Assessment of basic airline service in Nigeria

Abstract

This study assesses the basic airline inhibitors available in the fare classes. It focused on domestic and international passengers that arrive at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja. Information was gathered from domestic and foreign passengers who had post-purchase experience and had used the airline's services more than once. The primary data were obtained concurrently from arrival passengers at the two major international airports in Lagos and Abuja using an electronic questionnaire through a survey. The populations of the study were a total of international and domestic passengers in MMIA and NAIA for August 2019. E-questionnaire was distributed to the respondents through a multistage sampling technique, and the data were analyzed descriptively with Relative Importance Index (RII). The study found that baggage permission, permission to communicate with loved ones via telephone during flight, and availability of hot towels after boarding and before landing were the basic service inhibitors for economy class. In addition, baggage allowance, provision of five-star meals, and the presence of digital TV were the basic service inhibitors for business class. It is pertinent to note that since the study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the passengers' perception of the basic service inhibitors, especially the availability of hot towels after boarding and before landing, will be influenced by COVID-19 measures. This study identified the basic airline inhibitors available in the economy and business class tickets available among international and domestic airlines in Nigeria. This study adopts the EKB post-consumption model to understand passengers' evaluation of airline services in predicting passengers' purchases based on the basic airline inhibitors available in the economy and business class tickets available among international and domestic airlines in Nigeria.