Airlines

Service Quality Perceptions of DomesticAirline Consumers in India:

An Empirical Study*

Bhagyalakshmi Venkatesh1 & R. Nargundkar2

Abstract

Pricing and service quality are the key variables that decide the brand equity of each player in the airlineindustry. Existing literature suggests that measurement and management of service quality is the keyfor survival of airline companies. This research paper examines the service quality delivered by fourmajor airlines in India on the backdrop of stiff competition in the airline service sector. The process oftraveling on a domestic airline was divided into pre-flight, in- flight and post-flight experiences. Asurvey was conducted to find out the perceived service quality of frequent fliers on each of the fourairlines across a series of service performance variables. The airline brands were positioned in a perceptualspace, where the perceived service attributes were also mapped. Clear differences emerged among theairlines, with two of them perceived as being similar to each other, and the other two differing in manyrespects.

* Received April 12, 20061. Research Associate, Dept. of Management Studies, PESIT, 100 Ft Ring Road, Bangalore,

e-mail: [email protected]. Director-MBA Program, Dept. of Management Studies, PESIT, 100 Ft Ring Road,Bangalore,

e-mail: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION

India at present has twelve competingairlines in the domestic market as againsta single government owned airline in1991. According to McKinsey Quarterly(2005), the Indian aircraft market is theworld’s second largest commercialaircraft market. On-time performance andservice levels have risen dramatically andfares have dropped. Passenger traffic is

expected to grow by 20 percent annuallyover the next five years.

Only a small percentage of India’spopulation travels by air partly due tothe high costs of domestic flying.According to the Center for Asia PacificAviation (CAPA) consultancy, newplayers will help domestic passengernumbers. The players in the currentairline market include airlines like Air

114 Vilakshan, XIMB Journal of Management

Deccan with low-cost, low-fare and nofrills along with airlines like Kingfisher,which offers some frills, and premiumairline like Jet Airways. Competition hasbrought in some price advantages totravelers and has converted many railwaypassengers to airline travelers. This articleexamines customer satisfaction amongtravelers of four major domestic airlinesin India. Because of proliferated numberof players in the airline industry, airlinesmay enjoy new business opportunitiesalong with high competitive threats. Theobjective of this study is to understand thecustomer satisfaction levels of the fourmajor airlines viz. Jet Airways, IndianAirlines, Air Deccan and Kingfisher.

A comparison of customer satisfactionbased on service quality was done amongthe four major airlines based on responsesfrom frequent fliers across fourteenvariables on a five point Likert scale. Aflying experience was divided into threestages- namely, pre-flight, in-flight andpost-flight experience. A questionnairewas designed in such a way that the samesets of variables were measured amongthe customers of the four airlines understudy. Fliers who had flown any of thefour airlines could answer the questionspertaining to those airlines. The objectiveof this study was to understand thesatisfaction levels of the airline customers.The study measured the expected level ofservice quality using a Likert type scale.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

In the 1970’s the Civil Aeronautics Board(Douglas & Miller, 1974; Jordan, 1970)developed the initial tools of service quality

measurement in the airline industry in theU.S.A. These studies were based oneconomic variables, and pre-deregulation,developed as service quality assessmentsfrom the perspective of the airlineconsumer. Kearney (1986) was the first oneto conduct service quality assessmentsfrom the perspective of the airlineconsumer in his doctoral dissertation work,which examined service quality from theperspective of industry-based economicand marketing measures.

Many researchers and marketers havefocused their attention on customerevaluations of services in an effort to findways to improve service quality (Fisk,Brown, & Bitner, 1993). Extensive researchhas been conducted in the field of servicequality. Parasuraman et al. (Parasuraman,Berry, & Zeithaml, 1991; Parasuraman,Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988) developeda service quality measure, calledSERVQUAL, which states that thecustomer’s assessment of overall servicequality is determined by the degree anddirection of the gap between theirexpectations and perceptions of actualperformance levels. They also identifiedfive essentials for service quality: tangibles,reliability, responsiveness, assurance, andempathy. They proposed that perceivedservice quality could be estimated bycalculating the difference betweenexpectations and perceptions of actualservice performance. The SERVQUALscale has been criticized for its validity andreliability. Buttle (1996) pointed out thatincluding all 44 items (22 items of serviceexpectations and a duplicate of 22 items ofservice performance) in one study often

115

makes the survey task too difficult forrespondents. Cronin and Taylor(1992,1994) have empirically proved thatthe measures of service performance orSERVPERF, is more effective thanSERVQUAL, which includes expectationsas well as performance. SERVPERF is nowwidely used in measuring customerevaluations of service quality(Cunningham and Young, 2004).

Cunningham and Young (2004) usedSERVPERF in measuring the airlineservice quality. Their literature reviewsuggests that initial publications on airlineservice quality appeared in 1988(Gourdin, 1988). Fick & Ritchie andGourdin & Kloppenborg were the first toapply the service quality gap model to theairline industry in 1991. Fick and Ritchie(1991) used the SERVQUAL scale tomeasure perceived service quality withinseveral service industries including theairline industry. They found the meanscores of consumer expectation andperception of service performancemeasures and failed to determine therelative impact of various SERVQUALitems on overall service quality andsatisfaction (Cunningham etal 2004).

Measurement and management of servicequality is the fundamental issue for thesurvival and growth of airline companies(Cunningham, Young, and Lee 2002).Cunningham, Young, and Lee (2002)conducted studies on perceptions ofairline service quality of U.S. and Koreancustomers based on SERVPERF andindustry-based measures, as well as theirperceptions of risks involved in the airlinechoice. The results suggested that U.S.

customers consider service reliability, in-flight comfort, and connections as the keyfactors determining satisfaction withairline service, whereas Koreanpassengers generally regard reliability,assurance, and risk factors as predictorsof satisfaction. This study conducted byCunningham, Young, and Lee (2002) isinteresting as it has measured servicequality based on SERVPERF which is aset of multi-dimensional measures ofcustomer evaluations of service quality(Cunningham, Young, and Lee 2002).

Wen Li and Chen (1998) studied thequality evaluation of domestic airlineindustry using modified Taguchi lossfunction with different weights and targetvalues. By using Taguchi loss function onecan quantify quality and thus compareservice quality objectively. According toWen Li and Chen (1998), the process oftraveling a domestic airline can bedescribed as follows:

Ticket— Check –in—boarding—departure—flying—arrival—baggageclaim

Three quality categories with tenidentified variables are proposed by WenLi and Chen (1998) and service quality ofdomestic airline is quantified accordingly.Taguchi loss function requires industrymeasures to measure airline servicequality.

As stated earlier, airline traffic in India haspicked up only recently. However,competition has brought to surface,industry issues such as insufficientnumber of pilots, airport facilities andtrained personnel. When the objective of

Venkatesh et al, Service Quality ...


low-cost carriers is to convert railwaypassengers to airline travelers at a verylow-fare, the focus of the service providermay not be on the service quality but inproviding the basic service product. Incomparison, America’s budget airlineshave started to increase service quality inspite of the low fare offers. Southwest andJet Blue have strong brand presence andoffer well defined service rather than justlow prices (Economist, 2004). On the otherhand, airline service quality across theworld have reached new heights wherein international airlines such as VirginAtlantic Airways have introduced doublesuites, in-flight beauty therapy treatmentsand massages, free limousines to and fromthe airport and many more.

As a result of low fares, there is anexpected increase in the volume ofdomestic airline travelers in India whichhas accelerated competition in the airtravel market. While certain segments inchoosing an airline, consider priceadvantages, service quality cannot beabsent. According to Zeithaml and Bitner(1996b), the concept of satisfaction isinfluenced by five variables viz. 1) servicequality 2) product quality 3) price 4)situation and 5) personality.

Natalisa and Subroto ( 2003) combine thevariables of product quality and servicequality into variable of service quality andstudied the customers’ perception ofservice quality in the domestic airlineservices of Indonesia.

In short, service quality of airlines havebeen studied based on industry measures,SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, Taguchi lossfunction and Zeithaml and Bitner Model.

Our study attempts to examine thesatisfaction level of service quality ofdomestic airline travelers in India acrossfourteen airline travel process variablessuggested by Wen Li and Chen (1998)which are modified to suit the Indianstandards. Some of these variables canalso be included as the reliability andresponsiveness variables of SERVPERF.The flying experience has been dividedinto preflight, on flight and post flightexperiences.

3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. To study the customer perceptions ofservice quality of each of the fourairlines under study

2. To compare the service quality of theairlines under study

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Questionnaire Design

The respondents were asked to evaluatethe service quality of the service providedby the airline, which they have traveled.Perceived service quality of each variablewas measured through questionsdesigned on a 5-point Likert-type scaleranging from always to never. Forexample, the on-time services of theairline was measured through thequestion, “The flights are on time” withalways as a the best positive response andnever as the worst negative response, anyother response can be recorded between“always” and “never” on the scale.Similarly, other good ground service – in-flight service and post-flight service weremeasured through the same scale. Thequestionnaire also had a question to check

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the response to the loyalty programsprovided by the airlines to frequent flierswhich was measured through, “ theairline offers real benefits to frequentfliers” on the five point Likert – type scale.The authors discussed the air travelprocess with at least five frequent fliersof domestic airlines in India to understandthe process in the Indian condition apartfrom the fact that both the authors arethemselves frequent fliers of domesticairlines. For further reference,questionnaire is attached as Appendix 1.

4.2 Sample Characteristics

Some of the SERVPERF variablesdeveloped by Cronin and Taylor (1992)were adapted along with the processvariables (Wen Li and Chen 1998) to theIndian market conditions based on the factthat air traffic in India has gone up only inthe last three years and still a very smallpercentage of the population travel by air.“Population” consisted of the customers offour domestic airline companies in Indiaviz. Jet Airways, Indian Airlines, AirDeccan and Kingfisher. These airlines wereselected, as they are representative of themajor segments in the airline industry from

No Company Obtained numberof samples

1 Jet Airways 39 2. Indian Airlines 40 3. Air Deccan 29 4. Kingfisher 26

Table 1 – Airline wise Composition ofSample

“Always” (as a response) was a given a score of(=1) and “Never” (as a response) was a given ascore of (=5) and any other response was betweenthese.

Venkatesh et al, Service Quality ...

full fare to low priced airlines.Convenience sampling was done. Targetedsample size was 30 per airline, andachieved sizes were as follows.

5. DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS

The statistical analyses used were one wayANOVA, Discriminant Analysis, Clusteranalysis and Cross Tabulation. Analysisof research data used the level ofsignificance, a = 0.05

5.1 Mean Difference Results

Table 2 provides a summary of the meanscores for the variables in the study.

The objective of this study was to examinecustomer perception of service quality.One way-ANOVA was performed andthe result showed a significant differenceamong the four airlines, except in twovariables viz. baggage loss and onlinebooking. Travelers agreed that all theairlines manage baggage well and all ofthem provided online booking.

5.2 Pre-Flight Service Quality

Pre-flight service was examined by ratingthe variables listed below.

1. Flights are on time2. Good ground service,3. The airline keeps its travelers

informed in the case of a delaythrough SMS or a call

4. The airlines makes regularannouncement in case of a delay tokeep the travelers informed of thestatus quo

5. The airline provides refreshmentswhenever there is a delay,


6. Provide accommodation if there is along delay.

All the six pre-flight SERVPERF variableswere found to be significant as shown bythe one way ANOVA that is displayed asTable 2. The four airlines providedsignificantly different service quality inthe pre flight service.

Jet Airways travelers found its flights tobe on time usually against Air Deccantravelers who rated its flights to be almostnever on time. Jet Airways, Kingfisher,and Air Deccan usually informed thecustomers about delay in advancethrough SMS or telephone call. IndianAirlines was rated average on this servicequality variable. All the four airlines werefound to be above average in announcing

delay. Except for Air Deccan, the otherthree airlines were rated as providinggood ground service. In the case of a delayJet Airways and Kingfisher usuallyprovided the travelers with refreshmentswhereas Air Deccan never provided suchservices. Except Air Deccan, all the otherairlines usually provided accommodationin case of delay. The study conducted byGourdin and Kloppenborg (1991)identified on-board comfort, being keptinformed regarding delays and beingcared for when travel was disrupted asbeing important to passengers.

5.3 In-flight Services

Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Kingfisherwere rated as providing very good in-flightservice whereas Air Deccan was rated to

Table 2 – Service Quality Scores for Various Airlines

Variables Indian Air Kingfisher One-WayJet Air Airlines Deccan ANOVMean Mean Mean Mean df F Signi

Value ficance

On-time 1.9231 3.0750 3.96 2.4583 3 21.941 .000Delay information 1.7895 3.1282 2.8929 2.3158 3 7.372 .000Announce delay 1.4595 2.0278 2.9231 1.8571 3 9.593 .000Good in-flight service 1.5641 2.8158 3.7692 1.5833 3 37.506 .000Good in-flight food 1.7632 2.7895 3.8261 2.0435 3 20.961 .000Waiting time for 2.2895 2.6053 3.2800 2.4167 3 4.760 .004baggageBaggage loss 4.1212 3.6857 3.8696 4.4000 3 1.347 .263Compensate baggage- 2.6957 3.2083 3.8667 2.5000 3 3.028 .035LossGood ground service 1.7059 2.6000 3.0833 1.5417 3 12.147 .000Refreshments on delay 1.9189 3.0000 4.1818 1.8095 3 19.609 .000Accommodation on- 2.2258 2.7931 4.1053 2.7647 3 7.231 . 000Delay 1.2571 1.7241 1.3333 1.2381 3 1.805 .151Discounted fare 1.4000 2.0294 1.3462 1.5000 3 3.184 . 023Real benefits for- 1.4211 2.5455 2.5455 2.1111 3 5.489 .002Frequent fliers

119Venkatesh et al, Service Quality ...

be providing almost no service quality onin-flight services. Jet Airways was foundto be providing good in-flight food alongwith Kingfisher. Indian airlines was ratedas average in providing good in-flightfood. Air Deccan did not offer in-flight foodat all. The study conducted by Gourdinand Kloppenborg (1991) did not findcourteous cabin attendants and beverageservice on short flights as important topassengers.

5.4 Post Flight Services

Air Deccan travelers rated longest waitingtime for baggage arrival against otherairlines. Baggage loss was found to bealmost never a problem with Jet Airwaysand Kingfisher where as Indian Airlinesand Air Deccan travelers had to facebaggage loss, sometimes. On theoccurrence of baggage loss Air Deccansometimes never compensated for thebaggage loss.

There was no significant difference amongthe airlines on services such as onlinebooking which just meant such a servicewas provided by all the airlines. All theairlines were found to be providingdiscounted fares and real benefits forfrequent fliers.

5.5 Discriminant Analysis

Discriminant analysis revealed significantdifferences among the airlines. Threefunctions were produced, of which thefirst was statistically significant. (ReferTable 3). The second and third functionswere not significant.

From the standardized discriminantfunction coefficients (Table 4) , it appears

Table 3: Wilks’ Lambda

Test of Wilks’ Chi- df Sig.Fun- Lambda squarection(s)

1 through 3 .238 60.340 42 .033

2 through 3 .625 19.774 26 .802

3 .933 2.897 12 .996

Function

1 2 3

on time .354 .242 .733delay information -.283 .979 -.150good inflight service .742 .211 -.407good inflight food -.326 .072 -.086waiting time .582 -.199 -.253for baggagebaggage loss .073 -.091 .416compensate -.617 .233 -.535baggage lossgood ground service .024 -.135 -.643refreshments on delay .521 -.273 .072accomodation on delay .529 -.466 .304online booking -.118 -.069 -.352discounted fare -.526 .130 .502real benefits for -.060 .440 .102frequent fliers

Table 4: Standardized CanonicalDiscriminant Function Coefficients

that function 1 consists of good in-flightservice, waiting time for baggage,compensation for baggage loss,refreshments on delay, accommodationon delay and discounted fare. Hence, wecould conclude that the differencebetween airlines is a multi-dimensionalconstruct consisting of in-flight service,delay handling, baggage handling and


pricing. Together, these may be named asbasic service elements, on which airlinesseem to differ significantly. The onlyexception seems to be delay information,loading highly on function two, and delayannouncement and good ground service,which are loading highly on functionthree. But these are not significantstatistically and therefore should betreated with caution.

Positioning of the four airline brandsthrough Discriminant Analysis: A

Table 5: Functions at Group Centroids

airline name Function

1 2 3

Jet Airways -1.022 -.733 -.158Indian Airlines -.361 .886 -.074Air Deccan 2.300 -.264 -.059Kingfisher -.350 -.189 .643

Unstandardized canonical discriminantfunctions evaluated at group means

perceptual map is drawn using functions1 and 2, the relative positions of the fourbrands of airlines which is derived fromTable 5.

The perceptual map shows that Jet Airwaysand Kingfisher are positioned together. AirDeccan and Indian Airlines are positionedfar away from each other. A, B, C and D inthe perceptual map represents the airlinesas per Table 6 given below. The horizontalaxis represents Function 1 and the verticalaxis, Function 2.

The fourteen attribute vectors are mappedacross the perceptual space. Vectors 1 to

Table 6: Brands of Airlines from theGroup Centroids

Sl No Airline Name

A Jet airwaysB Indian airlinesC Air DeccanD Kingfisher

Graph 1 : Perceptual Map of four domestic airlines in India based onPerceived Service Quality: Discriminant Function 1 (horizontal axis)

vs Function 2(vertical axis)

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

14

4

1

10

6

11

2

79

3

8

13

5

12 CD

B

A

t Series 1


Table 7: Attribute Vectors based onStandardized Canonical DiscriminantFunction Coefficients

1 On time2 Delay information3 Announce delay4 Good in-flight service5 Good in-flight food6 Waiting time for baggage7 Baggage loss8 Compensate baggage loss9 Good ground service10 Refreshments on delay11 Accommodation on delay12 Online booking13 Discounted fare14 Real benefits for frequent fliers

14 can be identified from Table 7 givenbelow.

5.6 Cluster Analysis

Cluster analysis was performed to findout the similarity between brands and toreiterate the positioning exercise done byDiscriminant analysis. An ANOVAconducted for cluster analysis showedthat all the service attributes to besignificantly different across the differentclusters (Refer Table 8).

Four major clusters were identified. Crosstabulation was conducted to find therelationship between the brands and thefour different clusters. Table 9 shows thatmost of the Jet Airways and Kingfishercustomers belong to cluster 2. IndianAirlines and Air Deccan customersdominate cluster 3. Cluster 4 has a largerepresentation of customers of IndianAirlines where as cluster 1 does not seemto be very significant.

Cluster ErrorMean df Mean df F Signi

Square Square

on time 30.783 3 .940 126 32.745 .000delay information 35.893 3 1.209 120 29.680 .000announce delay 29.422 3 .687 116 42.822 .000good inflight service 39.452 3 .715 123 55.167 .000good inflight food 38.787 3 .695 118 55.770 .000waiting time for baggage 16.200 3 .853 121 18.995 .000baggage loss 37.954 3 .861 107 44.093 .000compensate baggage loss 18.986 3 1.214 68 15.641 .000good ground service 26.857 3 .846 113 31.728 .000refreshments on delay 39.417 3 1.278 109 30.845 .000accomodation on delay 34.155 3 1.291 92 26.456 .000online booking 6.105 3 .677 102 9.020 .000discounted fare 5.528 3 .900 113 6.140 .001real benefits for frequent fliers 20.021 3 1.430 107 13.999 .000

Table 8: ANOVA


Cluster Number of Case Total

1 2 3 4airline name Jet Airways 0 27 5 7 39

Indian Airlines 1 7 17 15 40Air Deccan 6 0 18 5 29Kingfisher 2 15 4 5 26Total 9 49 44 32 134

Table 9: Airline Name and Cluster Number of Case Cross tabulation

Based on the above findings, Jet Airwaysand Kingfisher can be considered asbrands which have similar attributes, asmost of their customers are found to bemembers of cluster two.

6. CONCLUSION

This study has several managerialimplications, as it demonstrates that theadapted version of SERVPERF scale isapplicable in the Indian conditions. Whenconsidered in totality the results of thisstudy suggest that implementation of basicservice quality is essential to combat thegrowing competition. Differentiation canoccur only by adding new service elementsalong with providing better quality indelivering the current service. Safety hasbeen considered as a major element inchoosing an airline brand in the west, post9/11. Crisis management has also takendifferent dimensions in the U.S in theairline industry post 9/11. This trendsuggests that many different social eventsand variables also have an impact on howcustomers look at each brand. This studyshows that customers of Jet Airways rateit as an airline that provides very goodservice quality across the fourteen servicevariables. Kingfisher ranks second and itscustomers have reported that usually the

airline provides good service quality.Indian Airlines was rated as providinggood in-flight food, waiting time forbaggage, good ground service,accommodation on delay and a few otherelements such as price, online booking andbenefits for frequent fliers. Indian Airlineswas rated as average or below average onthe rest of the service variables. Baggageloss has been reported as a problem facedby some of the Indian Airlines customers.Air Deccan has been rated by its customersas providing good service quality ininforming customer about delay. AirDeccan customers are happy with itsprovision for online booking, discountedfare and real benefits for frequent fliers.

The study revealed that customers werenot happy with all the other servicevariables which suggest that the overallservice quality of Air Deccan is notconsidered good. Some of the Air Deccancustomers report baggage loss as aproblem. Air Deccan calls itself a no-frillservice provider as it is a low cost airline.The travelers of Air Deccan seem to rate itto be a bad service provider even thoughthey were flying on low fares. When AirDeccan has large volume loads andgenerates revenue, it should rethink itsvalue proposition in terms of providing


basic service quality to stay in the market.In the U.S.A, Southwest and Jet Blue havea strong brand presence and offer welldefined service rather than just low prices(Economist, 2004). Most of the low costairlines in Europe had to shut shop as theywere not providing even the basic servicequality. A study conducted by Natalisa &Subroto (2003) on the customer satisfactionof domestic airlines in Indonesia provedthat customer’s perceptions of servicequality influence the level of customersatisfaction by using regression analysis.It can also be a case of concern to IndianAirlines and Air Deccan as our study hasfound that the overall service qualityprovided by these airlines are consideredbelow satisfactory by its customers.

7. LIMITATIONS

The findings of this study are limited tothe airline industry in India. This studyhas not considered industry measures tomeasure service quality. We havemeasured only the customer perceptionof service quality.

REFERENCES

Buttle, F(1996). SERVQUAL: Review, Critique,Research Agenda , European Journal ofMarketing, 30,1, 8-32

Cunningham, L. F., Young C. E., & Lee, M (2004).Perceptions of airline service quality Pre andPost 9/11. Public works Management & Policy,9(1), 10-25

Cunningham, L. F., Young C. E., & Lee, M. (2002).Cross-cultural perspectives of service qualityand risk in air transportation. Journal of AirTransportation , 7(1), 3-26.

Cronin, J. J., Jr., and Taylor, S. A. (1992),“Measuring Service Quality: AReexamination and Extension,” Journal ofMarketing, 56 (July), 55–68.

Cronin, J.J.,Jr. and Taylor, S.A. (1994),“SERVPERF versus SERVQUAL: ReconcilingPerformance-Based and Perceptions-Minus-Expectations Measurement of ServiceQuality, Journal of Marketing, 58(January),125-131

Douglas, G.W.,& Miller, J. C., III. (1974). Economicregulation of domestic air transport: Theory andpolicy . Washington, DC: BrookingsInstitution.

Economist (2004). Turbulent Skies, Vol. 372, Issue8383

Fick, G. R., & Ritchie, J. R. B. (1991). “Measuringservice quality in the travel and tourismindustry,” Journal of Travel Research, 30 (Fall),2-9.

Fisk, R. P., Brown, S. W., and Bitner, M. J. (1993),“Tracking the Evolution of the ServicesMarketing Literature,” Journal of Retailing, 69,1 (Spring), 61–103

Gourdin, K. N., & Kloppenborg, T. J. (1991).Identifying service gaps in commercial airtravel: The first step toward qualityimprovement. Transportation Journal, 31(1),22-30.

Jordan,W. A. (1970). Airline regulation in America:Effects and imperfections. Baltimore: JohnsHopkins University Press.

Kearney, T. J. (1986). Quality of service under airlinederegulation . Doctoral dissertation, IndianaUniversity at Bloomington.

Nargundkar, R (2003), Marketing Research, 2nd

Edition, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi


Natalisa Diah and Subroto Budiarto(2003),“Effects of Management Commitment onService Quality to Increase CustomerSatisfaction of Domestic Airlines inIndonesia” , Singapore Management Review,Volume 25 (1)

Pandit, Ranjit V (2005). Why Believe in India.McKinsey Quarterly, Special Edition, 133-170

Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A.(1991). Refinement and reassessment of theSERVPERF Scale. Journal of Retailing, 67, 420-150.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A.,& Berry, L. L.(1985).A conceptual model of service quality

and its implications for future research.Journal of Marketing, 49, 41-50.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L.(1988). SERVPERF: A multiple-item scale formeasuring consumer perceptions of servicequality. Journal of Retailing, 64, 28-31.

Wen Li, Ching and Chen K. Alice(1998).Quality Evaluation of Domestic AirlineIndustry Using Modified Taguchi LossFunction with Different Weights and TargetValues. Total Quality Management, 9(7),645-653

Zeithaml and Bitner (1996), Services Marketing,Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi


1. The flights are on-timea. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

2. The airline informs you in advance if there is delay (through sms or call)a. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

3. If the flight is delayed, regular announcements are madea. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

4. In-flight service is gooda. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

5. The in-flight food is gooda. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

6. The waiting time for baggage arrival is reasonablea. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

APPENDIX 1Service Quality of Domestic Airlines in India: An Empirical Study

Dr. Rajendra Nargundkar and Ms. Bhagyalakshmi Venkatesh of Dept. Of ManagementStudies, PESIT Bangalore are conducting a study on the service quality of four Indiandomestic airline services. We request you to spare a few minutes to fill up the questionsbelow. Thank You.

Please circle the relevant response on the following questions for all airlines you have traveled.(1=Always, 5=Never, and other responses are between these.)


7. Baggage loss is a problem witha. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

8. The airline compensates for lost baggage if such a situation arises,a. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

9. The airline provides good check-in servicesa. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

10. The airline provides refreshments whenever there is a delaya. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

11. The airline provides accommodation if there is a very long delaya. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

12. The airline provides online booking servicesa. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

13. The airline offers discounted fare schemesa. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

14. The airline offers real benefits to frequent fliersa. Jet Airways Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverb. Indian Airlines Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverc. Air Deccan Always 1 2 3 4 5 Neverd. King Fisher Always 1 2 3 4 5 Never

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