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MARKETING COMMUNICATION OF AIRPORTS
AS A FACTOR DETERMINING THE CHOICE
OF AIRPORT BY POLISH
AND FOREIGN PASSENGERS
© 2017. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
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MINIB, 2017, Vol. 23, Issue 1, p. 97–126
MARKETING COMMUNICATION OF AIRPORTS
AS A FACTOR DETERMINING THE CHOICE OF AIRPORT
BY POLISH AND FOREIGN PASSENGERS
Zbigniew Spyra, Ph.D.
University of Economics in Katowice, Poland
Faculty of Information Technology and Communication
Department of Market and Marketing Research
zbigniew.spyra@ue.katowice.pl
Olgierd Witczak, Ph.D.
University of Economics in Katowice, Poland
Faculty of Information Technology and Communication
Department of Relations and Organization Management
olgierd.witczak@ue.katowice.pl
DOI: 10.14611/minib.23.03.2017.12
In the modern economy, an important aspect of the functioning of an organization is the effectiveness of
the communications actions. They fulfil a key role in the process of creating the desired image of an
organization, which influences the purchasing decisions of consumers, including the selection of airport by
passengers. Factors determining the positive and negative opinions about airports should be an area of
searching to reveal an airport unique values (benefits) that will highlight the offer of an airport in
increasingly competitive transportation market. Article presents the factors influencing opinions and choice
of an airport by Polish and foreign passengers that have been identified as a result of direct surveys carried
out in November-December 2015 via direct interview (PAPI) on a sample of 929 respondents.
Summary
Keywords: airport, communication, image, PAPI
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Introduction
The development of information technologies boosts the dynamics of
social communication processes creating new challenges for an
organization's marketing communication. The number of indirect
communication channels available on the Internet is growing, especially in
the area of media and social media. We have observed a qualitative change
in the process of communication. Unilateral communication of an
organization with the market, by means of traditional media (TV, radio,
press) is losing its significance. Digital media, which enable fully bilateral
communication with the recipient, are becoming an ever more popular
communication channel for companies. Dialogue with the recipient creates
the opportunity for more intensive interaction and boosts the potential for
the involvement of the recipient in the process of communication. As
a consequence, the development of digital media has raised the possibility
of shaping a desired image of a company and its offer.
The image of an airport is the result of an image created in the
awareness of recipients on the basis of experiences gathered in course of
direct contacts with the company and using its offer. It is also affected by
the activities conducted in the area of marketing communication.
Communication activity of a company creates the image of an airport,
which is an important factor determining the recognisability of
a particular airport. The opinions and attitudes of passengers concerning
a particular airport influence the decision-making process concerning
the choice of an airport. That's why an important element for shaping
marketing communication is the identification of factors which to the
greatest extent influence the formation of attitudes and opinions of
passengers about an airport. Communication activities exposing the
significant values for passengers, which are also the advantages of
a particular airport, allow building the desired image of an airport.
An airport is a challenging subject in the process of forming marketing
communication. What determines this is the multitude of external
conditions (e.g. requirements of institutions on the international level —
e.g. IATA, ICAO, on the European level — regulations of the European
Commission, and on the national level — Ministry of Infrastructure and
Development), as well as the characteristics of conducted activity. Airports
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should be treated as integrators of many services and should be regarded
as an entity providing systemic services (paradigm of systemic services)
(Żabiński L., 2012; Witczak O., Buszman-Witańska M., 2016, p. 40). An
airport offers in one place the opportunity to satisfy multiple needs of
passengers during just one act of consumption, among others, airplane
flight, postal services, hotel services, etc. The function of a service
integrator and an entity providing systemic services means that the basic
challenge for the marketing communication of an airport is the multitude
of entities, as well as conditions, which determine the process of delivering
value to consumers. Thus, the conducted marketing communication is
determined by many factors, also by factors which an airport doesn't
influence much, or at all (e.g. communication activities of airlines,
activities of local governments with regard to raising the attractiveness of
the region for tourists, etc.). That's why creating the desired image of an
airport requires precision in planning communication activities and
systematic search for current information about the changing preferences
of all stakeholders of an airport, in particular, passengers. The goal of this
article is discussing the characteristics of marketing communication of an
airport and the significance of the efficiency of communication for the
formation of desired attitudes and opinions, which eventually influence
the choice of an airport by passengers.
The article presents current challenges for the marketing
communication of an organization. The characteristics of an airport as
a subject for conducting marketing communication activities aimed at
creating a uniform image of an airport are discussed. On the basis of
gathered empirical material the results of surveys of recognisability of
Polish airports are presented from the perspective of conducted
communication activities. Also, factors influencing the formation of
attitudes and opinions of Polish and foreign passengers about airports
have been highlighted.
A plane for the presented deliberations are the results of quantitative
surveys conducted in November–December 2015 by means of a direct
interview technique (PAPI) on a sample of 929 respondents: 699
respondents from Poland and 230 foreigners. The research was
conducted by a team of employees and students of the University of
Economic in Katowice.
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Marketing communication
— conditions and trends
Currently, dynamic environment and growing competition force
many organizations to look for new ways to boost their own market
position and gaining competitive advantage. In order to stand up to the
challenge organizations are looking for new concepts for activity. Among
them an important role is attributed to marketing communication.
Efficient communication with the environment is becoming a factor
distinguishing marketing-oriented organizations (Żabiński L., 2002, p.
199), and its goal is "securing durable market presence".
In literature on the subject it is possible to find numerous definitions
of marketing communication. It is emphasized that it belongs to the kind
of activity, which everybody is aware of, but only few are able to define
sufficiently (Fiske J., 1999, p. 15). Nevertheless, the essence of marketing
communication in the contemporary meaning can be boiled down to the
dialogue of the company with entities in the environment with the use of
particular channels and means of communication. Marketing
communication defined this way covers conveying to the environment the
identity of the company and information about its offer. Currently,
explaining the essence of communication, the dialogue, that is bilateral
and interactive character of communication and continuity of information
exchange, with the recipient is emphasized (Taranko T., 2015, p. 18).
Bilateral and interactive character of contemporary marketing
communication means simultaneous provision of information and
gathering information from the market (marketing research on needs,
preferences, trends, monitoring of the environment etc.). This allows
acquiring information concerning current image of an organization and
better understanding of the recipients. Many authors analysing the role of
communication in the strategy of an organization note that almost
everything that a company does (or what it fails to do) is a marketing
message conveyed to the market environment, which means that in
essence all activities constitute the subject of marketing communication.
Growth of the role of communication in marketing activities has contributed
to the emergence of the concept of integrated marketing communication in
1990's. According to the concept, to achieve success on the market it is necessary
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to use available marketing instruments and integrate them in an optimum way.
J.W. Wiktor has pointed out that integrated marketing communication
constitutes "new quality in deliberations concerning the role of conditions of
contemporary marketing " (Wiktor J.W., 2001, p. 58) and D.E. Schultz has
recognized integrated marketing communication as a "new paradigm of
marketing" (Schultz D.E., Tannenbaum S.I., Lauterborn R.F., 1994). This has
become an element of daily practice of companies' communication activities.
According to M.Rydel, all issued of integrated marketing communication can be
boiled down to three dimensions: management, process and used tools. (Rydel
M., 2004 pp. 351–359). The advantages coming from the application of
integrated marketing communication are often summed up with the 4E
formula: economical, efficient, effective, enhancing, or 4C formula: coherence,
consistency, continuity, complementary communications (Pickton D., Broderick
A., 2001, p. 70).
The development of information and communication technologies has
created a new, media-dominated environment for the system of
communication of a company with the environment raising the efficiency of
activities conducted in course of integrated marketing communication.
What distinguishes communication in a media-dominated environment is,
among others, using a set of diverse instruments of a specific character, the
possibility of conducting communication on a global scale, multi-media form
of messages, which can be static (image, text) and dynamic (sound,
animation), high level of individualization of conveyed messages, or the
scalability of the message (the message can be targeted at a small, or a big
group of recipients, without limitations), as well as interactive participation
of recipients in the process of conveying information and raising the speed
of communication and speed of reaction to the created set of instrument
(more on this subject: Wiktor J., 2013, Hoffman, Novak, 1995). It is also
worth adding here that communication in media-dominated computer
environment is much cheaper than interpersonal, or mass communication.
In such situation marketing communication regarded as a "constructive
dialogue" with entities in the environment, conducted continuously (without
breaks), taking into consideration the achievements of contemporary
technologies on the one hand raises a company's communication capacity
and on the other hand constitutes substantial challenges. These challenges
are: the necessity to follow technological changes, increased activity and
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creativity aimed at developing competences in communication, as well as
greater transparency of an organization's activities. In literature on the
subject a thesis has been formulated that marketing communication is an
instrument of marketing which in the recent years has experiences and still
is experiencing the greatest number of changes (Bajdak A., 2013, p. 7).
Under circumstances of dynamic environment and growing competition,
the role of marketing communication is growing substantially in the
strategies of contemporary organizations. If marketing communication is
conducted in course of continuous dialogue with the recipients, it
contributes to not just better identification of the recipients' needs, but also
becomes an important instrument in the process of building trust and
forming the desired image of an organization. Currently, many market
entities, becoming increasingly aware of the necessity of strengthening the
flow of information "from and to" the market, reach for a possibly fullest
spectrum of available marketing communication instruments and use them
in the process of shaping the desired image and promotion of the
service/product offer. Companies are aware that market success and
achieving a competitive advantage is "reserved" for the organizations which
will be able to take advantage of innovative technological
solutionssolutions
1
. In essence this means the ability to use the appropriate
kind of message directed to the appropriate places at the right time.
One of the goals of marketing communication is shaping the desired
image. Airports in Poland are taking up communication activities to
create the appropriate image of an airport among particular entities of
the environment: clients (passengers), shareholders, investors,
suppliers, national and local media, professional associations, decision-
makers, universities in the region
2
etc. The specific character of an
airport as a market entity means that communication activities should
be focused more on the formation of a positive image than on the
promotion of particular elements of the service offer.
Airport as a subject of marketing communication
Contemporary airports are "complex, big, economic-technological
organizations", sometimes compared to a "sorting machine" (Stein A.,
Prusakiewicz-Bech A. 2010, p. 23), serving many diverse functions (Ekiert J.,
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2013, pp. 57–58). Their activity involves providing airlines and various other
entities with airport facilities in exchange for payment of fees, which are
determined independently by the manager himself. Carrying out his tasks
associated with his function, the manager of airports follows market logics.
Pro-market behaviours of airports in Poland are the effects of advancing
processes of integration and globalization of contemporary economies and
Poland's accession to the European Union
3
. As a result of these processes,
the air transport market in Poland has become more competitive and the
"airport sector has transformed from a domain manager by the government
into a dynamic and market-oriented business" (Rekowski M., (ed.) 2011,
p. 239). The business activity of airports is most often measured with such
indicators as the number of handled passengers (this indicator can be
researched taking into consideration the place of residence, compared to the
number of inhabitants of the region where an airport operates), the volume
of handled cargo traffic, or the number of flight operations. The volume of
passenger traffic, cargo traffic and number of flight operations at Polish
airports are shown in table 1.
Table 1. Passenger traffic, cargo traffic and flight operations at Polish airports in 2015
Airport IATA code4ICAO code5Passengers Cargo in tons Flight operations
Bydgoszcz BZG EPBY 318 817 0.1 2 536
Gdańsk GDN EPGD 3 676 771 4 431.9 32 761
Katowice KTW EPKT 3 044 017 14 519.4 23 391
Kraków KRK EPKK 4 208 661 0.0 33 570
Lublin LUZ EPLB 264 070 15.0 1 997
Łódź LCJ EPLL 287 620 0.0 3 099
Modlin WMI EPMO 2 589 286 0.0 16 288
Poznań POZ EPPO 1 477 318 260.6 14 436
Rzeszów RZE EPRZ 641 146 3 863.3 6 324
Radom RDO EPRA 670 0,0 110
Szczecin SZZ EPSC 412 162 53.6 3 462
Warszawa WAW EPWA 11 186 688 58 282.4 124 691
Wrocław WRO EPWR 2 269 216 89.3 20 004
Zielona Góra IEG EPZG 15 500 0.0 672
Total 30 391 992 81 515.6 283 341
Source: prepared on the basis of ULC data.
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As table 1 shows, the air transport network in Poland consists of the
central airport in Warsaw and 13 regional airports. The biggest
regional airport in Poland is the airport in Kraków, which in 2015
served 4.2 million passengers. Not only passengers, but also cargo is
transported by air. In terms of the volume of handled cargo, the biggest
regional airport in Poland is Katowice airport with over 14.500 tons of
cargo.
In the context of the functions served by airports, the process of
communication focused on forming a desired image is exceptionally
difficult. Following the marketing approach, desired image is the way
in which particular recipients are supposed to regard an airport
operator as an entity of the contemporary market, according to the
airport operator. Such definition of desired image on the one hand in
some ways expresses ambitions and defines the direction which an
airport should follow (see: Scott S.G., Lane V.R., 2000, p. 43–62), but
on the other hand shows that it is a subjective and perceptive category.
The image of an airport as a highly individualized vision of an airport
created in the "minds of recipients" as a result of the process in which
the recipients decode the signals sent by the airport operator. Thus, it
is possible to say that the image of an airport is formed as a result of a
kind of own interpretations of particular recipients. These
interpretations are based mainly on "precisely defined hints" of the
airport operator, but also on own, direct experiences of the recipients
associated with the functioning of an airport, or on the accounts of
other recipients. Particular recipients interpret particular marketing
messages of an airport operator in a rational, or an emotional way (see:
Dobni D., Zinkhan G.M., 1990, p. 110–119), but usually in different
ways, as they have different preferences, or hierarchies of values.
That's why the image is determined by "individual predispositions" of
the recipients for selecting and accepting various marketing messages
of an airport operator. It is possible to conclude that the image of an
airport as an effect of the process of "selective perception" of signals
emitted by an airport manager is a simplified way of perception
reduced to the elements within the scope of interest of particular
groups of recipients. Thus, we are dealing with greater, or smaller
diversification of images, but the goal should be to make most
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recipients share one particular image. It is worth pointing out here
that the image of an airport is hardly ever identical with the image
(vision) which a particular operator (airport manager) would like to
achieve. That's why in literature on the subject the concept of a real
image, defined as an image that can be achieved in existing conditions,
has appeared (Budzyński W., 2004, p. 42.). The analysis of multiple
definitions of image also makes it possible to conclude that image is
dynamic in character (it is not constant), it is formed by marketing
activities (mainly deliberately conducted communication activities), it
is used as an element for building competitive advantage and its
identification requires specially designed marketing research
(Szromnik A., 2007, p. 134). Some authors point to the fact that once
formed image in the awareness of the recipients is characterized by
comparable durability (Szulce H., Janiszewska K., 2006 pp. 43–44). In
the context of forming the image of an airport it is worth pointing out
that even though this is above all a subjective category, in case of many
recipients also objective factors determine the image of an airport.
These factors become a basis for building various kinds of rankings.
Such "objective factors" favouring the creation of the image of an
airport may be e.g. indicators presented in table (number of
passengers, volume of cargo)
6
. Such rankings highlight the position in
the competitive environment, e.g. Kraków-Balice as the biggest
regional airport in Poland in terms of the number of passengers,
Katowice as the biggest regional airport in Poland in terms of cargo
handling.
The entity responsible for shaping the image of an airport is its
operator (the manager of ground infrastructure)
7
. Its basic task in
this area is conducting planned actions aimed at, among others,
raising the recognisability of the airport, communicating about the
actions associated with the development of infrastructure,
communicating about the "image-related" competitive advantages of
the airport, e.g. the quality of provided handling services,
commercial-service offer in the area of non-aviation services.
Frequency and convenience of offered connections etc. Table 2
presents the most important determinants of the communication
activities of an airport.
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Table 2. basic determinants of the functioning of an airport as a subject of marketing communication
zthe existence of diversified groups of recipients (clients) results mainly from the high complexity of the marketing
product offered by the airport; among clients of the airport we can name: airlines, passengers, handling agents, cargo
operators, public entities associated with the functioning of an airport, entities associated with the commercial service
offer of an airport; all the above mentioned groups of airport clients have different needs and expectations; they are at
the same time the recipients of the desired image of an airport and participate in the formation of the image , e.g. the
presence of airlines at an airport;
zeach of the main groups of recipients can be divided into smaller segments; among airline companies there are
traditional airlines, low-cost airlines, charter airlines; passengers are divided into business travellers and tourists;
among public entities associated with the functioning of airports there are: police, customs offices, immigration offices,
air traffic control and among entities associated with the commercial service offer of an airport there are: shops, bars,
restaurants, car rentals, travel agents, currency exchange points, banks, etc.; each of the above-mentioned groups of
recipients have completely different expectations with regard to the offer of an airport, e.g. tourists and business
travellers8(Graham A., Papatheodorou A., Forsyth P., 2008, p.169), or airlines (low-cost vs. traditional airlines), which
often apply different criteria for the assessment of an airport (Augustyniak W., 2013, pp.8–12);
zthe necessity to take into consideration in the communication of an airport factors resulting from the legal-institutional
environment, including, among others, obligation to comply with diverse legal regulations defined by various
institutions functioning both on the global level (e.g. IATA, ICAO), European level (regulations of the European
Commission) and on the national level (Ministry of Infrastructure and Development and ULC), including obligations
imposed by statutory requirements for the purpose of securing the functioning of an airport as a public utility;
zthe necessity to guarantee security complying with national and international standard — the call for security of flight
operations is becoming the top goal of image strategies of many airports in the context of a growing threat of terrorist
activity;
zthe character of functioning of airports determines the possibility of occurrence of various kinds of threats for the
environment, including, among others, noise, pollution and threats associated with contamination of groundwater
as an effect of the functioning of an airport in the area of, among others, cleaning the aprons; airports also influence
the environment through, among others, occupying large areas needed for airport facilities, changing the structure
of utilization of grounds on the territory and around the airport — the effect of functioning of an airport in this
respect make it necessary to use in communication a range of available CSR tools, including in particular taking
measures in the area of environment protection, as well as taking actions focusing on respecting the right of, among
others, people residing in the so-called areas of restricted utilization. (see; Bidziński, Chmaj 2015). Research shows
that companies with a positive image built on the basis of socially responsible activities are more "attractive" for the
recipients;
zchange in the structure of an airport's income — it results from growing bargaining power of low-cost carriers who
looking for reduction of costs increase pressure on the reduction of airport fees, which limits airports' income from air
transport activity and forces them to raise revenues from non-aviation activity — this is reflected by, among others,
plans for expansion of airports involving the expansion of retail space;
zstructure of ownership — taking into consideration the fact that this factor in such an important way influences
marketing management of a university, it is particularly significant in the context of fast development of air transport
services and growing competition between particular airports; e.g. in the structure of ownership of the airport in
Katowice there are, among others: Weglokoks (over 40%), authorities of the Silesian voivodeship (over 38%), state-
owned airport operator "Porty Lotnicze" (over 16%) and the City of Katowice (about 5%);
Source: own materials.
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The conditions discussed above are reflected, on the one hand, by the
aspect of current airport management and on the other hand they
substantially influence the method of creation and implementation of the
marketing communication of an airport. In this context it is possible to say
that what is becoming an important task in the process of shaping the
desired image of an airport is looking for a kind of consensus between the
trends of development on the air transport market and various goals and
expectations of all stakeholders. The image of an airport can be identified
from the point of view of not just airlines, or their passengers, but also from
the point of view of owners, investors, entrepreneurs, or the inhabitants of
the surrounding region, especially the people living in the vicinity of an
airport in the so-called restricted utilization areas etc. (Witczak O., 2003,
pp. 318–320). The multitude of entities influencing the shaping of the
image of an airport requires from the operator of the airport defining
priorities and setting directions of activities and their coordination should
be characterized by general acceptance of all entities functioning within an
airport.
Table 3 presents the most important attributes used in the
communication of an airport and examples of applications in the
marketing activity of airports.
Table 3. Chosen attributes used in the communication
of an airport and examples of applications
Attribute Examples of application in the process of building an airport's image
Accessibility The accessibility of an airport is defined as the possibility of commuting
easily to and from an airport using various means of transport; in the area
of this attribute it is possible to build the image of an airport through,
among others, informing about convenient, modern car parks around the
airport and attractive parking fees; Kraków — Balice airport uses this
attribute in image building by informing that it has the best railway link
with the centre of the city; The attribute is important in case of most
passenger segments;
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Cont. table 3
Attribute Examples of application in the process of building an airport's image
Offered network of connections Airports try to build connection networks based on the offers of all kinds of
from a particular airport airlines; traditional, low-cost, charter carriers, in order to secure not just a more
diversified offer for the passengers, but also to eliminate the risk of becoming
dependent on just one type of carrier(s); it is not an easy task — the offer of most
regional airports in Poland is based mainly on low-cost airlines; in essence, every
"entry" of a new carrier (expanding the network of connections) is subject to
image-related communication, even if it concerns a less known carrier e.g. the
airport in Bydgoszcz and the Italian airline Mistral Air
(http://dlapilota.pl/wiadomosci-/polska/nowy-przewoznik-na-lotnisku-w-
bydgoszczy, accessed on 10.07.2016);The attribute is important in case of most
passenger segments;
Quality of passenger service Among the key elements of this attribute there are, among others: duration of
check-in and the efficiency of the passenger, baggage, customs service
procedures, the presence of additional services associated with the flight;
nevertheless, it is worth stressing that this attribute is associated with the
structure of operations in airports — the presence of traditional airlines
requires, among others, greater availability of additional services such as e.g.
business lounges, fast-track check in, etc.In association with the observed trend
of growing expectations of the clients, it is an attribute important for most
passengers, indirectly also for airlines;
Comfort and security This attribute means the feeling of comfort and safe stay at an airport when
waiting for e.g. a flight; the feeling of comfort is supported by, among others,
decoration of the interior, diversity of shops, including shops with renowned
brands, the availability of restaurants, tour-operator's branches and travel
agents, the availability of leisure zones, playrooms for children, or the functioning
of professional visitors' centre where you can get information about the
functioning of an airport; The attribute is important in case of most passenger
segments;
Tourist and business potential The tourist and business potential of a city/region covers, among others, size and
of the city/region rank of a city/region, the level of economic development, number of inhabitants
within the sphere of influence of an airport, level of wealth etc. Here it is necessary
to point out that in essence an airport serves a monopolistic role in terms of access
to air transport services on the scale of the city/region where it is located; It is
worth pointing out here that the presence of an airport in a city/region is one the
one hand used to build its image and this is reflected in many strategic documents
e.g. in the strategies of development of cities/voivodeships and on the other
hand, it is emphasized that airports have a city- and region-building function
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Cont. table 3
Attribute Examples of application in the process of building an airport's image
and play the role of a kind of "catalyst" of regional growth e.g. the presence of an
airport encourages global companies to locate their outsourcing centres within the
sphere of influence of the airport. The effects of the influence of airports on the
economic development of a region can be divided into indirect, direct, induced and
catalytic effects (Stein A., Prusakiewicz- Bech A., 2010, p.50–54). The attribute is
important in case of most airlines, it is crucial in negotiations with cheap airlines
in the aspect of airport fees — a thesis has been formulated that it is not the level
of airport fees that is the most important factor for the choice of an airport in case
of such airlines (this is the common conviction), but the relation of potential
revenues which can be generated, resulting from the potential of the city/region to
the level of fees (Gardiner J., 2006); e.g. Kraków-Balice airport in negotiations
with airlines emphasizes the fact that the city is one of the most recognizable cities
in Poland and one of the strongest tourist brands, the airport in Katowice informs
about not just the tourist attractions of the region, but mainly about the economic
potential of the region, this includes adding areas in the vicinity of the airport to
the territory of Katowice Special Economic Zone;
Natural environment factors For example, the airport in Katowice build its image by communicating that it
has the best spatial and meteorological conditions for expansion; The attribute
is important both for most airlines and for passengers;
Modern infrastructural What is typical of an airport's infrastructure is, among others, technical and
potential economic indivisibility, spatial and functional immobility, high asset and
capital intensity, as well as long duration of the process of design,
construction and exploitation (K. Wojewódzka-Król, E. Załoga 2016, p. 241).
What is becoming an image-related challenge for an airport is securing a
level of infrastructure corresponding to the continuously increasing
requirements of passengers and carriers, as well as continuously increasing
standards in international traffic, which forces airports to continuously
invest in modernization and expansion of particular components of
infrastructural equipment9; currently, there is an expectation that
infrastructure should be adapted to serve passengers and airplanes in a
24/7/365 cycle; here there is a necessity to combine in development
strategies "the long-term elements with the temporary elements" (Stein A.,
Prusakiewicz-Bech A., 2010, p. 63); The attribute is important in case of
airlines, including cargo carriers, it is comparably less important for
passengers;
Source: own materials.
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It is worth pointing out here that many regional airports in Poland are
trying to shape their marketing communication so that the image of the
airport reflects most closely and is most coherent with the adopted business
model. In case of passengers this can be achieved thanks to, among others,
creating an attractive network of connections, securing a comfortable and
safe stay at the airport, securing the efficiency of the processes of
passenger, baggage, customs services as elements of broadly understood
quality of service. In case of airlines above all the following factors are
portrayed as "competitive image-related advantages": potential of the
city/region in which an airport is located, the infrastructural potential of
the airport, or factors of the natural environment etc. It is also necessary to
emphasize that what should be an important task of an airport operator is
conducting continuous monitoring of the perception of an airport among
all its recipients, in particular among passengers and airlines as the main
clients of the airport. It is also worth remembering that the image of an
airport is formed not just as an effect of an operator's actions, but it is the
"image of an airport" formed to a large extent also by events and actions of
other entities functioning with an airport
10
and their traits resulting from
the business model (e.g. cheap airlines), which an airport operator doesn't
influence in any way, or which an operator influences in a very limited way.
It is also necessary to point out that these activities can both improve and
deteriorate the current image of an airport. Moreover, an important
conclusion is that in course of forming the image of an airport, its operator
is forced to function in the environment of various groups of interest
coming both from the private and local/national government sectors. We
shouldn't also forget that due to the fact that an airport is a service
organization, what influences its image to a large extent are own
experiences of airport clients, including passengers. In time of modern
technologies, passengers not just assess the service processes of an airport
for their own benefit, but they also "share" their opinions in e.g. the social
media. Many clients regard these assessments as very credible, as they
think this information is resistant to manipulations and the influence of
the company.
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Attitudes and opinions of passengers
with regard to Polish and foreign passengers — survey results
The presented results are the effect of a project covering quantitative
research conducted by means of the direct interview technique (PAPI) on
a sample of 929 respondents divided into two groups: group I — 699
respondents (Poles); group II — 230 respondents — foreigners (surveys
on foreigners were conducted in English, Russian and German).
The respondents of the survey were clients of the Katowice
International Airport, defined as people visiting the airport (both the
people using air transport services and people greeting and saying
goodbye to passengers). Table 4 presents the basic social-demographic
characteristics of the surveyed respondents. The share of both sexes in
the sample group is almost equal. Women constituted 50.6% of the
respondents and 49.4% of the respondents were men.
Among foreigners the most numerous nationality were Germans
(over 11% of all the respondents), further most numerous groups of
respondents were citizens of Great Britain (4.5%) and Holland (2.4%),
Sweden (1.4%). It is worth pointing out here that in the group of
foreigners there were representatives of 21 countries.
The dominant group of respondents were people aged 18 to 29 (38.5%)
and the smallest group were people older than 60 (4.2%). Respondents
aged 30–39 and 40–49 constituted 23.8% and 23.5% of the respondents,
respectively. Respondents aged 50–59 constituted 10% of the surveyed.
Vast majority of the respondents are professionally active people
(70.8%). Students constituted 22.2% of the respondents, pensioners and
annuitants constituted 4.8% of the respondents, unemployed constituted
2.2% of the respondents.
For over a half of the surveyed the purpose of a visit to the airport
was air travel. Almost 27% of the respondents were on a business trip
and for slightly more than 12% of the respondents, the visit to the
airport was associated with picking up other passengers.
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Table 4. Basic characteristics of respondents in quantitative research (N=929)
Characteristics Frequency Percentage
SEX
Woman 470 50.6
Man 459 49.4
NATIONALITY
Poland 699 75.2
Foreigners 230 24.8
including:
Germany 104 11.2
UK 42 4.5
Holland 22 2.4
Sweden 13 1.4
Belgium 8 0.9
Czech Republic 8 0.9
Others* 33 3.5
AGE
18–29 358 38.5
30–39 221 23.8
40–49 218 23.5
50–59 93 10.0
Over 60 39 4.2
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY
Active 628 70.8
Unemployed 20 2.2
Pension/annuity 45 4.8
Student 206 22.2
PURPOSE OF VISIT TO THE AIRPORT
Private trip by plane 516 55.6
Business trip by plane 250 26.9
Picking up passengers 116 12.5
Other 6 0.6
Lack of response 41 4.4
INCOME PER HOUSEHOLD MEMBER (NET)
Up to PLN 1500/up to EUR 350 122 13.1
PLN 1501–2500/EUR 351–600 202 21.7
PLN 2501–3500/EUR 601–800 157 16.9
PLN 3501–5000/EUR 801–1200 129 13.9
More than PLN 5000/over EUR 201 105 11.3
I don't know 214 23.0
*The group of foreign respondents was formed by the representatives of a total of 21 countries, among the
respondents there were representatives of such countries as: China (5), Spain (4), Russia (3), Ukraine (3),
Italy (3), Austria (2), France (2), Portugal (2), Slovakia (2), Switzerland (2) there was also one respondent from
Afghanistan, one from Israel, one from Canada, one from Mongolia and one from Scotland.
Source: own materials.
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The survey made it possible to identify the respondents' income per
member of their household. The results have been divided into five
income brackets (Table 4). The incomes of the respondents were
diversified: every fifth respondent declared he had an income ranging
from PLN 1.501 to PLN 2.500 (EUR 351–600), there were over 11%
respondents with incomes exceeding PLN 5.000 (more than EUR 1.201)
net per household member. Respondents with small incomes below PLN
1.500 (less than EUR 350) constituted just over 13%.
Level of recognisability of Polish airports
An important aspect in research on the efficiency of conducted
marketing activity is the indicator of so-called spontaneous awareness of
the name/brand showing the level of awareness of name/brand in the
surveyed population. It indicates what percentage of respondents
mentions the brand (name) spontaneously, or what percentage of the
respondents thinking about airports recalls and mentioned the name of
a particular airport.
The most recognizable airport in Poland among the respondents was
Katowice Airport. Over 92% of the respondents mentioned it as an
airport known to them. The following positions, in terms of the number
of responses were Chopin Airport in Warsaw (over 83% of responses),
John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice (over 78% of
responses) and Lech Wałęsa airport in Gdańsk (over 44% of responses).
The recognisability of airports among the respondents is closely tied
to the number of served passengers. All four airports mentioned most
often by the respondents are the biggest airports in Poland in terms of
the number of served passengers.
High recognisability of the airport in Katowice among the
respondents is situational in character. This is because the survey was
conducted at this particular airport. At the same time the high
recognisability of Chopin Airport in Warsaw and the airport in Kraków
is supported by the frequent appearance of the names of these airports
in mass media, e.g. on the occasion of arrival/departure of Polish athletes
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to, or from important international competitions. It is even possible to
find in the media publications encouraging fans to greet the sportsmen
arriving from various sports events at an airport.
What may be a surprise is that a group of 132 respondents mentioned
Radom-Sadków airport, even though in 2015 the airport served merely
500 passengers. It seems this is associated with a high number of
publications in the media, including social media, concerning the airport.
It is worth pointing out that a lot of information concerning the airport
in Radom is critical, or even humorous in character (e.g. a flight from the
Radom Airport to Prague organized by about a dozen bloggers from
whole Poland, following the initiative of Marcin Wesołowski a travel
blogger http://wesolowski.co/.; this event was described on the Internet
website of Gazeta Wyborcza, (http://radom.wyborcza.pl/radom/-
1,126564,19410698,blogerzy-poleca-z-radomia-do-pragi-a-moga-i-do-
dubaju.html?disableRedirects=true).
Analysis of the recognisability of the biggest airports in Poland
among national and foreign respondents doesn't reveal significant
differences. A noteworthy fact, which may have an impact on the
recognisability of Chopin Airport in Warsaw among foreigners is the fact
that the airport runs a separate Facebook page in English. Taking into
consideration the current huge strength of influence of the social media,
the decision to run such a fanpage seems fitting.
An important supplement for the research on spontaneous brand
awareness is the so-called indicator of first mentioned brand. It shows
what percentage of respondents spontaneously named a particular brand
(here the name of an airport) as the first one. This research makes it
possible to determine which brand (name of an airport) is best
remembered by the respondents and thus which brand (airport) is the
main representative of the category for the respondents. The
significance of this fact for marketing communication is that there is a
high likelihood that the respondents who name a particular airport as
the first one, recall it also as the first one in purchasing situations. What
had a big impact on the results of the research was the origin and place
of residence of the respondents and contextuality of the place where the
survey was conducted. As the vast majority of the respondents are the
inhabitants of Silesian voivodeship, recalling Katowice Airport as the
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first airport known to them, may have been an element of "regional
patriotism", or thinking about airports they simply mentioned the one
closest to their place of residence (see picture 1).
Picture 1. Priority of airports in the respondents' answers
Source: own materials.
Respondents coming from Silesian voivodeship could have had
comparably little awareness of other airports, located further away from
their place of residence. The fact that people mention airports in Warsaw
and Kraków in the first place also comes from the fact that they are
perceived and known in Poland for big number of international connections
and the cities themselves are known for the presence of headquarters of
foreign companies (the possibility that airports will be mentioned by people
travelling to them on business), or for a large number of sports, musical, or
cultural events (the possibility that these airports will be mentioned by
passengers participating in such events and choose air transport to reach
the target place).
What was verified in the survey along with the fact that the name of an
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Airport Zielona Góra-Babimost
Lublin Airport
Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport
"Solidarity" Szczecin-Goleniów Airport
Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport
Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport
Radom Airport
Poznań Airport
Warsaw Modlin Airport
Copernicus Airport Wrocław
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport
John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice
Warsaw Chopin Airport
Katowice International Airport
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airport was mentioned was the correctness of the name of an airport (Table
5). The analysis of research results shows that the names mentioned by the
respondents are closest to the official names in case of Warsaw Chopin
Airport and Katowice Airport. The percentage of correct names of these
airports is far from the percentage of correct names mentioned by the
respondents for the remaining airports. In case of Warsaw airport this has
been caused by, among others, activity in social media associated with the
airport. The latest example is the subject of meal prices at the airport
mentioned by singer named Kayah. (http://www.tvn24.pl/ciekawostki-
michalki,5/kayah-oburzona-cena-zamowienia-na-warszawskim-
lotnisku,583819.html).
Tabela 5. Correctness of the mentioned names of airports in Poland
Name Percentage of correct
mentions of the name
Warsaw Chopin Airport 44.9
Katowice Airport 40.9
John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice 20.6
Warsaw Modlin Airport 16.3
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport 11.1
Compernicus Airport Wrocław 4.2
Rzeszów Airport 2.6
Poznań Airport 2.3
Lublin Airport 1.7
Radom Airport 1.5
Łódź Władysław Reymont Airport 1.4
Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderwski Airport 0.9
"Solidarity" Szczecin-Goleniów Airport 0.8
Airport Zielona Góra-Babimost 0.4
Source: the results of own research.
High percentage of correct mentions of the name of the airport in Katowice
was caused certainly by, among others, the exposure of the airport's logo with
name on the grounds of the airport where the survey was conducted.
An interesting fact is that Poles more often mentioned the correct
name of Warsaw Chopin Airport than the correct name of the airport in
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Katowice (50.0% and 40.9% correct mentions, respectively) at the same
time foreign respondents more often mentioned the correct name of the
airport in Katowice than the correct name of the airport in Warsaw
(41.7% and 29.6%, respectively).
Factors determining the image of Polish airports
Analysing data concerning factors determining the positive image of
an airport among Polish and foreign respondents we can notice certain
differences. The most often mentioned factor determining positive
opinion about an airport is in case of Polish and foreign respondents the
factor described as "modernity, good atmosphere and feeling of comfort"
(14.6% of responses and 18.5% of responses, respectively) (see picture 2).
Picture 2. Factors determining respondents' positive image of airports
Source: own materials.
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Modernity, good atmosphere,
feeling of comfort
Efficiency and quality of service
Proximity to the place of residence/stay
Adequate size of an airport, no
overcrowding
Access to/from the airport
Good network of connections
Quality of interior design and cleanness
The only known airport, knowledge of
an airport, recognisability
Rich service offer
Sympathy for an airport/region
POLES FOREIGNERS
Good infrastructure
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Second place in case of Polish respondents was taken by "efficiency
and quality of service" (14.2%) and in case of foreign respondents by
"adequate size of the airport, no overcrowding" (17.7%). The Polish
respondents name "proximity to the place of residence" as the third most
important thing (13.7%) at the same time foreign respondents
mentioned "efficiency and quality of service" as the third most important
thing — 14.9% of responses. Among the least important factors
determining the positive image of an airport, both among Polish and
foreign respondents, there are "rich service offer" and "sympathy for an
airport/region". Foreign respondent have mentioned such factors as: "the
only known airport, knowledge of an airport, recognisability" — 17.2%;
"efficiency and quality of service" — 17.2% and "adequate size of an
airport, no overcrowding" — 15.6%. An interesting fact is that foreign
respondents to a greater extent appreciated the quality of design and
cleanness of airports than Poles. Moreover, what for foreign respondents
is less important is rich service offer, or good infrastructure.
One of the airports receiving the worst assessments from Polish
respondents is John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice, which
received 18% of responses (see picture 3). Further airports receiving
negative assessments from Polish respondents were the airports: in
Katowice (9.7% of responses) and Warsaw Chopin Airport (6.9% of
responses). It is worth pointing out here that respondents were not eager
to share negative opinions about airports as 53.6% of Poles didn't give an
answer to this question.
The most important factor behind negative opinions of airports both
among Polish and foreign respondents was the size of an airport (19,5%
and 29.7% of responses, respectively) (see picture 4).
For Polish respondents further factors behind negative assessments of an
airport were: problems with organization, long waiting time, organizational
chaos (16.9% of responses) and own negative experiences (13.6%).
At the same time foreign respondents names as important such
further factors as: negative own experiences (12.3%), problems with
organization, long waiting time, organizational chaos (11.6%). An
important aspect influencing negative assessment of an airport by
foreign respondents was the factor described as "difficulties caused by
renovation works" (11.6%).
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Picture 3. Worst airports according to Poles
Source: own materials.
Picture 4. Factors determining respondents' negative opinions of Polish airports
Source: own materials.
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John Paul II International
Airport Kraków-Balice
Katowice International
Airport
Warsaw Chopin Airport
Warsaw Modlin Airport
Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport
Łódź Władysław
Reymont Airport
Copernicus Airport Wrocław
Poznań Airport
Radom Airport
"Solidarity" Szczecin-
Goleniów Airport
Gdańsk Lech
Wałęsa Airport
Lublin Airport
Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan
Paderewski Airport
Airport Zielona
Góra-Babimost
No answer
Name of airport
Values in %
Values in %
Airport size (too big/too small)
Own negative experiences
Poor infrastructure
Overcrowded
Poor location
Difficulties caused by
renovation works
Difficult access
Small number of connections
High prices of services
Problems with organization (long
waiting time,…)
Poles Foreign respondent
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Conclusion
Communication skills in form of conveying a message to passengers
and creating the desired image of an airport may determine whether
passengers will take a particular airport into consideration as the place
where they start, or end their journey. In case of individual passengers
who visit an airport on the occasion of tourist travels the image of an
airport will be of key importance. Comparably low frequency of using a
product, or service means that purchasing decisions are to a greater
extent based on the image of a company and not on the traits associated
directly with the product/service offer. That's why airports' marketing
communication plays an important role.
Information appearing in the media has an impact on the airports'
position in the ranking of recognisability, that's why it is necessary to
monitor the media and regularly diagnose the perception of the airport
among the stakeholders. The example of comparably high level of
knowledge of Radom Airport, despite the fact that the airport serves a
very small number of passengers, is the effect of influence of the media
on the environment. The image of Radom-Sadków Airport wasn't formed
on the basis of passengers experience with using the services of the port,
but is based on the information conveyed by the media.
However, this doesn't mean that communication activities of
airports should be focused solely on creating the desired image of an
airport in the media by means of image-building advertising, which
presents the values close to the management of the airport. It is
essential to regularly monitor the changing expectations of passengers
with regard to the services offered by the airport, including all entities
functioning on the premises of the airport and participating in building
value for the passengers. The deliberations presented in the article
suggest that the offer of an airport should be analysed in a complex
way, from the perspective of all entities forming value for the
passengers. Passengers' preferences are evolving, which is reflected by
the identified differences in the revealed determinants of the
assessment of an airport's between Polish and foreign passengers.
Clients from more developed markets (foreign passengers) are more
sensitive to the factors associated with the comfort offered by an
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airport. At the same time Polish passengers to a greater extent pay
attention to issues associated with infrastructure, including the fact
whether it is easy to reach an airport. We can expect that in the nearest
future the significance of comfort and the development of tourism-
related services of an airport will have a stronger influence on the
opinions and attitudes of Polish passengers.
It is likely that renovation works and airport expansion works
conducted in the recent years and in particular the works carried out at
the biggest regional airports, i.e. at Katowice-Pyrzowice and Kraków-
Balice had a strong negative impact on the image of airports. Negative
experiences gathered by passengers will have a negative impact on the
image of airports for a long time, which strengthens the need to take
communication-related actions focused on the improvement of opinions
of airports in Poland.
References
1In association with the Internet and mobile telephony as crucial technologies behind the development of new
media, in literature on the subject the concept of e-image of an organization has appeared. It can be defined as an
image created by means of new media, including, among others, Internet websites, electronic mail, Internet
communities, electronic kiosks, digital cameras and video recorders, integration of digital data from phones, virtual
reality environments, including video games (see Witczak O., 2013, p. 91). It seems that currently the new media
can be recognized "officially" as a part of the so-called "communication mix" and building an image based on the
utilization of these services is becoming a necessity and a basis for appropriate communication of contemporary
organizations with the environment.
2GTL S.A. as the operator of the airport Katowice-Pyrzowice is an organization actively cooperating with
universities in the region, including University of Economics in Katowice. One of the goals of cooperation is offering
students trainings and internships in GTL S.A, as well as allowing them to develop practical skills and competences
through participation in various research projects. A tangible example of cooperation is, among others, the research
project ordered by GTL and carried out by the University of Economics in Katowice, which was conducted by
students and employees of the University of Economic in Katowice. Some results of the project are presented in
this article. The signing of an agreement on cooperation with the European Union and the completed research
project have strengthened the positive image of GTL S.A.
3Some authors think that the air transport sector and the Internet constitute the pillars, or even the
"infrastructure of globalization". They also emphasize that it creates and speeds up the processes of globalization
and at the same time the air transport sector is subject to these processes itself (Wojewódzka-Król K., Załoga E.
(ed.), 2016, p. 269).
4IATA airport code is a 3-letter alphanumeric code assigned by the International Air Transport Association. The
purpose of code designations assigned by IATA is, among others, facilitating the organization of air transport e.g.
in case of handling passengers' baggage (www.iata.org, accessed on 15.05.2016).
5ICAO airport code is a 4-letter name of the so-called location indicator, introduced by the International Civil
Aviation Organization. ICAO location indicators have a regional structure. First letter means a part of the world
(E-Europe), the second letter designates countries (P-Poland). The remaining two letters identify a particular
airport (Katowice- KT), (more information: http://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx accessed on 15.05.2016).
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6Rankings based on statistics of passenger traffic and cargo are prepared by, among others, Airports Council
International (ULC within the country). The organization prepares the rankings on the basis of data from 2200
airport in 160 countries around the world. According to ACI the biggest passenger airport in the world in 2014 was
Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, USA (96 million travellers), and the biggest airport in the world in terms of the
number of passengers in international traffic was Dubai International (see. http://www.aci.aero/).
http://podroze.onet.pl/aktualnosci/najwieksze-lotniska-na-swiecie-w-2014-r-tu-jest-najwiecej-pasazerow/70cqsx
(accessed on 10.07.2016) At the same time, The Guide to Sleep in Airports, a portal functioning since 1996,
presents, among others, the rankings of ten best (and worst) airports on particular continents, as well the best
"airports for sleeping" preferred by the passengers who happen to change at night and don't want to go to a hotel.
The ranking is prepared on the basis of questionnaire surveys (research tool available on the website:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2817989/2016-Best-Worst-Airports) and takes into consideration such elements as
cleanliness, facilities, security, quality of passenger service, comfort and "best for sleeping" criterion. According to
the portal, the best airport in the world in 2015 was Singapore Changi International Airport.
(http://www.sleepinginairports.net, accessed on 10.07.2016).A criterion in airport rankings is also the surface of
airports. According to this criterion the biggest airport in the world is Ad-Dammam in Saudi Arabia covering 78,000
hectares. (http://www.topnaj.pl/najwieksze-lotniska-swiata, accessed on 10.07.2016).
7It is worth pointing out here that the leaders in the chain of value of the sector of air transport services, are, it
seems, airlines and it is airports which, according to many passengers combine the resources of particular
participants of the chain of value for the purpose of creating a unique offer for the end customers. Here airlines
play two roles: the offeror of air transport services (supply) and the buyer of handling services and infrastructure
available at an airport (demand) (see: Augustyniak, 2013, p. 8).
8It is worth pointing out that this classic division of passengers may be "deepened" and among business passengers
it is possible to distinguish the subsegment of "lower- end business travellers", who are sensitive to prices, more
flexible with regard to time of travel and display sensitivity to the utilization of loyalty programmes and into "high-
end" travellers who are less sensitive to prices, but appreciate high frequency of offered connections, direct
connections and who often display loyalty to particular carriers (see Jankiewicz J., 2013, p. 30–33).
9For this purpose some airports use the opportunity of partial financing of infrastructural investments with EU,
government and local government funds. They have this possibility thanks to membership in Trans-European
Transport Network (TEN-T). Currently, eight Polish airports (WAW, KTW, KRK, GDN, WRO, POZ, SZZ, RZE)
belong to the network (www 2, www 3).
10 E.g. a post on wykop.pl portal from the employee of an external company, which handles ground service for
airplanes at the airport in Katowice. In the post the employee claimed he put a metal pipe into the engine of an
Airbus A320 airplane. Even though this was a joke, it could have modified the image of the airport, sending the
message that it doesn't guarantee full security. The incident was discussed a lot in traditional media and on the
Internet. After the incident the manager of the airport decided to change procedures associated with employment
of candidates for work at the airport.
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ZZbbiiggnniieeww SSppyyrraa,, PPhh..DD..,, UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff EEccoonnoommiiccss iinn KKaattoowwiiccee,, PPoollaanndd ——doctor of economic sciences
in the discipline of management sciences, an employee at the Department of Market and Marketing
Research at the University of Economics in Katowice. Director of postgraduate studies "Management in
culture, art and cultural tourism," academic supervisor of Students' Scientific Marketing Club
"MERITUM", an organizer of Scientific Conference for Students and PhD Students "New media and
technologies in marketing communication". His research interests focus on the problems related to
marketing communication, marketing research as well as relationships in supply chains managed by
retail businesses. Coordinator of The European Union in Katowice of research projects for economic
practice in the field of standardization programs of customer service and branding. Author of "Kanały
dystrybucji. Kształtowanie relacji" (Publisher CeDeWu) and co-editor of the book "Zarządzanie w
kulturze, sztuce i turystyce kulturowej" (Publisher CeDeWu).
OOllggiieerrdd WWiittcczzaakk,, PPhh..DD..,, UUnni
ivveerrssiittyy ooff EEccoonnoommiiccss iinn KKaattoowwiiccee,, PPoollaanndd ——a scientist at the University of
Economics in Katowice. Assistant Professor in the Department of Business and Consumer Relationship
Management. Specialist in the field of media and marketing communication. Contractor of projects for
economic practice in the field of market research and marketing, brand creating and programs of
customer service standardization. Trainer and coach of sales teams.
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