Flight passes do stimulate consumers’ spending: A case study of China Eastern Airlines’ “Wild Your Weekends”

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of Wild Your Weekends, an “all-you-can-fly” flight pass program launched by China Eastern Airlines during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021. We leverage the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method to estimate the causal effect of the flight pass on travelers’ spending behavior based on observational data. To reduce confounding bias, the PSM method pairs flight pass holders with individuals who are very similar to them but did not purchase the flight pass and compares the expenditures of the two groups. This study is one of the few studies that directly addresses flight passes and lays the groundwork for understanding the socioeconomic effects of the flight pass. The results could not only help the airlines to understand the utility of flight passes for travelers, but also provide policymakers with guidance to make policies that sustainably promote travels to underdeveloped regions with the help of refined flight pass programs.