Revival of the Aviation Industry in the Post-COVID Era - With Special Reference to Passengers Satisfaction in Domestic Airlines of India

Abstract

India is the ninth-largest global aviation market, handling 121 million domestic passengers and its contribution to national GDP is 5%(2). The aviation sector has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic but since mid-2022, it started reviving as the severity of the pandemic gradually slowed down. Investors, Airlines, Government, and Regulators are extra cautious about the safety protocols, regulations and passengers satisfaction in the post-COVID era. So far, no research has studied the passengers satisfaction level with all the new initiatives taken by Indian domestic airlines. Our empirical study addresses this gap by adopting a mixed method based on a survey of 224 passengers and a content analysis of 300 online reviews on domestic airlines. Important crucial inflight measures impacting passenger satisfaction are assessed through the qualitative study based on passengers feedback using Importance-performance analysis. The study has also validated the impact of most crucial inflight experiences on satisfaction through an SEM model. The findings have shown that airline passengers are largely satisfied with the Relationship quality with crew members and Safety and in-flight services but are not comfortable and secure with the in-flight ambient factors.