Airport service quality and passenger satisfaction
Introduction
Airports face several challenges when serving passengers, for instance, as a result of terminal
congestion, uneven demand, exposure to local disruptions and external events, the
involvement of multiple staff and service providers, and fragmented passenger segments that
have diverse expectations regarding service quality.
Despite efforts to standardise several key processes at airports such as at check-in, bag drop,
security screening, passport control and departure gates, it means that, unlike in
manufacturing, where companies strive for ´zero-defect´ production, it is almost impossible
to avoid defects in service delivery. Instead, service failures are inevitable at airports, and
while failures with some service attributes may have little impact on overall satisfaction, the
impact of others may be significant and subsequently affect behavioural intentions such as
airport reuse and/or recommendation.
The latter is of particular interest given the ease with which passengers can now use online
review platforms to rate airports and potentially influence the decisions of other travellers or
stakeholders that have an interest in the airport.
In the last decade, with the increasing competitive environment, airports worldwide have
come a long way since the years of providing only airport operations services to a complex
and diversified businesses. The rapid changes in airport business model – from an industry
that was entirely owned and operated by the government to privatization and emerges of low-
cost carriers will give significant impact on airport operations and customer service
management.
Re-architecting the passenger experience requires discipline, investment, and a deeper
understanding of passengers, in terms of demographics, behaviours, attitudes, and needs. This
will create a significant opportunity for revenue, growth, and competitive positioning. The
main reason many airports are focusing more in entertaining the customer mainly because the
study reveals, "Happy passengers are super spenders" which acknowledge that when
passengers reported the highest levels of satisfaction with an airport, their retail spending will
increase by 45%. This will be a great impact to the airports business as many of the airports
worldwide have shifted their focus more towards the non-aeronautical revenues. Since then,
airports have made a lot of investment on various customer service initiatives and developing
plans to improve efficiency and to increase revenues from concessions and other airport
services.
Customer Expectation vs Customer Satisfaction
Customer expectations are the needs, wants, and preconceived ideas of a customer about a
product or service. It can influence a customer's perception of the product or service and can
be created by previous experience, advertising, awareness of competitors, and brand image.
Customer satisfaction defines as an emotional state, their post-purchase reactions can involve
anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, neutrality, pleasure, or delight. As shown below, if
customer’s perception is better than expected, satisfaction level will be at the highest level
but if the service experience is less than the expected standard, the customers will dissatisfy
with the lowest satisfaction level.
Introduction
Airports face several challenges when serving passengers, for instance, as a result of terminal
congestion, uneven demand, exposure to local disruptions and external events, the
involvement of multiple staff and service providers, and fragmented passenger segments that
have diverse expectations regarding service quality.
Despite efforts to standardise several key processes at airports such as at check-in, bag drop,
security screening, passport control and departure gates, it means that, unlike in
manufacturing, where companies strive for ´zero-defect´ production, it is almost impossible
to avoid defects in service delivery. Instead, service failures are inevitable at airports, and
while failures with some service attributes may have little impact on overall satisfaction, the
impact of others may be significant and subsequently affect behavioural intentions such as
airport reuse and/or recommendation.
The latter is of particular interest given the ease with which passengers can now use online
review platforms to rate airports and potentially influence the decisions of other travellers or
stakeholders that have an interest in the airport.
In the last decade, with the increasing competitive environment, airports worldwide have
come a long way since the years of providing only airport operations services to a complex
and diversified businesses. The rapid changes in airport business model – from an industry
that was entirely owned and operated by the government to privatization and emerges of low-
cost carriers will give significant impact on airport operations and customer service
management.
Re-architecting the passenger experience requires discipline, investment, and a deeper
understanding of passengers, in terms of demographics, behaviours, attitudes, and needs. This
will create a significant opportunity for revenue, growth, and competitive positioning. The
main reason many airports are focusing more in entertaining the customer mainly because the
study reveals, "Happy passengers are super spenders" which acknowledge that when
passengers reported the highest levels of satisfaction with an airport, their retail spending will
increase by 45%. This will be a great impact to the airports business as many of the airports
worldwide have shifted their focus more towards the non-aeronautical revenues. Since then,
airports have made a lot of investment on various customer service initiatives and developing
plans to improve efficiency and to increase revenues from concessions and other airport
services.
Customer Expectation vs Customer Satisfaction
Customer expectations are the needs, wants, and preconceived ideas of a customer about a
product or service. It can influence a customer's perception of the product or service and can
be created by previous experience, advertising, awareness of competitors, and brand image.
Customer satisfaction defines as an emotional state, their post-purchase reactions can involve
anger, dissatisfaction, irritation, neutrality, pleasure, or delight. As shown below, if
customer’s perception is better than expected, satisfaction level will be at the highest level
but if the service experience is less than the expected standard, the customers will dissatisfy
with the lowest satisfaction level.
