Measurement model of passengers’ expectations of airport service quality

Abstract

The Thai aviation industry is projected to maintain steady growth due to an increase in flights and passengers, which will be supported by expanded air transport infrastructure. Along with handling the logistical demands imposed by increased traffic, airports must improve their quality of services, efficiency, and attentiveness to passengers’ needs so as to maintain high customer ratings. The objective of this study was to create a model for measuring airport quality by using confirmatory factor analysis to identify passengers’ expectations. The sample consisted of 1037 randomly selected passengers flying on domestic Thai airlines. The resulting model consists of seven dimensions of service quality: security, check-in, wayfinding, airport environment, access, arrival services, and airport facilities. This set of dimensions is complementary to previous research and can help airport regulators to better understand the actual needs of airport users and plan airport development accordingly. To strengthen Thailand’s economy within a framework of sustainable growth, it is important to provide passengers with more attractive services so that they will become repeat customers.

Keywords

• Airport service quality
• Passengers’ expectation
• Airport developments
• Quality management
• Confirmatory factor analysis