The effect of flight delay on customer loyalty intention: The moderating role of emotion regulation

Airline service delays have received increasing media attention and can result in negative public comments. This study examines the relationship among perceived wait time, negative emotions (anger and worry) and loyalty intention, and the moderating effects of two types of emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and suppression). A total of 958 valid responses were collected from passengers who had experienced a flight delay. The results reveal that perceived wait time is positively related to feelings of anger and worry, which in turn, negatively influence future loyalty intentions. Importantly, results indicate emotional reappraisal alleviates the effect of perceived wait time on elicitation of anger and worry. Emotional suppression, on the other hand, reduces the influence of negative emotions on loyalty intentions. This study is one of the first to examine how emotion regulation strategies can moderate the negative effect of flight delay on loyalty intention. It contributes to the knowledge by providing a validated empirical model of how customers react to a service delay experience. Implications and recommendations for future research are provided.