Background & Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the factors affecting the safety efficiency of airlines by utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method.
Methodology: a wide range of attempts has been made that firstly through using literature review, a set of inputs and outputs measures can be extracted proportionate to the subject of the research. Using the Fuzzy Delphi Method and taking advantage of the viewpoints of the experts having activities in the field of aviation, including pilots, engineers and especially aviation safety experts, inputs and outputs indexes are identified and appropriately defined. For weighting and measuring indicators obtained, special vector method is used. Finally, the safety efficiency of seven airlines is calculated and evaluated by using of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method within the framework of window analysis technique in 3 state of the constant ratio to scale, variable ratio to scale, non-increasing ratio to scale and output oriented approach within a five – year period.
Findings: The results show that manpower, fixed capital and current costs are the effective inputs and financial and service efficiency are the desired outputs. In addition, the biggest role in the inputs, belongs to the pilots and in the outputs, the ratio of the number of flights without accidents or incidents to the total number of flights of the company are the most important criteria. On the other hand, the highest stability in safety efficiency is related to airline number 3 with a value of 1, and the lowest amount is assigned to airlines number 5 and 7 with a value of about 50 percent.
Conclusion: Reduction of surplus human resource, making domestic flights more profitable, transfer of ownership and use of leased planes with shorter average life, and unifying of airlines can be considered as solutions.