Modeling of airline passenger loyalty: A comparison of leisure and business travelers

Abstract

Airline companies are being driven by competition to improve their service quality and marketing strategies; moreover, these factors are vital for developing a competitive advantage over other service providers. The present study investigated the structural correlation factors for a behavioral loyalty model of domestic airline passengers related to their traveling objectives. Structural equation modeling was utilized to create the model. The results of the model development revealed that service quality perception of passengers positively influenced their behavioral loyalty. In addition, service value and passenger satisfaction positively influenced behavioral loyalty among passengers as expressed with respect to word-of-mouth and repurchase intention. As a result, it was found that there was a significant difference among the traveling groups. This result indicated that airlines should develop a separate model in relation to traveling purpose, including a leisure-objective group and a business-objective group, to formulate suitable marketing strategies related to each traveling objective group.