Havayolu Taşımacılığında Hizmet Kalitesinin Kurumsal İmaj, Müşteri Memnuniyeti ve Müşteri Sadakati Üzerindeki Etkisi (The Effect of Service Quality on Airline Transportation on Corporate Image, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty)

Abstract

Purpose – Airline service quality has become the most important element of competition in the air transport sector as a result of the increase in the number of enterprises and fleet sizes and the opening of new destinations. Changing the needs and desires of the customers with the effect of globalization and the activation of information technologies make it more difficult to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of service quality on corporate image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In the literature review, a study examining the effect of service quality on corporate image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty could not be found. This study aims to contribute to the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The population of the study consists of 260 international passengers departing from Istanbul of an internationally recognized airline. The presence of passengers to different destinations on the international lines where the questionnaire forms are applied and the different characteristics of the passengers reinforce the representation ability of the sample universe. The data on the international passengers who prefer to participate in the study voluntarily were obtained through a face-to-face survey. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. Findings – The findings of the study revealed that trust and empathy, one of the sub-dimensions of airline service quality, positively affected the corporate image. Physical appearance, reliability and empathy dimensions were found to be effective in achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty in air transportation. Discussion – The study supports previous studies in the literature related to service quality, corporate image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The willingness, one of the sub-factors of airline service quality, was predicted to have a significant regulatory impact on corporate image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. However, the results obtained in the study showed no positive effect.