Evaluation of passengers' expectations and satisfaction in the airline industry: an empirical performance analysis of online reviews

PurposeVariations in customer expectations pose a challenge to service quality improvement in the airline industry. Understanding airline customers' expectations and satisfaction help service providers improve their offerings. The extant literature examines airline passengers' expectations in isolation, neglecting the overall impact of online reviews on service quality improvement. This paper systematically evaluates the airline industry's passengers' expectations and satisfaction using expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and the SERVQUAL framework. The paper analyzes online reviews to examine the relationship between airline service quality attributes and passengers' satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe SERVQUAL framework was employed to examine the effects of customer culture, the reason for traveling, and seat type on customer's expectations and satisfaction across a large sample of airline customers.FindingsA total of 17,726 observations were gathered from the Skytrax review website. The lowest satisfaction ratings were from passengers from the USA, Canada and India. Factors that affect perceived service performance include customer service, delays and baggage management. Empathy and reliability have the biggest impact on the perceived satisfaction of passengers.Research limitations/implicationsThis research increases understanding of the consumer expectations through analysis of passengers' online reviews. Results are limited to a small sample of airline industries.Practical implicationsThis study provides airlines with valuable information to improve customer service by analyzing online reviews.Social implicationsThis study provides the opportunity for airline customers to gain better services when airline companies utilize the findings.Originality/valueThis paper offers insights into passengers' expectations and their perceived value for money in relation to seat types. Previous studies have not investigated value for money as a construct for passengers' expectations and satisfaction relative to service quality dimensions. This paper addresses this need.