The influence of airline service quality on passenger satisfaction and loyalty

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1754-2731.htm TQM
25,5

The influence of airline service quality on passenger satisfaction and loyalty

520

The case of Uganda airline industry
Juliet Namukasa
Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda
Abstract
Purpose – The general objective of this study was to examine the influence of airline service quality on passenger satisfaction and loyalty. To achieve this, the research was guided by four specific objectives to which data collection was effected mainly by interview method using fully structured questionnaires. Design/methodology/approach – The study used random sampling technique and it covered 303 respondents on international flights using Entebbe International Airport. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences 16, were w2 was used to test the hypothesis and regression analysis was performed to examine the relationships between variables.
Findings – Findings indicated that the quality of pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight services had a statistically significant effect on passenger satisfaction. In addition to that, passenger satisfaction as a mediating variable also had a significant effect on passenger loyalty. It was noted that passenger satisfaction differed from person to person as some were more interested in off board facilities, others onboard, others in the quality of food while others wanted more extra luggage.
Originality/value – It was recommended that airline management should consider developing various strategies for improving service quality based on demographic characteristics of the customers such as occupation, age, gender and education level.
Keywords Customer loyalty, Customer satisfaction, Airline service quality, Competitiveness,
Airlines, Uganda
Paper type Research paper

The TQM Journal
Vol. 25 No. 5, 2013 pp. 520-532 r Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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