Service quality and customer satisfaction of a UAE-based airline: An empirical investigation

This paper investigates the linkages among service quality, service provider image, customer expectations, perceived value, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in a Dubai-based airline. Initially, the determinants of service quality were identified utilizing the SERVQUAL framework with some modification. Service quality was then used as an antecedent to measure customer satisfaction, a condition which can bring about brand loyalty. In a research initiative using a quantitative approach, data from 253 questionnaires was analyzed. Using structure equation modeling, the data analysis suggests that service quality, perceived value, and brand image have a positive significant impact on customer satisfaction, which can in turn lead to brand loyalty. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Service quality and price perception of service: Influence on word-of-mouth and revisit intention

Drawing on an overarching framework of marketing theory, this study develops and tests an integrated model of service quality that explicates the affective mechanisms through which service quality is associated with price perception of service (e.g., monetary price and behaviour price), word of mouth (WOM) and revisit intention. In a sample of 484 low-cost airline passengers, we found service quality to be related to increased price perception of service as a result of increasing passengers' WOM, which also creates success in this regard by increasing their revisit intention. Moreover, it is not surprising that there was a positive relationship between service quality and WOM mediated by perceived value of monetary price. The theoretical and empirical implications of these results are discussed.     

Investigating passengers’ intentions to use technology-based self check-in services

As more and more airlines have introduced technology-based self check-in services, it has become increasingly important to understand the factors affecting airline passengers’ attitudes toward this new form of check-in services and also their intentions, especially from Asian passengers’ perspectives. An empirical study was conducted among Taiwanese airline passengers using the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the basic research model while considering additional factors for further analysis such as external stimuli, perceived service quality, perceived behavioral control, need for service, and perceived risk. The findings revealed that attitude and external stimuli best explain passengers’ behavioral intentions to use the kiosks, whereas perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have little effect on their intentions. These findings suggest that airlines in Taiwan should persuade passengers to acquire a more positive attitude toward the new check-in kiosks and should consider implementation of incentive strategies in encouraging passengers to adopt the self check-in service.     

Passenger perceptions of service quality: Korean and Australian case studies

This paper investigates air passengers’ perceptions of 11 factors that may influence their buying behaviour namely, in-flight service, reservation-related service, airport service, reliability, employee service, flight availability, perceived price, passenger satisfaction, perceived value, airline image, and overall service quality. Analysis of variance and an independent sample t-test are applied to data collected from Korean and Australian international air passengers. The results reveal that passenger perceptions are significantly different across airlines, seat classes, and usage frequencies.     

The impact of an aircraft's service environment on perceptions of in-flight food quality

Airlines are currently striving to improve the quality and quantity of in-flight food, because research has shown that catering is a key attribute for a customer's satisfaction with airline service quality. But the role of an airline's service environment in forming customer perceptions about food quality has not yet been properly investigated. Using electronic word-of-mouth data from N = 3996 airline passengers, this study deploys a linear regression model at multiple levels to relate perceived in-flight food quality with both the overall service environment and its formative components. The results clearly unveil the importance of an aircraft's service environment on perceived in-flight catering quality; perceptions of food quality are primarily influenced by the quality of cabin staff service, followed by entertainment and seat quality. Instead of continuing with the current practice of signing up top chefs to improve menus, airlines may instead consider putting their management focus on service improvements.     

Investigating the effects of service recovery quality elements on passengers' behavioral intention

This study intends to analyze how the elements of restoring the quality of airline service influences the airline image, recovery satisfaction, and behavioral intentions of airline passengers. For this testing, a survey was conducted on passengers with an experience of dissatisfaction of airline services. A total of 240 responses were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that among the recovery quality elements, promptness had a positive influence the image of the airline. Additionally, a recovered image of the airline had a positive influence on the recovery satisfaction and behavioral intention. The findings of this study may improve our understanding of consumer responses to the airline company's efforts to recover service failure.     

Market strategy development and innovation to strengthen consumer-based equity: The case of Brazilian airlines

A brand valued by passengers would be able to convey quality and credibility, adds value to air transport the service, and increases passengers' willingness to pay a premium for tickets. However, studies on consumer-based brand equity in the air transport sector have been scarce, especially in developing countries such as Brazil. This study examines the relationship between marketing strategies adopted by Brazilian airlines in the domestic market and the strengthening of consumer-based brand equity (particularly brand associations with brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand loyalty). A literature review and a survey of 33 managers from Brazil's top airlines were conducted to develop the study's conceptual model. To empirically test the model, another survey was conducted on 480 passengers at six airports in the central western, southern, and southeastern regions of Brazil and the data analyzed via structural equation modeling. The results show that joint investments are necessary for innovation in service, price promotion, and event sponsorship in order to strengthen the key consumer-based brand dimensions. This study provides a basis for the development of future studies on passenger-based brand equity and helps airlines target their marketing strategies with maximum effectiveness.     

Predicting airline passengers’ loyalty using artificial neural network theory

The study explores a model for predicting airline loyalty using the antecedents indicated in previous studies. Data was collected using a questionnaire distributed to 614 domestic air passengers using the snowball sampling method. The measurement tool had 16 scale items constructed on the recommendations of previous studies. Passenger satisfaction, airline service quality, passenger perceived value, and airline image are identified as determinants for airline loyalty. The predictive analytical approach of Artificial Neural Network theory and covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling for determining causality is employed in the study. The artificial neural network model predicts airline loyalty with 89% accuracy. Sensitivity analysis suggests passenger satisfaction as the most significant predictor of airline loyalty. The causal study supports that passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between airline service quality and airline loyalty.     

Airline passengers’ continuance intention towards online check-in services: The role of personal innovativeness and subjective knowledge

This study integrates the individual psychology constructs (personal innovativeness and subjective knowledge) with the Technology Acceptance Model to develop and test a model of airline passengers’ continuance intention towards online flight check-in services. Predictions were tested with data from a sample of airline passengers in China who have experienced the online check-in service. The findings of this study demonstrate that airline passengers’ innovativeness and subjective knowledge have a direct effect on continuance intention, and an indirect effect through partial mediation of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Assessing the effects of perceived value (utilitarian and hedonic) in LCCs and FSCs: Evidence from South Korea

In the airline industry, passengers choose and buy service based on their perception of which airline delivers better value. Thus, it is important to compare two types of airlines, Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) and Full Service Carriers (FSCs), to measure how much their product or service is worth and the effect of perceived value on passengers' purchase decisions. This study examined the relationship between perceived value, satisfaction, and purchase intention in both FSCs and LCCs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were performed for data analysis. Our findings reveal that passenger satisfaction in LCCs is affected by hedonic value and utilitarian value, but passengers' future purchase intention is not dependent on satisfaction even when passengers are satisfied. In FSCs, moreover, utilitarian value is not a significant factor for satisfaction and purchase intention. This research provides implications for airline marketers and directions for future research.     

Do global airline alliances influence the passenger's purchase decision?

This study examines the influences of airline global alliances on the purchase intention of international air passengers in Taiwan. The findings indicate positive relationships between global airline alliances, brand equity, brand preference and purchase intention with a moderation effect of involvement impacting on the relationship between global airline alliances and brand equity, and the relationship between brand preferences and purchase intention. In particular, for highly involved passengers, the effect of global airline alliances on brand equity, and brand preference on purchase intention, is significant.     

An investigation of service quality,customer satisfaction and loyalty in China's airline market

Customer loyalty is a source of competitive advantage and an important intangible asset to any organisations, but empirical evidence from China's airline market regarding the determinants of passenger satisfaction and loyalty is lacking. This paper investigates the service quality of four major airlines in China's domestic market and explores the links between their service quality and customer satisfaction, as well as the conditions under which airlines can retain existing passengers. In line with previous studies, service quality variables are significant factors influencing customer satisfaction levels. However, satisfactory service was not found to result in higher customer loyalty among business travellers. In comparison to Hainan Airlines, passengers who travelled with Air China, China Southern and China Eastern were more likely to switch to an alternate carrier, indicating lower levels of brand loyalty. In addition, the frequent flyer programs (FFPs) have been largely a failure for the four major airlines in terms of increasing customer loyalty, as revealed in this study. It is necessary to draw distinctions between business and leisure travellers when studying the determinants of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Ticket pricing had a positive and significant effect on passengers' overall satisfaction and in turn strengthened customer loyalty among leisure travellers, but achieved no impact on the satisfaction and loyalty of business passengers. Some demographic variables such as gender, income and education are statistically significant for one group of passengers but not for another in the probit models estimated. It is suggested that different marketing strategies may be used to target different market segments to improve customer loyalty.     

The effect of airline service quality on passengers’ behavioural intentions: a Korean case study

This paper seeks to improving our understanding of air passengers’ decision-making processes by testing a conceptual model that considers service expectation, service perception, service value, passenger satisfaction, airline image, and behavioural intentions simultaneously. For this testing, path analysis via maximum likelihood estimator is applied to data collected from Korean international air passengers. Service value, passenger satisfaction, and airline image are each found to have a direct effect on air passengers’ decision-making processes.     

Assessing customer citizenship behaviors in the airline industry: Investigation of service quality and value

Along with the emergence of a new marketing paradigm (service-dominant logic), the post-consumption behavior has been highlighted. Accordingly, the purposes of this study are to identify four types of the consumer citizenship behavior, including advocacy, feedback, helping and tolerance, and to examine two direct and indirect determinants of it. Then, a moderating effect of the air passenger-related factor (domestic vs. international trips) has been assessed on the proposed relationships. The results of this paper suggest decomposing two dimensions of service quality (intangible and tangible resources of airline services) which indirectly affect the consumer citizenship behavior via perceived value. Those passengers who took domestic trips are more likely to have the stronger relationships than travelers who carried out international trips.     

FIPIA with information entropy: A new hybrid method to assess airline service quality

This study proposes “FIPIA with information entropy” as a new, hybrid method to assess airline service quality by identifying the most important priorities for airline passengers and producing recommendations to airline management for optimal resource allocation to improve service quality and customer satisfaction. The proposed method is an improvement over IPA, IPIA and FIPA methods, through the introduction of information entropy and fuzzy logic to the analysis of importance, performance and impact dimensions of airline service quality to improve interpretability and actionability of analysis results. This study also offers airline managers a list of what they should improve in resource allocation in order to increase service quality considering customer satisfaction and create value by managing the relational capital more effectively. The new hybrid method was field-tested by administering a 26-item questionnaire to passengers of a major airline operator, analyzing the responses using the Importance-Performance-Impact Analysis (IPIA) method, fuzzy logic and information entropy. The analysis revealed four main dimensions of airline service quality, namely reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness with 17 constituent attributes. The case study revealed that (1) resource allocation was adequate only on four attributes; (2) seven service quality attributes were identified as needing further management focus on resource allocation; (3) six service quality attributes received more resources than necessary which should be shifted to other attributes; (4) dimensions of reliability and tangibles needed more focus than others. The proposed hybrid method of FIPIA with information entropy can be employed for any industry where service quality depends on multiple attributes.     

A study on the impact of airline service delays on emotional reactions and customer behavior

This study is intended to identify the influence of service delays on emotional responses and customer behavior. For this research, a survey was conducted on airline passengers that experienced service delays. A total of 395 respondents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. According to the analysis results, service delays positively influenced negative emotions and negatively influenced repurchase intention. In addition, service delays positively influenced negative word-of-mouth. This study provides a basic knowledge on how airlines can develop their service strategies to make good use of the motivating effect of service delays on emotional responses and behavioral intentions.     

Are low-cost carrier passengers less likely to complain about service quality?

Complaints made by airline passengers to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are often used in academic research and in the media as a proxy for the quality of commercial air service in the United States. In this paper, we test whether passengers of network carriers are more likely to make a complaint to the DOT about service quality failures than passengers of low-cost carriers. Through a fixed-effects regression, we find that passengers of low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines are less likely to complain about service quality than passengers of network carriers like United Airlines, given the same levels of service quality and controlling for yearly fixed effects. This behavior could be explained by price-based expectations of service quality, lack of information about how to complain to the DOT, or qualitative differences in front-line customer service between airlines.     

Evaluating frequent flyer programs from the air passengers' perspective

Frequent flyer programs are used as a common strategy in the airline industry. They can be defined as a service quality attribute that consists of some redemption of free flight miles and can determines the selection of airlines. It has been argued that they can act as an entry barrier, but limited attention has been paid to assessing the impact of this strategy on passengers’ perceptions of service. They are generally part of broad airline service quality parameters and thus can creates dilemmas for airline managers, passengers and regulators regarding their added value, costs and competitive effects on industrial organization.     

Examining airline service quality from a process perspective

Airline service is composed of a set of processes. Passengers may have distinct expectations at different stages of the service chain. In this study, air travel was divided into ground and in-flight service stages. We first examined the gap between passengers’ service expectations and actual service received and the gaps associated with passenger service expectations and the perceptions of these expectations by frontline managers and employees of a Taiwanese airline. Next, importance–performance analysis was used to construct service attribute evaluation maps to identify areas for improvement. Results revealed that these gaps did exist and passengers were more concerned about the responsiveness and assurance dimensions from airline frontline staff. The tangibles dimension was considered more important when evaluating in-flight service quality than when evaluating ground service quality.     

The effect of frequent flyer programs: A case study of the Korean airline industry

Frequent flyer programs are important for airlines in Korea in their marketing of services. This paper develops a conceptual model to investigate the effect of such programs by examining the relationships them and, airline service quality, pricing, passenger satisfaction, airline image, and airline selection. Path analysis is used to analyze data collected from Korean international air passengers. The results show that frequent flyer programs have direct and indirect effects on pricing, passenger satisfaction, airline image, and airline selection. In addition, their effects on passengers' selections are significantly different between Korean and foreign airlines.