Restorative advertising in the airline sector

Abstract

It is sometimes contended that large airlines cut their advertising expenditure in reaction to major accidents and postpone it until after the memories of accidents have dissipated. This paper assesses the relationship between safety perceptions and airline advertising expenditure based on the assumption that consumers have updating beliefs and dissipating memories. The results suggest that large airlines do not vary their advertising in reaction to accidents resulting in minor or serious injuries, but appear to decrease advertising expenditure in response to fatal accidents.