Exploring passenger preferences in airline service attributes: A note

This paper examines passengers' valuations on airline service attributes using stated preference analysis in the direct flight air market between Taiwan and China. An experiment design reflecting the characteristics of low cost airlines is used to collect stated preference data from Taiwanese air passengers. Empirical results reveal not only the implicit values of service attributes but also the preference differences in attributes between business and non-business travelers.     

Modelling the preference for business charter in the cross-strait market

This paper aims at investigating business travelers' choice behavior between business charter (BC) and the business class of commercial airlines in the cross-strait market. This study applies the stated preference method and sets five scenarios with the combination of various levels of fares, waiting time, privacy and expedient clearance services and inflight communication equipment. Data were collected by purposive sampling and interviewing business travelers near the VIP centers, departure lounges, and the baggage claim areas of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. A sample with 420 business travelers from Taipei to Shanghai was collected. Then, the binary logit model was employed to analyze how service attributes influence Taiwanese business travelers' choice behavior between BC and business class. Estimation results indicate that fare is the most important factor. Other factors such as gender, seniority, and the number of business trips during the previous year remain significant on the probabilities of choosing BC. Additionally, five specific features of BC were set as dummy variables in the model. Those are transfer time saving, travel time controlling, client entertainment, customer visits and international conference attendance. All of them have positive effects on the preference for using BC.     

Simulation method for dispatching national border security manpower to mitigate manpower shortage

Recently, a record number of passengers have entered and exited Taiwan from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA). The number of passengers from Taiwan to mainland China has increased largely because of the improvement of cross-strait cultural interaction and other policies, as well as the opening of direct flights. Not only located in the transport hub of the East Asia Taoyuan International Airport is becoming more important and can provide 24 h Airport service, but also airport immigration officers must take 24 h shift to carry out the passenger document inspection requirement, Immigration officers can be fatigued by long shifts, thus negatively affecting border security clearance efficiency and work performance. Consequently, innovative management practices regarding immigration officers are necessary to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism. This study used system simulation Delphi interviews and a heuristic algorithm to determine the required number of airport immigration officers during a fixed passenger waiting time, for improving the efficiency and stability of airport immigration officers who work to consolidate the border security of the country. The results showed that the utilization of airport immigration officers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is higher than 97.99%, and their work hours have been reduced by more than 54.68%. These results proved that using a system simulation can reduce long work shifts and negligence, which can lead improved border security and airport service quality. Additionally, the simulation results that when the National Immigration Agency and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport implement the biometrics verification system for noncitizens, significant manpower shortages are expected. These shortages can cause complaints from customers and result in a negative image of the quality of airport service. Assigning priority to setting the E-GATE system to compensate for the lack of immigration officers would result in more efficient and effective border security.     

The opening of direct flights across the Taiwan Strait: the impact on the global role of Taiwan’s international airport

Scheduled direct flights between Taiwan and Mainland China were halted for six decades and restarted in December 2008. The Taiwan’s government has a policy of developing Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), the major international airport in Taiwan, as one of main hubs in East Asia, based on the airport’s access to Mainland China. To assess whether the airport is progressing toward meeting the set expectation, this study evaluates the changes in airline networks of the TPE after the opening of direct flights across the Taiwan Strait. The time-dependent earliest arrival time algorithm is applied to global flights in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Empirical evidence demonstrates that providing direct flights across the Taiwan Strait has significantly increased accessibility from TPE to airports in China, but did not improve the centrality of TPE. Additionally, the transfer dependency of TPE on other airports is increasing significantly. This result was based on two major reasons: the first involves the Chinese government’s refusal to allow Chinese citizens to use airports in Taiwan as transfer points to and from other countries and the second reflects the competitiveness among airports and airlines in the region. The key finding is that political exclusion of airline use by external governments via travel regulations adversely influences the development of an airport as a global hub.     

Passenger complaints under irregular airline conditions – cross-cultural study

Punctuality is seen as key component of airline service quality. This paper examines cross-cultural differences in passenger complaints regarding irregular airline conditions. Analysis of four clusters of air travelers in South Korea – from South Korea, Japan, China, and America – exhibit significantly differences in their attitudes suggestion important cultural variations.     

Perception and attitude of Hong Kong hotel guest‐contact employees towards tourists from Mainland China

In recent years, the majority of arrivals to Hong Kong, which were once dominated by the Western and Japanese markets, were replaced by arrivals from Mainland China. The number of tourists from Mainland China has overtaken others to become the largest single market for the territory. With its increasing significance, providing quality service to these visitors becomes crucial to the success of the tourism industry and of the hotel industry in particular. Unfortunately, the satisfaction rating of the Mainland visitors on hotel services in Hong Kong is reported to be relatively low when compared to those given by other major markets. It is suspected that the perception and attitudes of the service staff may influence their behaviour in serving customers. As such, this study conducted a survey questionnaire with 228 guest‐contact employees of hotels in Hong Kong. Results indicate that most respondents have a fairly positive perception towards the Mainland tourists in relation to the economic and financial benefits that they bring to Hong Kong. However, a majority of the respondents express negative perception and attitudes towards these tourists in respect to their appearance, personalities and behaviour. Despite some respondents indicating that they exhibit different service behaviour towards visitors from Mainland China and other countries, no major significant differences in their perception and attitudes were found in this study. It is recommended that various types of cross‐cultural training, such as sensitivity training and role playing, would be helpful to guest‐contact employees in enhancing their ability to be more objective and more tolerant of other people's behaviour. This study concludes that hotel employees, especially those who work as front‐line staff, must remain aware of their subjective judgments when dealing with guests and be more accepting of others. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel interval-valued fuzzy MCDM method for improving airlines’ service quality in Chinese cross-strait airlines

This paper presents an effective approach based on combining VIKOR, GRA, and interval-valued fuzzy sets to evaluate service quality of Chinese cross-strait passenger airlines via customer surveys. The proposed approach can enable decision-makers to understand the gaps between alternatives and aspired levels. An empirical study is used to establish a complete service quality evaluation framework for reducing the gaps to achieve the aspired level. Based on the gaps in priorities, it can help an airline to identify its own strengths and weaknesses in specific areas of passenger service to further improve service quality.     

Tourism demand in Hong Kong: income,prices, and visa restrictions

This paper examines the determinants of Hong Kong tourism demand for the top-three major tourist arrival countries, namely Mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan, with an error correction model. Specifically, this paper will examine the effects of relaxing the visa requirement, the launch of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), for Mainland Chinese tourists in 2003. Empirical results show that tourists are income-elastic and consider international tourism to be a luxury good. Tourists are more sensitive to changes in the nominal exchange rate than to changes in the foreign pricing level. The positive effect of the launch of the IVS for Mainland Chinese tourists outweighs the adverse impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on tourism demand for Hong Kong.     

Defining and monitoring the quality of shared-use transportation facilities in parks and recreation areas

Transportation networks in parks and recreation areas provide travelers recreation opportunities and often support multiple transportation modes (e.g., hiking, walking, biking). In recreation areas, the quality of transportation service may be monitored and evaluated differently than in traditional transportation contexts. However, few studies have examined approaches for defining and monitoring the quality of transportation service and recreation experiences. This study applies traffic monitoring models to monitor (1) the quality of transportation service through the Levels of Service (LOS) framework and (2) travelers’ recreation experiences through the indicators and standards framework simultaneously on the Burlington Bike Path (BBP), a typical shared-use transportation recreation facility in Vermont. Results identify the temporal pattern of visitors use and the mode splits between cyclists and pedestrians. Moreover, study results show that the majority of travelers use the BBP for recreation or mixed purpose of recreation and commute. Study results build quantitative relationships between LOS and indicators and standards of quality that will help inform management of transportation in the context of recreation. The indicators and standards framework can help define the thresholds of acceptable levels of transportation service through the LOS framework. The relationships between LOS and the indicators and standards framework help build a robust and fully parameterized transportation planning and management framework for parks and recreation areas. Study results suggest quantitative guidelines that can be used to evaluate and monitor the quality of transportation performance for shared-use paths in parks and recreation areas.     

Airline choice by passengers from Taiwan and China: A case study of outgoing passengers from Kaohsiung International Airport

Understanding what factors passengers consider when selecting an airline is critical, as airlines can utilize this information in market segmentation and marketing strategies. However, few studies have explored how passenger demographics and the nationality/type of carrier (full service or low-cost; regional or international) affect the choice factors of passengers when selecting airlines. The main objective of this study was to explore the airline choice factors considered by passengers, compare the choices of passengers with different demographics, and analyze which factors are emphasized by passengers from Taiwan and China when selecting airlines. We conducted a questionnaire survey of outgoing passengers at Kaohsiung International Airport in relation to 22 factors underlying their choice of airline. Using factor analysis, we identified the five factors: ground services, convenience, in-flight services, price, and travel availability. We then utilized cluster analysis to identify four groups, each concerned with price, comfort, convenience, and ground services, respectively. Nationality, age, income, flying frequency, and purpose of travel lead to differences in deciding which factors were considered by cross-strait passengers. Passengers of different nationalities concerned with different factors when selecting airlines. Our findings can add to the completeness of existing research as well as provide airlines with reference in developing marketing strategies for different customer groups.     

Analysis of shopping preference and satisfaction with airport retailing products

This paper studies passengers' responses to retail products at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Incorporating the passengers' demand factors, modified grey relational analysis is applied to establish the priority relations of product categories for shopping purposes and satisfaction. The results indicated that travelers valued the utility and souvenir characteristics of products. The youngest respondents tended to shop in souvenir and café stores. Satisfaction analysis showed higher rankings for brand-name, utility, and low-cost products, and low satisfaction levels on quality and price of café products.     

Exploring different nationality perceptions of airport service quality

In order to attain a sustainable competitive advantage, airports should strive to enhance multicultural passenger satisfaction through the provision of high quality services. The purpose of the current study is to determine the specific service quality components that can lead to increased traveler satisfaction in an international airport environment, and to evaluate the degree to which passenger perceptions of airport facilities, as well as levels of satisfaction, vary according to different nationalities. In order to achieve this objective, this paper examines the equivalence of service quality and satisfaction measures by applying the Rasch modelling technique. Airport service quality is found to be comprised of three distinct dimensions, namely “Servicescape and Image”, “Signage” and ”Services” and significant differences with service quality perceptions are exhibited among travelers of different nationalities. Overall, the results highlight the need to assess scale equivalence across different nationalities.     

Political risk assessment on air logistics hub developments in Taiwan

Political risk assessment has long been practiced by multinational corporations, but has been rarely used for air performance reviews. This study is a political risk assessment of the development of an air logistics hub in Taiwan, and thus examines the factors leading to physical property losses of air carriers based at the hub. It utilizes a checklist and a brainstorming session to identify risk factors, a 5×5 risk matrix to undertake a qualitative risk survey, and an analytical hierarchy process to assess the risk. The study concludes that micro- and macro-factors are approximately of equal importance to the development of an air hub in Taiwan. Issues relating to inland vehicle parking, air logistics infrastructure developments and the cross-strait relationship appear to be particularly crucial.     

Estimation of willingness-to-pay for premium economy class by type of service

This study aims to estimate the willingness-to-pay (WTP) to upgrade from economy to premium economy class by six types of services and to identify the socioeconomic and travel characteristics of international travelers affecting the WTP using the Tobit model assumed to be censored at zero. The results confirm that the travelers' WTP for the premium economy class in the long-haul travel is higher than those in the medium and the short-haul travels. However, the ratio of additional WTP to the economy class fare in the long-haul route is slightly lower than that in the medium-haul route. The results also present that international travelers have the highest WTP for increased seat width in the premium economy class service attribute, followed by increased seat pitch and upgraded in-flight meal service. Finally, the results indicate that the WTP to upgrade to premium economy class are proportional to the age or the income level of travelers. Furthermore, international travel frequency and the experience of premium economy class have a positive impact as well. This research can be a useful resource for analyzing international travelers’ WTP concerning the type of service and this information will be useful to policy makers in their efforts to determine their fare policies and the target audience for marketing premium economy class.     

Determinants of passengers’ choice of airline check-in services: A case study of American,Australian, Korean,and Taiwanese passengers

This paper investigates factors that influence whether air travelers’ choose conventional counter or self-service check-in, including kiosk and web check-in. It uses data collected from American, Australian, Korean, and Taiwanese passengers. The data suggests that a passenger’s choice of check-in service is strongly dependent on nationality and previous experiences of checking-in; i.e. a cultural bias exists in the behavior of passengers using airline check-in services. Taiwanese passengers prefer to use the conventional counter check-in service but Korean, Australian and American air travelers use more self-service check-in facilities. The analysis also highlights that passengers’ perceptions of the attributes of the check-in service significantly determine their choice of check-in option.     

Drivers of airline loyalty: Evidence from the business travelers in China

This paper examines the key factors that determine business traveler loyalty toward full-service airlines in China. Based on literature review and panel interview, ten airline attributes under three categories were derived: (a) operational factors: safety, punctuality, and aircraft; (b) competitive factors: frequency of flights, schedule, frequent flyer program, ticket price, and reputation; and (c) attractive factors: in flight food & drinks and in flight staff service. We surveyed 2000 Chinese business travelers on domestic flights, obtaining 462 usable questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that reputation, in-flight service, frequent flyer program, and aircraft have the greatest influence in driving airline loyalty.     

Assessing intercity multimodal choice behavior in a Touristy City: A factor analysis

This paper investigates influential factors in passengers' intercity multimodal choice behaviors in a touristy city. By collecting large individual-level data through a comprehensive field survey that was carried out at the major transportation hubs in Xi'an, China, we studied four travel modes of the surveyed travelers in this touristy city, including air, high-speed rail, traditional passenger train, and express bus. For factor analysis, 12 variables, including not only individual-related attributes but also ticketing methods and mental perceptions, were used as the independent factors after the correlation analysis and collinearity test. The regression relationships between the travel mode choice and the independent variables were studied using Bayesian multinomial logistic regression. The results indicate that those 12 factors have significant and various influences on passengers' mode choices. In particular, travel distance, fare rate, intercity travel time per hundred kilometers, quality of service, accessibility of transportation hubs, and ticketing methods have influential contributions for explaining the choice decision-makings. The findings demystify the effects of several unexplored factors in intercity multimodal travel choice behaviors and shed new light on formulating traffic management strategies for service providers and decision-makers in practice.     

The choice of air carrier, flight, and fare class

This paper reports the development and interpretation of air traveler choice models to gain insights into the tradeoffs air travelers make when they choose among different carriers, flights, and fare classes. Such insights can be used to support carrier decisions on flight scheduling, pricing, seat allocation, and ticket restrictions. This paper develops a conceptual framework and applies it to the choice of carrier, flight, and fare class as a basis for analyzing air travel demand in a competitive market. Model estimation results are used to quantify the importance of carrier preferences, market presence, quality of service, frequent flyer program membership, schedule convenience, and fares on carrier travel demand. The empirical results provide measures of the premium that business and leisure travelers are willing to pay to avoid schedule delays, to choose a carrier in which frequent-flyer program they participate, and to obtain the amenities and freedom from travel restrictions associated with higher fare classes.     

A modified VIKOR multiple-criteria decision method for improving domestic airlines service quality

This study applies a modified VIKOR method to improve service quality among domestic airlines in Taiwan. Our model allows decision-makers to understand the gaps between alternatives and aspired-levels in practice. A large sample is used to establish a complete service quality evaluation framework for reducing the gaps to achieve the aspired-level. We then applied the modified VIKOR method to establish the gaps in priorities between alternatives and aspired-levels. Finally, based on these gaps in priorities, we provide managerial implications to improve different carriers for satisfying the customers’ needs to achieve the aspired-level.     

A combined MCDM model based on DEMATEL and ANP for the selection of airline service quality improvement criteria: A study based on the Taiwanese airline industry

The aim of this study is to select airline service quality improvement criteria for the Taiwanese airline industry. Numerous factors such as low railway prices, the development of high-speed rail, increases in petroleum prices, increases in foreign airline competition, and the recent economic depression have led many airlines in Taiwan to encounter financial difficulties and even closure. Researchers have begun to identify critical service quality improvement criteria with the goal of increasing the competitive advantages of airlines. Most of the selected criteria, however, suffer from a major technical problem: all of the measurement dimensions are independent, leading to inadequate criteria for measuring service quality. Our calculations consider the interrelationships and effects among the evaluation dimensions and criteria to precisely rank and select criteria. The value of this study is that it provides airlines with a direction for measuring and improving their service quality with the goal of developing sustained competitive advantage over the long term.