Evaluating Accessibility and Usability of Airline Websites: The Case of Airline Companies in Turkey

Introduction

In today’s digital age, the growing number of internet users has made site quality a critical component in gaining access to online services and expanding a company's client base. The internet and developments in information technology have given the e-commerce sector new dimensions. The traditional approach of doing offline business has changed to the internet platform, and the success mantra for every sector is to manage an excellent e-commerce website for attracting clients and company promotion. Hootsuite and We Are Social report of 2020 has claimed that total global internet user has reached to 4.66 billion in 2020 which has 59,5% of the global population (Hootsuite and We Are Social, 2020).

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2017), the total number of global Internet users reached 3.5 billion in 2016, which accounts for a 47% penetration rate of the global population. The ITU expected this number to increase to 3.9 billion with a 54% penetration rate by the end of 2017. By January 2017, the number of people who purchased goods or services via electronic (e) commerce reached 1.6 billion, which corresponds to an e-commerce penetration rate of 22% of the global population.

These figures show the significance and rapid and continuous growth of e-commerce in the current business environment. These numbers also confirm that maintaining effective websites is crucial for the survival of every industry, such as tourism and hospitality, in the competitive market by attracting additional customers and retaining their loyalty.

The airline industry is no exception. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA, 2016), the share of online ticket sales via airline websites reached 33% and that of airline mobile applications was 2%, as of the second quarter of 2016. These numbers are expected to increase to 37% and 7% respectively, by 2021. One of the successful low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the world, namely easyJet, reported selling 90% of tickets online since 2003 and 20% of total tickets via mobile application in 2016 (easyJet plc, 2016). These figures show that successful LCCs mainly depend on online ticket sales, and their sales via mobile applications are increasing. Thus, to achieve market sustainability, airline industry participants should transform their websites from marketing tools to fully fledged online sales channels that provide additional necessary functions for customers, such as close communication and relationship building with clients, on top of basic functions, such as searching, booking, ticketing, and check-in services.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, 2017) reported that the network of global airlines transported 3.5 billion passengers on 34 million scheduled departures in 2015. ICAO expects these numbers to nearly double by 2030. LCCs played a significant role in the substantial expansion of airline business over the past 30 years and are expected to continue doing so. In 2016, LCCs transported over one billion passengers, which accounted for 28% of the total number of scheduled passengers worldwide. This number has been increasing continually at an average rate of 10% per annum since 2014. A growth that is 1.5 times faster than the average growth rate of the total number of scheduled passengers worldwide that has been recorded (ICAO, 2017). Even with such an expansion in the airline business, the situation of the research on airline website evaluation is poor.

The airline business has also been severely influenced by the IT revolution; the airline industry's use of the internet has resulted in a significant rise in profit. Almost every airline has its own website where clients may communicate directly with them and receive timely information. According to a report by the International Air Transport Association, airline websites accounted for nearly 33% of airline ticket bookings in 2016, and 2% of ticket bookings were made using a mobile app or mobile-optimized websites, with website and mobile bookings expected to reach 45 percent by 2021. According to IATA, there will be more elderly passengers on planes by 2021 than there are now (IATA, 2016). In light of these facts, Turkish airline participants should have a fully functional, high-quality website that serves to the needs of individuals of all ages, and any aging or physical handicap should not be a barrier to online accessibility. Users will be dissatisfied with the service offered by a badly designed website, resulting in a loss of revenue. Consumers are more inclined to utilize websites that are easy to use, and they are also more likely to attract new customers. As suggested by Spencer Ivey (2016) usability and accessibility of the website are the two important website design metric.