(Oum and Yu
1998: 201), and are one of the few variable
costs under the direct and immediate
control of management (unlike fuel,
aircraft prices and airport landing charges).
This may predispose airlines towards
(labour) cost minimization strategies but
what differentiates airlines is increasingly
service quality and product innovation (see
Blyton et al 1998 and 2001). Service
delivery cannot be physically separated
from the ‘front- line’ staff who interact with
customers in the airline industry, and these
employees are now implored to be more
polite and courteous as well as efficient
and resourceful. Labour control and
industrial relations are therefore at the
heart of both adaptive and innovative
strategies in the civil aviation sector