17.1.1 Tourist Destinations Versus Tourist Products

It is important to understand the difference between a tourist destination and a tourist product. A tourist destination is a geographic location where a tourist product is consumed or experienced, whereas the tourism product is either an attraction or activity, an amenity, or accessibility to a destination or product (Collier, 2006). Attractions can be separated into one of four different categories: (1) natural attractions, (2) man-made attractions built for other purposes other than attracting tourists, (3) man-made attractions built to attract tourists, and (4) special events (Swarbrooke, 1995). Whilst niche aviation operations will often incorporate looking at attractions, they could be better classified as activities. Becken and Simmons (2002) separate tourist activities into the following categories: (1) air activities, such as scenic flights; (2) motorised water activity, such as diving or whale watching; (3) adventure recreation, such as kayaking or bungee jumping; and (4) nature recreation, such as cycling or golf. It should be noted, however, that some niche aviation operations may overlap across these activities. Accordingly, tourists will evaluate niche aviation operations in terms of their trip planning as this is what usually happens for tourist activities (Rao et al., 1992).

17.1.2 Tourist Experiences

Part of understanding the relationship between niche aviation operations and tourism is understanding what constitutes ‘a memorable tourist experience’. Tung and Ritchie (2011, p. 1369) define a tourism experience as ‘an individual’s subjective evaluation and undergoing (i.e. affective, cognitive, and behavioural) of events related to his/her tourist activities which begins before (i.e. planning and preparation), during (i.e. at the destination), and after the trip (i.e. recollection)’. Using this definition, they conclude that the key role of tourism planning needs to be around the facilitation of tourists to develop their own memorable tourism experiences. To this end, it can be said that a memorable tourism experience cannot be created using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Kim et al. (2012) find 24 factors that create a memorable tourism experience and they separate these into seven key areas: (1) hedonism, (2) novelty, (3) local culture, (4) refreshment, (5) meaningfulness, (6) involvement, and (7) knowledge. Since the strength of each of these areas is subjectively assigned by each individual tourist, some experiences may be hedonistic to one tourist, and not hedonistic to another tourist. The key areas are also not mutually exclusive, in the sense that an experience can be both hedonistic and novel at the same time.

Other experiential aspects that contribute towards the perceived value of a tourist experience are (1) the authenticity of the interaction between the environment and the people-based experiences (Pearce and Moscardo, 1986); (2) social and emotional value (Colton, 1987); (3) the behaviour of other tourists (Graefe and Vaske, 1987); (4) intrinsic comparison with ideal, equitable, minimum, and expected standards (Vittersø et al., 2000); and (5) social and physical encounters, that is, interactions with the service provider, other consumers, and the servicescape (Prebensen and Foss, 2011).

The highly subjective and individualised nature of tourist experiences is the primary reason for the existence of certain niche aviation operations. Over the next few sections, different types of tourist experiences will be discussed, and examples of niche aviation operations will be provided to show how niche aviation operations contribute towards tourist experiences.

17.2.1 Adventure Aviation

Adventure aviation encompasses a number of niche aviation operations that exist primarily to meet the needs of adventure tourists. The exact definition of what activities can be considered part of adventure aviation is not clear from the literature. In a study of the safety of adventure tourism in New Zealand, Bentley et al. (2001) include parasailing, hang gliding, skydiving, scenic flights, and helicopter flights within the category of aviation-related adventure tourism. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ) provides some guidance from a legal point of view (New Zealand is the only country to treat adventure aviation operators under a different civil aviation rule part to other commercial air operators). According to CAANZ (2017a), “an adventure aviation operation involves carrying passengers for hire or reward, where the purpose of the operation is for the passenger’s recreational experience of participating in the flight, or engaging in the aerial operation” (para. 1). Included as part of this are hot air balloon operations, parachute-drop aircraft operations, tandem parachute operations, glider operations, hang glider and paraglider operations, special category aircraft operations (e.g. aerobatics), and microlight aircraft operations (CAANZ, 2017a). In New Zealand, there are 29 certificated adventure aviation operators (CAANZ, 2017b), statistics from other countries cannot be obtained as they are not treated differently from other commercial air operators. These examples show that there are wide-ranging types of aviation operations that can be considered as ‘adventure aviation’. It should also be noted that there is some overlap in that an adventure aviation operator can also provide scenic flights, heritage aviation experiences, and other novelty aviation experiences. Acknowledging that there is overlap between the areas of niche aviation operations, it is useful to look at some examples that relate to specific areas, whilst not ruling out that they may also relate to others.

17.2.2 Skydiving

A clear example of a niche aviation operation that caters to adventure tourists is skydiving. With regard to skydiving, there are different reasons why a tourist may engage in skydiving for the first time compared with tourists who regularly skydive. Celsi et al. (1993) identify that first-time skydivers are usually motivated by curiosity, thrill seeking, social compliance (i.e. are peer pressured into it by friends/family) and/or a desire for adventure. This contrasts with regular skydivers who may also be motivated by efficacy (i.e. wanting to develop their technical skill for intrinsic and extrinsic rewards), identity construction (i.e. providing a means of changing personal identity and become different from others), overcoming fear, and/or feeling a mixture of emotional and physical responses (Celsi et al., 1993; Lipscombe, 1999). Skydiving usually takes place at drop zones (DZs), which are typically small aerodromes with a runway, a few hangars, and an area for skydivers to land their parachutes (Laurendeau and Van Brunschot, 2006). The use of small aircraft as well as small and sometimes remote airfields distinguishes skydiving operations from other commercial aviation operations. Additionally, rather than passengers, skydivers can be thought of as participants, and only remain on the aircraft for takeoff as they return to the DZ by jumping out of the aircraft. Skydiving is a popular tourist activity across the world. For example, the United States Parachute Association (USPA) estimates that their members along with first time jumpers make around 3.2 million jumps per year across more than 220 of their affiliated DZs in the United States (USPA, 2017).

17.2.3 Adventure Destinations

Xie and Schneider (2004, p. 57) introduce the notion of adventure destinations as ‘a bundle of tourism facilities and services composed of a number of multi-dimensional attributes’. New Zealand, for example, is often marketed as an adventure destination, with Queenstown being its adventure capital due to the large number of established and diversified adventure activities on offer (Cater, 2006; Cloke and Perkins, 1998; Schott, 2007). The Queenstown Lakes District Council (2017) says “The Queenstown Lakes District is a popular destination for visitors all from the world – whether you are an adventure seeker or just looking for somewhere to unwind, we’ve got something special for everyone”. In addition, destination image and positioning both are affected by the presence of adventure activities in a destination (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Beerli and Martín, 2004; Pike and Ryan, 2004). Inevitably, for tourists to associate a destination with adventure, there needs to be a variety of adventure activities on offer. Adventure aviation operators, therefore, can be argued to contribute towards this variety and thus enhance a destination’s image in terms of adventure (Page et al., 2006).

17.3.1 Scenic Flights

In geographic locations that offer sufficient scenery, scenic flight operators are often present. For example, in New Zealand, 26.1% of first time tourists and 11.4% of repeat visitors undertook scenic flights, whereas 39.6% of first time visitors and 21.4% of repeat visitors undertook scenic boat cruises (Oppermann, 1997). Whilst these figures might be somewhat outdated, they still offer some insight to the importance of transport offerings that allow for effective sightseeing. Whilst some classify scenic flights as part of adventure aviation (e.g. Bentley et al., 2001), this chapter would argue that scenic flights are different in that the value of the experience is not derived from the activity as with adventure aviation, but rather through the value of the scenery or sights. This notion is somewhat supported by a study of Chinese tourists visiting the South Island of New Zealand who included activities such as kayaking or a scenic flight in photographs, not for the activity but for the value of the selected beautiful landscape (Sun et al., 2015). One of the important factors for being able to exploit the economic potential of scenery is accessibility, that is, actually being able to access the geographic location of the scenery (Crouch and Ritchie, 1999). To this end, aviation can provide the advantage of accessing scenery without needing infrastructure in the scenic location, provided that a runway or helipad is within reasonable proximity from the scenery.

17.4.1 Heritage Aviation Operations

With most heritage tourism activities, the issue of authenticity is a major concern (Chhabra et al., 2003; Halewood and Hannam, 2001). Whilst not empirically validated, the same concept is likely to apply to heritage aviation. In practice, there are two types of heritage aviation operations: (1) those that use a modern aircraft but recreate a historic experience; and (2) those that use a historic aircraft to recreate a historic experience. In this sense, the authenticity of the experience either comes from the authenticity of the aircraft, the authenticity of the onboard experience, or a combination of the two. To offer a better understanding of heritage aviation operations, two examples of heritage aviation operators are provided along with an explanation as to their historical significance.

Case Study 17.2 Examples of Heritage Aviation Operations

The Zeppelin Experience

In 1900 Count Ferdinand Adolph Heinrich von Zeppelin launched his creation, the Luftschiff Zeppelin 1 (LZ 1) for the first time over Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen in Germany. The flight lasted 18 min and covered over 5 km. This was the world’s first controlled, powered, and sustained lighter-than-air flight, with the Wright Brothers being the first to achieve the same with heavier-than-air flight three years later. Zeppelin went through several other renditions of his technology and in order to demonstrate the soundness of his concept, he started the German Airship Transportation Company (German acronym: DELAG) in 1908 (Stephenson, 2010). This became the world’s first airline, carrying over 34,000 passengers across 1500 flights without injury between the company’s inauguration and the outbreak of World War I (Grossman, 2009). Passengers flew in luxury with food and drinks being served onboard as they looked out at the scenery of Germany. Following World War I, airships in the form of the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg cruised between continents until the Hindenburg Disaster of 1937 effectively ended the airship era.

In 1993, in Friedrichshafen, Germany the Zeppelin company was reborn in the form of the ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik. The company began manufacturing airships under the Zeppelin name, producing the Zeppelin NT (where NT stands for new technology). In 2001 the company began scheduled passenger flights (see Zeppelin NT, 2017). Since then, the company has carried more than 130,000 passengers on its flights, carrying 20,100 passengers in 2016. The flights using the new airship seek to replicate the original ‘Zeppelin experience’ of quiet and gentle scenic flights, usually of short duration (30–120 min). The company bases itself out of one of the original Zeppelin hangars in Friedrichshafen, where the historic company was headquartered. Technologically speaking, the Zeppelin NT (Fig. 17.1) is far superior to the historic airships used in the time of DELAG. Despite using a modern airship, the company claims to operate in the spirit of Zeppelin’s legacy. Adult fares range from €245 (30-min flight) through to €825 (120-min flight), with 2- to 12-year-olds getting 20% off adult fares. Flights are not on offer year-round, but can only be purchased for dates during the operation’s ‘flight season’ (this does not mean that bookings cannot be made in the off season). For example, ‘Flight Season 2018’ will go from the 9th of March through until mid-November.

FLY DC3

FLY DC3 is a company in New Zealand that offers scenic and charter flights in a restored Douglas DC-3 (see FLY DC3, 2017). DC-3s were one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made, revolutionising air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Whilst not repeated here for the sake of brevity, FLY DC3 can tell the entire story of their aircraft’s service from its delivery to the United States Army Air Force in 1944 through to its extensive rebuild and restoration in New Zealand (Fig. 17.2). The company offers half hour scenic flights around Auckland, providing tourists with the opportunity to be a passenger in one of the world’s most revolutionary aircraft. Fares range from NZ$80 (for children), through to NZ$120 (for adults) and the aircraft can also be chartered for longer flights. The operation is based out of Ardmore Airport in Auckland, which is primarily used for general aviation activities. Flights can be booked from 12 months to 2 days ahead by calling or using the operator’s website.

17.6.1 Novelty in Aviation Experiences

Due to the inherent subjectivity of the term ‘novel’, this term can be applied to the examples already covered in this chapter. The area of the novelty can vary markedly depending on the specific niche aviation operations. According to Kim et al. (2012), novelty consists of the four key scale items with regard to a memorable experience: (1) once-in-a-lifetime experience, (2) unique, (3) different from other experiences, and (4) get to experience something new. This helps narrow down the sorts of activities that tourists might describe as novel. For example, one might skydive because they see it as an once-in-a-lifetime experience, or perhaps want to fly in a hot air balloon because they see this as unique. No specific example is provided here because niche aviation operations provide novel experiences to tourists by their very nature. This chapter would argue that the aspects that make a niche aviation operator successful or not is whether enough tourists see the value in the type of novelty that is on offer. This lack of standardisation amongst niche aviation operators is one of the features that differentiates them from commercial airlines and the types of aviation operators that are more commonly addressed in relation to tourism.

17.7.1 Applying Existing Technologies in New Ways

One idea in this regard is to provide scenic airship services. Airships are a technology that was once very popular around the world. Airships are quiet, environmentally friendly, can be designed in almost any way, and have some safety advantages over more conventional aircraft (Pant, 2010). Whilst their slow flying speeds rule them out of performing the role of conventional airliners, slow flying speeds are not considered as a disadvantage for scenic flights and the novelty aspect of scenic airship services could be significant. Due to their long endurance, airship cruises for tourists are also a possibility and this would also hold some heritage value in that this was the purpose of historic airships such as the Hindenburg.

In recent times, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) have been showing their Airlander 10 model, which is an example of a hybrid airship. Unlike conventional airships that use only buoyant lift to achieve flight, hybrid airships also produce direct lift with their pivoting engines and dynamic lift due to being in the shape of an aerofoil. This allows for higher flying speeds, whilst maintaining the quietness and efficiency of lighter-than-air aircraft. The Airlander 10 has primarily been proposed to be used for cargo operations, but there is no reason why a passenger-carrying version could not be developed. As discussed earlier, the Zeppelin NT is an existing airship model that could also be used for smaller scale operations. It will be interesting to see whether airships might be reintroduced to passenger operations (e.g. scenic flights and cruises) as tourism grapples with issues of environmental sustainability and innovation. Henderson et al. (2018) provides a case study of how innovations like scenic airship services can generate significant consumer interest. The technology is there, but further research is needed to see how to best apply it within the tourism industry.

17.7.2 Applying New Technologies to Niche Aviation Operations

The introduction of new technologies always presents opportunities. There are three transport technologies that have the potential to innovate niche aviation operations. Notably, these are Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), which are often referred to as drones, spaceliners, which are aircraft that can be used on scheduled space flights (similar to the term of airliners) and supersonic airliners. RPAS have been applied to flight operations that were once performed by more conventional aircraft, such as aerial mapping, agricultural spraying, search and rescue, and so on. The next big step in this technology could potentially be the introduction of passenger-carrying RPAS, known more commonly as passenger drones. Nominally, the introduction of these in the form of Uber-like taxis has been suggested in Dubai. However, due to the novelty of being flown in a drone, it is possible that these services could also provide short-duration scenic flights.

In addition, spaceliners are likely to be applied to niche aviation operations (i.e. space travel) and will soon become a reality. Virgin Galactic (a subsidiary company of the Virgin Group) is about to bring tourists into space commercially. Space tourists may experience unique or once-in-a-lifetime suborbital spaceflight travel and explore the universe. There are roughly 700 Virgin Galactic future astronauts who have already paid deposits for their flights on SpaceShip Two—the suborbital spacecraft that is air launched from beneath a carrier airplane (see Virgin Galactic, 2017).

Supersonic experiences could potentially make a comeback as the notion of new supersonic airliners is being raised. In the past, Air France, British Airways, and Aeroflot have offered flights on supersonic airliners (Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144, respectively), with the last commercial airline flight on a supersonic aircraft taking place in 2003. Boom Technology is working on a new supersonic airliner, capable of reaching Mach 2.2, but remaining affordable enough for routine air travel (see Boomsupersonic, 2017a). They are currently building a prototype aircraft called the XB-1 that will be one-third the size of their anticipated passenger airliner and is hoped to fly in 2018. Both Japan Airlines and Virgin Group have invested in Boom. On 5 December 2017, Japan Airlines made an investment of US$10million for an option to purchase up to 20 Boom aircraft through a preorder arrangement. It is understood from their joint press release that Japan Airlines is also working with boom to refine the design of the aircraft and define the passenger experience (see Boomsupersonic, 2017b).

17.7.3 Relating Niche Aviation Operations to the Destination

The notion of adventure destinations was discussed earlier, with the example of Queenstown, New Zealand. However, unique activities that take place at a destination inevitably will affect the destination’s brand. In order to brand a destination, the marketer for a destination needs to emphasise the features and activities of a destination that differentiate it from others (Qu et al., 2011). Niche aviation operations can form part of this differentiation. For example, hot air ballooning has been identified as an important tourist activity that affects tourist associations with Turkey (Tasci et al., 2007) and Central Florida (Milman and Pizam, 1995). Even small and rural areas can be associated with niche aviation operations. For example, the ideal geographical and meteorological conditions in Linhares da Beira, Portugal make it ideal for paragliding (Costa and Chalip, 2005). There is also a relationship between a destination and whether certain types of niche aviation operations would be successful. The most obvious case in point is scenic tourism. For a scenic tourism offering to be successful, there must be scenery in or around a destination that provides a memorable visual experience that tourists are willing to pay for. These interrelationships between niche aviation operations and a destination’s brand are less researched and will be an interesting area for future research.