How Quality is Measured in the Air Transportation Industry

Abstract

Purpose – In the air transportation industry people are paying an increasing attention to the service quality, which became in recent years an important marketing requirement as a consequence of the highly competitive market among air carriers. The general objective of this paper is to analyze the concept of quality in the air transportation sector and to find out the different approaches of how quality is being measured.

To achieve this objective, the research analyzes both the most common model of measuring quality as well as publicly available secondary data and indexes.

Methodology – For that purpose, a literature review of journals included in the database Scopus has been carried out, considering the period of years from 1997 to 2014, as well as publicly available data.

Findings – Findings indicated that items included in pre-flight, in-flight and equally post-flight services have a fundamental impact on the passenger satisfaction and their perception. The most important parameters corresponding to service quality have been factors such as airline employees, baggage handling and punctuality (on-time performance/on-time arrival), as well as passenger satisfaction.

Contribution – Airline companies are increasing the prominence they place on the quality they provide their customers. This research aims to investigate and examine parameters which have been used by several authors and also publicly available indexes for defining service quality in the air transportation industry.

Keywords: Air Transportation, Quality, SERVQUAL, Quality Indexes, Airlines

JEL Classification: L83