flight attendants in Korea were tapped to assess the study hypotheses. The linkages were tested via structural equation modeling. The phantom variable was used to estimate the parallel and serial indirect impacts of JIS and OSE. Findings Servant leadership fosters OSE and WENG, while it alleviates JIS. Both JIS and OSE parallelly mediate the effect of servant leadership on WENG. Contrary to what has been hypothesized, the findings lend no credence to the serial multiple mediating impact. Practical implications Management should pay utmost attention to the promotion of employees to supervisory positions based on “stringent selection and hiring of people.” Flight attendants high on WENG should have job security. This is important because such employees exhibit good performance at work. Management should also organize training programs that would enhance flight attendants’ OSE. Originality/value This paper contributes to the relevant knowledge base by relating servant leadership to flight attendants’ WENG through JIS and OSE. Because of the number of rising disengaged service workers across the globe, this study also gauges the factors influencing flight attendants’ WENG and reports whether servant leadership, JIS and OSE influence their WENG at the same time. Unlike the preponderance of the empirical pieces, this study contributes to the literature by assessing the indirect effect of servant leadership on WENG via JIS and OSE as the parallel and serial multiple mediators using the phantom variable.

The current study investigates individual differences that predict situation awareness (SA) in professional pilots. The aim of the study is twofold: to examine the roles of divided attention, inhibition, working memory, and expertise in predicting SA, and to demonstrate the relative contributions of these individual differences to online (Situation Awareness Present Method, SPAM) and offline (Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique, SAGAT) SA measures. Thirty-six professional pilots completed a challenging flight scenario in a full-flight simulator. Divided attention, inhibition, working memory span, and expertise were measured using choice reaction time with dichotic listening, Stroop, and Automated Operation Span tasks, and flight hours in a full-flight simulator, respectively. Results indicated that offline and online SA measure were not correlated, supporting their concurrent use to obtain a comprehensive measure of SA. Offline SA scores were best predicted by working memory and level of expertise, while online SA scores were predicted by expertise, divided attention and inhibition. Results are discussed focusing on both theoretical contributions for defining and measuring SA and applications. Findings have implications for operators of critical domains and their interactions with automated systems, in which SA is crucial for performance and safety.

Purpose This study aims to examine the process model of quondam commitments (commitments employees used to have, but no longer have). It is part of a new perspective aimed at understanding better the concept of commitment, a powerful determinant of employee retention, by looking at gone commitments. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a qualitative methodology recommended in the most recent commitment literature, life story interviews (Study 1 – flight attendants) and non-directive interviews (Study 2 – pilots) were conducted. Findings The authors propose a revised process model of quondam commitments, including the possible transformation of a commitment bond into a different type of psychological bond over time. Research limitations/implications The sample sizes are limited because of the qualitative nature of both studies, and the quondam commitment outcomes could only be studied at the individual level. However, the innovative nature of the work offers important contributions and avenues for research. Practical implications This study provides concrete perspectives for hospitality professionals to retain employees who question their relationship with work. Its relevance goes beyond the airline sector and can be applied to the hotel or restaurant industry, looking for solutions to deal with massive attrition. Originality/value This research contributes to filling three gaps identified in the commitment literature. It is one of the very rare studies considering closely both multiple targets and multiple types of psychological bonds. Moreover, it incorporates their dynamics, beyond the commitment bond, and suggests a refined model.

Purpose - The purpose of the present study was to examine whether and how the perceived organizational support (POS) influences emotional labor and the relationship between emotional labor and flight attendants' outcomes.Design methodology approach - Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses from a sample of 256 flight attendants in South Korea.Findings - The results showed that POS has a positive effect on deep acting. Furthermore, it was found that surface acting has a positive influence on emotional exhaustion, whereas deep acting has a negative influence on emotional exhaustion. In addition, emotional exhaustion has a negative influence on organizational commitment, while organizational commitment has a negative influence on turnover intention. Furthermore, POS moderated the relationship between deep acting or surface acting and emotional exhaustion.Originality value - The current study broadened the conceptual work and laboratory studies in emotional labor by examining the role of POS on emotional regulation strategies related to emotional exhaustion. In addition, this study sheds new light on customer service management within the airline industry by examining flight attendants' emotional labor, particularly interactions with POS.

Pilots and aircraft are among the most valuable assets of an airline. Buying aircraft and hiring pilots are crucial strategic decisions companies must oversee for sustainability. The cost of buying, selling, leasing, and long production times for aircraft challenge companies in making optimal long-term decisions. Union rules, pilot shortages, pilot surplus, and the cost of employing an excessive number of pilots are factors complicating the workforce planning for airline companies worldwide. Under these volatile and conflicting circumstances, many companies cannot strategically plan for the planning of pilots to aircraft to meet short-term tactical decisions against mid/long-term company strategies. In this study, our objective is to optimize long-term crew planning by minimizing the total crew cost considering captain promotions and new hires, without compromising the pilot experience. A mixed integer programming model is developed to solve the long-term airline crew planning problem. Realistic business scenarios are used to determine the optimal pilot hiring and promotion patterns for both high-and low-demand scenarios. The results show that the proposed optimization method significantly reduces crew costs without compromising the pilot experience in various demand and cost scenarios. The mathematical model, the realistic business scenarios, and the business insights for airlines are deemed novel contributions to the pertinent literature and industry practices.

Research indicates that sources of work-related stress (WRS) impact on the physical, social, and psychological health of pilots. Furthermore, specific features of the job can increase a pilot’s risk in relation to developing a mental health (MH) issue. It is impossible to remove all stress from the work life of pilots. A high stress situation may not necessarily be detrimental to the person, once they have learned to cope with it in a healthy manner. Nonetheless, risk pertaining to WRS need to be effectively managed by a pilot’s employer. Therefore, it is important to identify solutions at an airline and pilot self-management level. This paper reports on the findings of human factors research undertaken with commercial pilots pertaining to work-related stress (WRS) and its impact on wellbeing, performance, and safety. The findings of a series of co-design workshops and a follow-up anonymous survey were analysed to identify potential solutions at (1) an airline and (2) pilot self-management level. Potential solutions are framed in relation to six impact scenarios. Furthermore, they are located within the existing regulatory framework, including the latest implementation rules (IR), acceptable means of compliance (ACM), and guidance material (GM) as outlined by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA 2019). Proposed interventions should promote wellbeing and positive mental health while also addressing suffering and mental ill health. Airline interventions might focus on enhancing existing Safety Management System (SMS) approaches to better manage risks pertaining to WRS, advancing new tools to enable wellbeing briefing, risk assessment, and reporting, and training pilots in relation to MH awareness, risk identifying behaviour, and coping strategies. Furthermore, new role/functions might be introduced to support the implementation and management of WRS/wellbeing/MH safety/risk processes at an airline level. Requirements for new digital tools to support pilot awareness of WRS/wellbeing/MH, self-management of WRS/wellbeing/MH and risk identification both inside and outside the cockpit are also proposed. Some of recommendations arising in this research require changes to the existing rule-making and/or modification to existing AMC and GM.

Spatial disorientation (SD) poses a serious threat to flight safety. A pilot’s gaze behaviour that characterizes his/her visual perception and attention determines success in dealing with this phenomenon. Regardless of a pilot’s experience or proficiency, sensory illusions can lead to differences between instrument indications and what the pilot “feels”. Understanding how simulator-induced SD cues affect gaze behaviour in pilots and non-pilots is our interest and was addressed as the aim of this research. Using a SD flight simulator, 40 male (20 military pilots; 20 non-pilots) were exposed to 12 flight sequences. We measured and compared subjects’ gaze behaviour and flight performance in response to three visual and three motion illusions across two groups (pilots vs. non-pilots) and flight type (non-SD vs. SD flight). From the applied SD cues only in three illusions (false horizon, somatogyral, and Coriolis), the difference in visual attention distribution in comparison with non-SD flight was observed. There was no interaction of expertise and flight type. The pilots had shorter mean fixation time than non-pilots, except for landings. For the same SD flight profiles, we found the changes of the subjects’ gaze behaviour and flight performance. The SD cues affect both the pilots and non-pilots in the same way; therefore, being an expert in piloting aircraft does not reduce the susceptibility of the pilot to loss of their spatial orientation. Eye-tracking technology could be useful in the analysis of the pilots’ attention and better understanding and training of pilots’ flight performance during SD events.

Future skills'; increase employees' prospects in the labor market, particularly in dynamic times, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. (Not only) in Germany, flight attendants represent an occupational group without state-recognized vocational occupation who are particularly affected by the pandemic due to serious and long-lasting declines in air transport volumes. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the future skills of flight attendants play an important role when applying for jobs in other industries. An empirical survey (n = 273) from April 2021 indicates that German-speaking flight attendants possess some of the future skills most frequently identified in key studies on future competencies, as well as extensive language skills, but have deficits in 'working with computer systems' and 'programming'. Pro-active training of employees in future skills, especially in crisis-prone professions, could facilitate future transitions into new professional fields.

The rapid growth in civil aviation operations in recent years has raised expectations from flight attendants. Their duties have been intensified, and flight attendants have become subject to physical and mental fatigue due to irregular sleep, inadequate rest time, and long working hours. This study investigates the causes and effects of fatigue among flight attendants of a Turkish airline company through a self-administrated questionnaire. The survey is run online by 152 flight attendants. The results show that flight attendants have trouble falling asleep before flight duty. Before night flights and during layovers, the sleep duration is dramatically low. The results also reveal that factors related to scheduling, i.e., long duty days, night flights, and consecutive working days, play an essential role in fatigue. Thus, airline companies should revise their scheduling practices. In balancing work and social life, men struggle more than women, and married flight attendants have more difficulty than single ones. The findings provide valuable insights for airline companies and policymakers to seriously manage fatigue-related factors to ensure the safety of aviation operations and the well-being of flight attendants.