<b>Determining Repurchase Intentions of Airline Passengers: Role of Cabin Crew Competence and Passenger Satisfaction</b>

Abstract

Through the lens of effect-as-information theory, this study develops and evaluates a mediation model aiming to understand the role of interpersonal and professional competence of airline cabin crew in determining repurchase intentions of passengers. The model associates the perceived competencies of cabin crew with passenger satisfaction which leads to the repeat patronage. After initial screening for the type of flight and cabin class, 303 valid responses were used for further analysis. Moreover, in coherence with Partial Least Square (PLS) method, goodness-of-fit for the proposed model, predictive relevance of endogenous variables, composite reliability and discriminant validity of the measurement scale was established before conducting mediation analysis. The results supported the premise that the positive direct-effect (26%) of crew competence on repurchase intentions is significant and with the inclusion of passenger satisfaction as a mediator, this association yields even a stronger impact i.e., 67%. These findings significantly contribute to the service-management literature by introducing a framework and testing a unique nexus among the study variables that is previously not explored in aviation industry. In the end, practical implications are discussed, few limitations of the study are acknowledged and some possible future research endeavors are also advised that can be pursued while using the proposed framework.