Abstract
Customers are increasingly becoming aware of alternative offerings in the market place, and are thus more demanding in terms of their expectations pertaining to service delivery. As airlines in particular are vulnerable to competitors’ offerings, they should offer passengers high levels of service and ensure that passengers are satisfied with their service offering in an effort to build long-term relationships. Building long-term relationships is important due to the financial and social benefits it holds to both the business and its customer. This study investigates whether passenger satisfaction influences whether or not passengers have formed a long-term relationship with the airline they fly with most often. Data was collected from South African domestic passengers departing from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg by means of a convenience sample. Main findings from the study indicate that the majority of dissatisfied respondents have not formed a long-term relationship with the domestic airline, while satisfied respondents are more inclined to form a long-term relationship.
Highlights
Customers increasingly expect and demand high levels of service and satisfaction, resulting in businesses having to continuously provide high levels of customer service to satisfy customer needs (Jobber, 2004:462-463)
Results from this study indicated that slightly more respondents were satisfied with the overall service provided by the domestic airline they fly with most often than those who were dissatisfied
From the literature review it was established that it is essential for businesses to ensure customer satisfaction if they want to remain competitive (Kumar et al, 2008:176; Park, 2007:239), as customers who are satisfied are more likely to return to the business as opposed to dissatisfied customers who would probably switch to a competitor (Fečiková, 2004:57)
Summary
Customers increasingly expect and demand high levels of service and satisfaction, resulting in businesses having to continuously provide high levels of customer service to satisfy customer needs (Jobber, 2004:462-463). As Aggarwal (2005), McClay and Whelan (2004), and Temporal and Trott (2001:20) explain, a strong customer service orientation must exist in the whole business before relationships can be formed with customers. It is by building and maintaining relationships that businesses can improve their success in a competitive business environment (Mullins, Walker, Boyd & Larréché, 2005:11). It is for this reason that Rust and Chung (2006:570) suggest that it is important to research the connection between customer satisfaction and relationship formation in the service industry. Few studies on the effect of satisfaction on relationship formation in the airline industry have been conducted, none offered a South African perspective
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