Satisfaction with airline service quality: familiarity breeds contempt

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate frequency-of-flight issues and the differences between frequent and non-frequent flyers’ levels of satisfaction and the importance attributed to overall airline service quality and select attributes. The results indicate that the level of satisfaction with overall airline quality and select attributes decrease the more passengers fly. Conversely, the level of importance attributed to airline amenities increased with flight frequency. Perceptions of airline quality may vary between different nationalities and different socioeconomic groups. Differences between the short- and long-haul flights, as well as domestic and international services could also exist. Airline managers need to foster loyalty by improving passengers’ airline experience. This could be achieved by differentiating airline services to the segmented groups of passengers. However, a number of airlines suffer from a business culture where fuel and labour costs are more important than customer satisfaction.