International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

The Impact of Service Quality on Passenger Satisfaction and Loyalty in the Indian Aviation Industry


Affiliations
1 Associate Professor, School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India
2 PhD Research Scholar, School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India
3 Professor and HOD, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, CT University, Ludhiana Punjab, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Recently, air industry has been focusing on a continuous need and importance for improvement in the quality of services so as to provide maximum satisfaction to the passengers In fact, Being dynamic and customer centric in nature, airline business always has scope for innovation in the service operation. The efficiency of airlines majorly depends on service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The current paper therefore examines the variety of factors involved with quality of airline services which have direct and significant relationship with the satisfaction of airline passengers. Due to the rapid development and competition of service quality, both in developed and developing nations it has become crucial for the airlines to measure and evaluate the quality of service on a regular basis. There have been many characteristics identified by the brand managers working for airlines industry to consistently please their customers. Efforts have been taken for developing mechanisms in order to monitor customer satisfaction to promote their loyalty towards airline brands. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the impact of passengers perceived service quality, on satisfaction and loyalty. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to analyze the data collected from 154 passengers travelling on domestic airlines from Indira Gandhi International (I.G.I) airport Delhi. The results of the study indicate that service quality passenger satisfaction is significantly and positively related to loyalty. Also, passenger satisfaction has found to be an important mediator between perceived service quality and passenger loyalty.

Keywords

Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, Airlines, India
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modelling in practice a review and recommended two step approaches. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.

  • Aksoy, S., Atilgan, E., & Akinci, S. (2003). Airline services marketing by domestic and foreign firms: Differences from the customers’ viewpoint. J. Air Transp. Manag., 9, 343-351.

  • Atilgan, E., Akinci, S., & Aksoy, S. (2003). Mapping service quality in the tourism industry. Managing Service Quality, 13(5), 412-422.

  • Carman, J. M. (1990). Consumer perceptions of service quality: An assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions. Journal of Retailing, 66(2), 27-45.

  • Chand, M. (2010). Measuring the service quality of Indian tourism destinations: An application of SERVQUAL model. Int. J. Services Technology and Management, 13(3&4), 218-233.

  • Chen, F. Y., & Chang, Y. H. (2005). Examining airline service quality from a process perspective. Journal of Air Transport Management, 11, 79-87.

  • Chen, C. M., Lee, H. T., Chen, S. H., & Huang, T. H. (2011). Tourist behavioral intentions in relation to service quality and customer satisfaction in Kinmen National Park, Taiwan. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13(5), 416-432.

  • Chow, C. K. W., & Tsui, W. H. K. (2017). Organizational learning, operating costs and airline consolidation policy in the Chinese airline industry. Journal of Air Transport Management, 63, 108-118. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jairtraman.2017.06.018

  • Dostaler, I., & Flouris, T. (2006). Stuck in the middle revisited: The case of the Airline industry. Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research. doi:doi:10.15394/jaaer.2006.1502

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 1149-1160. doi:https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.41.4.1149

  • Gursoy, D., Chen, M. H., & Kim, H. Y. (2005). The US airlines relative positioning based on attributes of service quality. Tourism Management, 26, 57-67.

  • Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Mena, J. A. (2012). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci., 40, 414-433.

  • Heymann, M. (2019). The changing value equation: Keeping customers satisfied while meeting bottom-line objectives in the service industry. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 38(6), 24-30. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ joe.21964

  • Hutahayan, B., & Wahyono, W. (2019). A review and research agenda in business model innovation. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 13(3), 264-287.

  • Power, J. D. (2017). North America airline satisfaction study. Retrieved from https://www.jdpower.com/business/travel-and-hospitality/north-america-airline-satisfaction-study

  • Kim, W. G., Lee, Y. K., & Yoo, Y. J. (2006). Predictors of relationship quality and relationship outcomes in luxury restaurants. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 30(2), 143-169.

  • Karamata, E., Chroneos-Krasavac, B., & Soldic-Aleksic, J. (2017). Marketing implications of loyalty programs on customer relationship management within the airline industry. Marketing, 48(1), 30-40. doi:https://doi.org/10.5937/ markt1701030K

  • Law, C. (2017). The study of customer relationship management in Thai airline industry: A case of Thai travellers in Thailand. Journal of Airline and Airport Management, 7(1), 13-42. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jairm.86

  • Lee, M. J. (2017). The influence of corporate social responsibility on customer-company identification and customer loyalty in the airline industry. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 31(1), 123-136. doi:10.21298/ijthr.2017.01.31.1.123

  • Li, W., Yu, S., Pei, H., Zhao, C., & Tian, B. (2017). A hybrid approach based on fuzzy AHP and 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic method for evaluation in-flight service quality. J. Air Transp. Manag., 60, 49-64.

  • MacLennan, A. (2014, February 4). 3 Business strategies reshaping the airline industry. Retrieved from https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/04/3-business-strategies-reshaping-the-airline-indust.aspx

  • Martinez Caro, L., & Martinez Garcia, J. A. (2008). Developing a multidimensional and hierarchical service quality model for travel agency industry. Tourism Management, 29, 706-720.

  • Mason, K. J. (2001). Marketing low-cost airline services to business travellers. Journal of Air Transport Management, 7(2), 103-109.

  • O’Connell, J. F., & Williams, G. (2005). Passengers perceptions of low cost airlines and full service carriers: A case study involving Ryan Air, Aer Lingus, Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management, 11(4), 259-272.

  • Park, J.-W., Robertson, R., & Wu, C.-L. (2004). The effect of airline service quality behavioural intentions: A Korean case study. Journal of Air Transport Management, 10, 435-439.

  • Park, J. W., Robertson, R., & Wu, C. L. (2005). Investigating the effects of airline service quality on airline image and passengers’ future behavioral intentions: Finding from Australian international air passengers. J. Tour. Study, 16(1), 1-11.

  • Prentice, C., Maria, S., & Loureiro, C. (2017). An asymmetrical approach to understanding configurations of customer loyalty in the airline industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 38, 96-107. doi:https://doi.org/10.10 16/j.jretconser.2017.05.005

  • Rajaguru, R. (2016). Role of value for money and service quality on behavioural intention: A study of full service and low cost airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management, 53, 114-122.

  • Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Zimmermann, L. (2011). Customer satisfaction with commercial airlines: The role of perceived safety and purpose of travel. J. Mark. Theor. Pract., 19(4), 459-472.

  • Ryan, C., & Cliff, A. (1997). Do travel agencies measure up to customer expectations? An empirical investigation of travel agencies service quality as measured by SERVQUAL. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 6(2), 1-32.

  • Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2004). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling.

  • Saleh, F., & Ryan, C. (1991). Analyzing service quality in the hospitality industry using the SERVQUAL model. Service Industries Journal, 11(3), 324-343.

  • Szwarc, P. (2005). Researching customer satisfaction & loyalty: How to find out what people really think. Kogan Page, London.

  • Raykov, T., & Marcoulides, G. A. (2000). A method for comparing completely standardized solutions in multiple groups. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 7(2), 292-308.

  • Wu, H.-C., & Cheng, C. C. (2013). A hierarchical model of service quality in the airline industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 20, 13-22. 10.1016/j.jhtm.2013.05.001

  • Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31-46.


Abstract Views: 247

PDF Views: 0




  • The Impact of Service Quality on Passenger Satisfaction and Loyalty in the Indian Aviation Industry

Abstract Views: 247  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Sandeep Walia
Associate Professor, School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India
Dharminder Sharma
PhD Research Scholar, School of Hotel Management and Tourism, Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India
Amit Mathur
Professor and HOD, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, CT University, Ludhiana Punjab, India

Abstract


Recently, air industry has been focusing on a continuous need and importance for improvement in the quality of services so as to provide maximum satisfaction to the passengers In fact, Being dynamic and customer centric in nature, airline business always has scope for innovation in the service operation. The efficiency of airlines majorly depends on service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The current paper therefore examines the variety of factors involved with quality of airline services which have direct and significant relationship with the satisfaction of airline passengers. Due to the rapid development and competition of service quality, both in developed and developing nations it has become crucial for the airlines to measure and evaluate the quality of service on a regular basis. There have been many characteristics identified by the brand managers working for airlines industry to consistently please their customers. Efforts have been taken for developing mechanisms in order to monitor customer satisfaction to promote their loyalty towards airline brands. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to investigate the impact of passengers perceived service quality, on satisfaction and loyalty. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to analyze the data collected from 154 passengers travelling on domestic airlines from Indira Gandhi International (I.G.I) airport Delhi. The results of the study indicate that service quality passenger satisfaction is significantly and positively related to loyalty. Also, passenger satisfaction has found to be an important mediator between perceived service quality and passenger loyalty.

Keywords


Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, Airlines, India

References