Comparison of Chinese Passenger Satisfaction between Chinese Airlines and Foreign Airlines

Comparison of Chinese Passenger Satisfaction

between Chinese Airlines and Foreign Airlines

Phuah Kit Teng, Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah, Bernard Lim Jit Heng

Synopsis:

This study explores Chinese passenger satisfaction between local and Foreign Airlines in

Asian region. The findings highlight the importance of factors such as reliability, assur-

ance and airline employee responsiveness as more likely to influence Chinese passenger

satisfaction. In addition, findings showed that value traits of pragmatic culture and local

experience explain passenger satisfaction.

Cite as:

Phuah, K. T., Abdullah, S.I.N.W., &Bernard, L. J. H. (2019). Comparison of Chinese Pas-

senger Satisfaction between Chinese Airlines and Foreign Airlines. ICAO Scientific Re-

view: Analytics and Management Research, 1, 17-33.

Retrieved from: http://isr.icao.int/amr/Volume01/v1p017-033Teng5008.pdf

Volume 1, 2019

COMPARISON OF CHINESE PASSENGER SATISFACTION

BETWEEN CHINESE AIRLINES AND FOREIGN AIRLINES

Phuah Kit Teng *

INTI International Universi-

ty, Nilai, Malaysia

Kitteng.ph[email protected]

Siti Intan Nurdiana

Wong

Abdullah

INTI International Universi-

ty, Nilai, Malaysia

sitiintan.abd[email protected].my

Bernard Lim Jit Heng

INTI International Universi-

ty, Nilai, Malaysia

bernard.lim@newinti.edu.my

*Corresponding Author

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Objectives

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Focus Areas

Global Programmes

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Aviation Safety

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No Country Left

Behind

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Improving ICAO’s

SARP and Policy

Development

☒

Next Generation

Aviation Profes-

sionals

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Capacity and

Efficiency

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opment and ICAO

World Aviation

Forum

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ICAO’s Regional

Presence

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ation Perfor-

mance

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Facilitation

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based Navigation

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and Strengthening

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velopment of

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sponse Coordi-

nation

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for Aviation CO

Reduction

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sponding to Avia-

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CORSIA Initiative

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

ABSTRACT

Aim/Purpose:

In transport industry, production and consumption of services are inseparable. There-

fore, the objective of this study is to determine passenger perceived quality and satis-

faction between Chinese airlines and Foreign airlines.

Context:

Increased wealth and prosperity across Asia has generated a massive increase in air

travel. Marketers in airline industry have increasingly become more aware that their

employees should be more sensitive towards social and cultural differences when hav-

ing encounters with passengers from that region. Today, more than ever before, For-

eign airlines are competing with Chinese airlines over the service quality provided in

order to capture passenger satisfaction. China’s projected economic growth has raised

the income of the middle class and contributed to an increase of the middle classes’

purchasing power and travelling ability.

Method:

In this study, the SERVQUAL and Gap Analysis methodologies are implemented to

measure the quality of services and satisfaction provided by Chinese airlines and For-

eign airlines. Descriptive analysis, reliability tests and multiple regression analysis were

used to complete this study. The SERVQUAL model to measure service quality is

composed of the following five dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, as-

surance and empathy. This study examines the direct and indirect influence that the

SERVQUAL five dimensions have on customer perceived service quality ratings and

focuses on how they affect customer satisfaction within the context of airline services.

A random sampling method was used in which 409 respondents were interviewed and

asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire.

Contribution:

The data collected could potentially be used by airline management boards to help de-

velop new growth strategies and to deliver more efficient and appreciated services.

Findings:

Results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that factors such as reliability, assur-

ance and airline employee responsiveness are more likely to influence Chinese passen-

ger’s perceived service quality level and satisfaction of Chinese airlines. Whilst attrib-

utes such as responsiveness, tangible and empathy were found to have a greater effect

on passenger perceived service quality level and satisfaction of other Foreign airlines.

Recommendations:

To prevent any uncertainty and insecurity, maintaining a great quality relationship with

passengers will usually lower the passengers’ uncertainty and provide them with a sense

of security. Therefore, establishing great relationships with customers has become a

crucial factor for success. In addition, importance-performance analysis indicates that

an airline should maintain amenities such as the provision of in-flight newspapers,

magazines, availability of contingency accommodation; employees speed handling; and

on-time departure or arrival.

Keywords:

Chinese airlines, foreign airlines, gap analysis study, satisfaction, service quality, SERV-

QUAL model, full-service airlines

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

INTRODUCTION

Air travel facilitates global trading, supply chain, tourism and international networking. Over the last

few decades, many international airline companies aggressively established routes in new countries as

a means of expanding their global presence and competitive power. Airline companies constantly

evolve and implement improvements in order to remain profitable; from low cost airline to superior

quality services. The Consumer aviation website; Skytrax, provides an annual list of the best airlines

in the world based on various measurements. Table 1 presents the list of Asia dominate airlines pub-

lished in 2018. Asian airlines secured 12 spots among the top 20 airlines ranking based on customers’

satisfaction and overall impression of their travel experience. Table 1 features the 12 best airlines in

Asia.

Table 1.

Twelve Best Airlines in Asia- Year 2018

Airline

Asia Ranking

Overall Ranking

Uniqueness

Qatar Airways

Airline Lounge access, entertainment systems

Singapore Air-

lines

Extreme care for customers, respect, enter-

tainment options, service quality

All Nippon Air-

ways

Cleanliness, service and safety

Emirates

Wide selection of video and music, live televi-

sion and sporting events

Cathay Pacific

Airways

Seat comfortable, service quality and inflight

entertainment

EVA Air

Cleanliness, comfortable amenities

Etihad Airways

Onboard catering, comfortable seat

Hainan Airlines

Attentive service and quality business class

accommodations

Garuda Indone-

sia

Comfortable seat, service from cabin crews

Thai Airways

Crew friendly demeanor, Delectable dining

options

Japan Airlines

Attentive service, well-coordinated ground

staff and comfortable cabin

Asiana

Service from cabin crew, cleanliness and

economy class product

Source: Report 2018

Increased prosperity across Asia has steered a massive increase in air travel. China has a projected

economic growth that has contributed to the rising income of the middle-class group and an increase

of travelling patterns. Sensing the tremendous increase in demand for local and international flights

in China, Chinese airlines have decided to buy 7,000 airplanes from Boeing Co. over the course of

the next 20 years (Reuters, 2017). Furthermore, the momentum of travel has increased due to the

liberalization of the Chinese aviation industry as witnessed through the Chinese government invest-

ing in new airports across different regions in the country. In 2017, air passenger traffic was 549 mil-

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

lion with 89 percent coming from domestic flights and the balance from international flights (Ba-

darch, 2018). According to United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO), the number

of outbound Chinese travelers is expected to reach approximately 200 million people by 2030

(Bremner, 2013). Based on these current developments, it is projected that China will replace United

States as the global leader in the aviation industry by 2024 (International Air Transport Association,

2016). Continuous growth in the emerging market of China has intensified the competition among

airlines. The entry of low cost operators offering affordable flights captured a large portion of the

Chinese airline market share and heightened the competition for commercial airlines. While passen-

ger demand has been growing drastically, the availability of different airlines has had a negative im-

pact on the operation of some airlines. For example, one of Asia’s prominent full service commercial

airlines, Cathay Pacific based in Hong Kong suffered financial losses due to the pressure from low-

cost airlines such as Malaysia based AirAsia and state-owned Chinese carriers (Gough, 2017) also

referred to as China’s “Big Three”. Those are Air China, China Eastern and China Southern which

succeeded at dominating most of the domestic and regional flights routes including flights to Hong

Kong, Macau and Taiwan (Center for Aviation, 2012). In 2012, a proposed regional alliance amongst

SkyTeam’s Greater China members, Taiwan’s China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern and

Xiamen Airlines appeared to be a niche strategic move between mainland China and Taiwan to im-

prove the political situation between the regions. The four carriers comprise 43% of overall capacity

between mainland China and Taiwan. As compare to China’s so-called “Big three” carriers, Taipei-

based China Airlines; which was founded in 1959, is the single largest carrier in Taiwan, it offers

business class, premium economy and economy class flights with about 18,000 one-way seats being

flown per week (Center for Aviation, 2012). Recently, China Airlines was awarded by Skytrax a “4

Star” rating of their on-board product quality and cabin crew service quality (Skytrax, 2018).

Foreign airlines from Europe and United States experienced a declining trend of Chinese inbound

and outbound passengers due to the intense competition they faced from local Chinese airlines. Fa-

mous full-fledged Foreign airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa reported a loss in profits

which led them to terminate flights to a few routes in China (Chen, 2017). Experts believe that the

decrease of outbound Chinese travelers flying to European countries via Foreign airlines was caused

by a series of unfortunate events such as terrorist attacks, floods and union strikes (Ip et al., 2010).

For example, the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and the threat in Paris turned

Chinese travelers away from flying with Foreign airlines. Chinese carriers became a natural choice for

Chinese passengers due to their familiarity with home country services. Whereas, Foreign Airlines are

at a disadvantage due to their lack of understanding of Chinese passenger needs (Dimitripoulos,

2016).

Studies also reported that Chinese travelers preferred to use local airlines instead of Foreign airlines

due to the ease of communication with Chinese airline cabin crew and ground staff (Dimitripoulos,

2016). The local Chinese airline staff mainly spoke Mandarin and this gives a sense of comfort and

security for the passengers assuring them that they will be well understood and listened to. The

unique cultural background of Chinese customers causes difficulties for Foreign airlines to under-

stand their needs and therefore their cabin crews are not sometime able to provide the services ex-

pected by passengers (Bremner, 2013). There is a growing interest to examine the relationship be-

tween service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry because an airline’s survival is

highly dependent on its ability to deliver high service quality (Park et al., 2004). Customer satisfaction

has been found to be an important factor in influencing customer loyalty and positive word-of-

mouth (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The uniqueness and the complexity in the characteristics of services in

contrast with products create even more challenges to service companies (Pride & Ferrell, 2014).

Thus, in order to attract and retain customers, service companies must address the complexity in the

service process and service delivery. In recent years, there has been a rising number of studies that

focus on Chinese travelers’ satisfaction, however a limited number of studies focused on comparing

the perceptions of Chinese travelers towards different airlines’ service quality. Furthermore, the be-

haviors of Chinese travelers are quite complex and yet to be fully understood. In view of the influ-

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

ence from globalization and modernization, Chinese travelers are undergoing a major shift in their

cultural and social values (Frederick, 2002). This amplifies the need to understand their current per-

ception towards airline services. Past studies highlighted the influence of culture on customers’ atti-

tudes and perception towards services rendered by service employees (Malhotra et al., 2005). For

airlines to leverage the growing number of Chinese travelers, fulfilling their demands and providing

superior quality services will lead to a greater market share for the airline. Considering this, it is cru-

cial to have a greater understanding of the differences in the perceptions of Chinese passengers to-

wards the provision of service quality by Chinese airlines in comparison with other Foreign airlines.

Marketers in service firms need to be aware that service employees should be more sensitive towards

these differences when having encounters with Chinese customers in view of the production and

consumption of services are inseparable. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the

passenger perceived quality and satisfaction between Chinese airlines and Foreign airlines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY

This study examines factors that positively influence service quality as perceived by passengers travel-

ling with Chinese airlines and Foreign airlines. Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the

SERQUAL model as it applies to measure passenger perceived service quality and satisfaction of

towards the airlines. It is hypothesized that the eleven dimensions of the SERVQUAL model will

align with the passenger mental map of service quality and satisfaction (Figure 1). In this study, relia-

bility is defined as the ability to provide promised services accurately such as not implementing spo-

radic changes to flight schedules (Kassim and Abdullah, 2010). Responsiveness is defined as the con-

sistency and transparency of employees in their provision of information to passengers within a re-

sponsible framework when crisis situations occur (Lee, Kim, and Ahn, 2011). Empathy represents

the care as well as the individualized attention being provided to passengers when requested or need-

ed (Kassim and Abdullah, 2010). Assurance refers to knowledge, courtesy and ability of employees

to convey trust and confidence as they deliver timely and excellent services (Naik et al., 2010). Tangi-

bles cover a variety of services such as physical facilities, communication material, personnel and the

modernity of equipment being used by an airline (Naik et al., 2010). Service quality is defined as the

ability of the airline to meet passenger expectations and spread a positive word-of-mouth to promote

to others about the airline (Chang and Polonsky, 2012).

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the SERVQUAL Model Applied Towards Passenger Perceived

Quality and Satisfaction between Chinese Airline and Foreign Airline

Reliability

Responsiveness

Empathy

Assurance

Tangibles

Passenger

Satisfaction

Passenger Per-

ceived Service

Quality

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The focus of this study is to define the relationship between the SERQUAL model variables and to

determine how these variables can influence passenger perceived service quality and satisfaction. The

following hypotheses were formulated to identify the relationship between the SERQUAL dimen-

sions and passenger satisfaction.

The following hypotheses were tested on Chinese airlines:

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between reliability and passenger perceived service quality of

Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant relationship between responsiveness and passenger perceived service quality

of Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 3: There is no significant relationship between empathy and passenger perceived service quality of

Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 4: There is no significant relationship between assurance and passenger perceived service quality of

Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 5: There is no significant relationship between tangible and passenger perceived service quality of

Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 6: There is no significant relationship between passenger perceived service quality and satisfaction

of Chinese airlines.

Hypothesis 7: There is no significant relationship between reliability and passenger satisfaction of Chinese air-

lines.

Hypothesis 8: There is no significant relationship between responsiveness and passenger satisfaction of Chinese

airlines.

Hypothesis 9: There is no significant relationship between empathy and passenger satisfaction of Chinese air-

lines.

Hypothesis 10: There is no significant relationship between assurance and passenger satisfaction of Chinese

airlines.

Hypothesis 11: There is no significant relationship between tangible and passenger satisfaction of Chinese air-

lines.

The following hypotheses were tested on Foreign airlines:

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between reliability and passenger perceived service quality of

Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant relationship between responsiveness and passenger perceived service quality

of Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 3: There is no significant relationship between empathy and passenger perceived service quality of

Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 4: There is no significant relationship between assurance and passenger perceived service quality of

Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 5: There is no significant relationship between tangible and passenger perceived service quality of

Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 6: There is no significant relationship between passenger perceived service quality and satisfaction

of Foreign airlines.

Hypothesis 7: There is no significant relationship between reliability and passenger satisfaction of Foreign air-

lines.

Hypothesis 8: There is no significant relationship between responsiveness and passenger satisfaction of Foreign

airlines.

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

Hypothesis 9: There is no significant relationship between empathy and passenger satisfaction of Foreign air-

lines.

Hypothesis 10: There is no significant relationship between assurance and passenger satisfaction of Foreign

airlines.

Hypothesis 11: There is no significant relationship between tangible and passenger satisfaction of Foreign air-

lines.

METHOD OF ANALYSIS

The study was conducted at the Shanghai and Beijing Airports where Chinese airlines and Foreign

airlines are based. Random sampling methods were used and 409 passengers were interviewed at the

departure gate using a self-administered questionnaire. Five-point Likert Scales of one to five were

used with the number one representing strongly disagree with and the number five as strongly agree

with. The target sample for this research consisted of passengers who had flown on both Chinese

airlines and Foreign airlines within the previous year. Descriptive statistics, reliability tests and multi-

ple regression analysis were used to fulfill the study’s research objective. Descriptive analysis was used

to describe the sample in this study and the Cronbach Alpha method was used to assess the model

for internal consistency. Multiple regression analysis was used to measure the relationship between

the SERQUAL dimension, perceived service quality and passenger satisfaction.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this study, the Cronbach Alpha method was used to measure the reliability of the 30 questions

that were used to measure in Likert Scale, the reliability, responsiveness, tangibility, assurance, empa-

thy, perceived service quality and passenger satisfaction. The Cronbach Alpha value was equivalent to

0.932, verifying that this model is suitable for this study.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Table 2 features the socio-demographic profiles of those who participated in the survey. The demo-

graphic factors assessed include gender, age, marital status and income level. The gender breakdown

of the participants was 53.4% female and 46.6% male. The marital status of the participants, 52.1%

were single and 47.9% were married. With regards to age, the majority of respondents were in the

age bracket of 31 to 40 years at 33.3%; 28.5% were aged 21 to 30 and 27.8% were between 41 to 50

years. In terms of income distribution, the study found that 42.3% of the participants were earning

between 10,001 RMB and 12,000 RMB; 24.5% earned between 8,001 RMB and 10,000 RMB, 16.1%

earned between 12,001 RMB and 14,000 RMB, 10.2% earned between 6,001 RMB and 8,000 RMB,

5.8% earned 14,001 RMB and above. Only 1.1% of the participants had a monthly income less than

6,000 RMB.

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

Table 2.

Socio-demographic Profile of Respondents (N = 409)

Characteristic

Percentage

Characteristic

Percentage

Age

Income (RMB)

Below 20

1.3

Less than RMB6000

1.1

21-30

28.5

RMB6001 to RMB8000

10.2

31-40

33.3

RMB8001 to

RMB10000

24.5

41-50

27.8

RMB10001 to

RMB12000

42.3

51-60

5.8

RMB12001 to

RMB14000

16.1

61 & above

3.3

RMB14001 and above

5.8

Gender

Marital Status

Male

53.4

Single

52.1

Female

46.6

Married

47.9

Source: Survey 2018

*1USD = RMB 6.83

MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the SERQUAL di-

mensions, passenger perceived service quality and passenger satisfaction of Chinese airlines and For-

eign airlines.

Chinese Airlines (Perceived Service Quality and Satisfaction)

The estimated parameters and the statistical significance levels are shown in Table 3. The multiple

regression is divided into two sections where the first section shows the indirect effect where per-

ceived service quality is the mediator and second section show the direct effect without any influence

from mediator.

Indirect Effect of Five predictors towards Perceived Service Quality

The multiple regression model for indirect effect with all five predictors produced R

=0.564,

F=25.13, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.542. This indicates that

54.2% of the variance in passenger perceived service quality towards Chinese airline is explained by

the five SERQUAL dimensions. The remaining 45.8% are due to other factors. The residuals do not

correlate since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW = 1.854) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5.

Collinearity was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity

was found within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was

more than 0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 3, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y=0.641 + 0.201

(Assurance)

+ 0.168

(Empathy)

+ 0.118

(Responsiveness)

+ 0.351

(Reliability)

- 0.051

(Tangibles)

A responsiveness score of (p=0.182) and tangibles score of (p=0.592) does not show any significant

relationship with passenger perceived service quality towards Chinese airlines for which the p-value is

more than 0.05.

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

As shown in Table 3, the assurance had significant positive regression weights (p=0.010; β= 0.201),

indicating that passengers who think that the employees of Chinese airlines are consistently courte-

ous with customers, knowledgeable in answering customers’ questions, instill confidence in custom-

ers and make them feel safe in transactions are overall perceived as good service quality provided by

Chinese airlines. The results are in line with Gilbert and Wong (2003) findings who argued that assur-

ance is the most important dimension that can influence consumer perception towards the airline

service quality. Reliability had a significant positive regression weight of (p=0.000; β=0.351). This

indicates that passengers who perceive that Chinese airlines provide the service at the time of prom-

ised, sincere in solving customers problem, perform the service right at the first time will perceived

higher service quality levels than their competitors. Previous studies have also pointed out that ser-

vices such as ability to perform the promised service accurately (Zeglat et al., 2008) are indicators for

airline reliability. Empathy had a significant positive regression weight of (p=0.045; β=0.168). This

implies that passengers who agreed that Chinese airline employees provide customer personal atten-

tion and understand the specific needs of customers are likely to perceive higher service quality levels

than other passengers. This finding is consistent with the study conducted by Kasper et al., (2006)

who identified empathy such as customized people management, courteousness is an important at-

tribute of this dimension which influence passenger perceived service quality.

Indirect Effect of Perceived Service Quality towards Perceived Satisfaction

The multiple regression model for indirect effect with perceived service quality produced R

=0.587,

F=143.702, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.583. This indicates that

58.3% of the variance in passenger satisfaction towards Chinese airlines is explained by passenger

perceived service quality. The remaining 41.7% are due to other factors. The residuals do not corre-

late since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW = 1.895) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5. Collin-

earity was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity was

found within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was more

than 0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 3, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y= 1.589 + 0.601

(Perceived Service Quality)

As shown in Table 3, the perceived service quality had significant positive regression weights

(p=0.000; β=0.610), indicating that passengers overall impression of the relative efficiency of the

airline and its services are likely to have higher satisfy level than other passengers. Previous studies

also point out that service quality is an important assessment to evaluate whether a service meets or

exceeds customer needs and expectations (Zahari et al., 2008).

Direct Effect (Five predictors  Passenger Satisfaction)

The multiple regression model for direct effect with all five predictors produced R

= 0.369,

F=11.366, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.337. This indicates that

33.7% of the variance in passenger satisfaction towards Chinese airlines is explained by the five

SERQUAL dimensions. The remaining 66.3% are due to other factors. The residuals do not correlate

since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW = 2.367) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5. Collineari-

ty was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity was found

within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was more than

0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 3, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y= 1.886 - 0.017

(Assurance)

+ 0.157

(Empathy)

+ 0.136

(Responsiveness)

+ 0.247

(Reliability)

- 0.008

(Tangibles)

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

An assurance score of (p=0.819), responsiveness score of (p=0.109) and tangibles score of (p=0.927)

does not show any significant relationship with passenger satisfaction towards Chinese airlines for

which the p-value is more than 0.05. As shown in Table 3, the empathy had significant positive re-

gression weights (p=0.050; β=0.157). This implies that passengers who agreed that Chinese airlines

employees provide customer personal attention and understand the specific needs of customers are

likely to have higher satisfaction levels than other passengers.

Table 3.

Passenger Satisfaction toward Chinese Airlines

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

Std.

Error

Beta

Tolerance

VIF

Indirect Effect

IV  Perceived Service Quality

(Constant)

0.641

0.327

1.961

0.053

Assurance

0.201

0.076

0.251

2.627

0.010***

0.493

2.027

Empathy

0.168

0.083

0.194

2.035

0.045**

0.497

2.014

Responsiveness

0.118

0.088

0.138

1.345

0.182

0.429

2.330

Reliability

0.351

0.093

0.354

3.755

0.000***

0.507

1.974

Tangibles

-0.051

0.094

-0.048

-0.538

0.592

0.565

1.771

Note: R

= 0.564, Adjusted R

= 0.542, Durbin Watson = 1.854, F-Test= 25.13 (P < 0.01)

Perceived Service Quality  Passenger Satisfaction

(Constant)

1.589

0.209

7.606

0.000

N/A

Perceived Ser-

vice Quality

0.610

0.051

0.766

11.988

0.000***

N/A

Note: R

= 0.587, Adjusted R

= 0.583, Durbin Watson = 1.895, F-Test= 143.702 (P < 0.01)

Direct Effect

IV  Passenger Satisfaction

(Constant)

1.886

0.313

6.024

0.000

0.493

2.027

Assurance

-0.017

0.073

-0.026

-0.229

0.819

0.497

2.014

Empathy

0.157

0.079

0.227

1.986

0.050**

0.429

2.330

Responsiveness

0.136

0.084

0.199

1.616

0.109

0.507

1.974

Reliability

0.247

0.090

0.312

2.758

0.007***

0.565

1.771

Tangibles

-0.008

0.090

-0.010

-0.092

0.927

0.493

2.027

Note: R

= 0.369, Adjusted R

= 0.337, Durbin Watson = 2.367, F-Test= 11.366 (P < 0.01)

***Statistically significant at 0.01 level

** Statistically significant at 0.05 level

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

This finding is consistent with the study conducted by Tsantoulis and Palmer (2008) that identified

empathy such as the attitude of the ground and flight crew delivering the service were the most es-

sential attributes of passenger satisfaction. Reliability had a significant positive regression weight of

(p=0.007; β= 0.247). This indicates that passengers who perceive that Chinese airlines provide the

service at the time of promised, are sincere in solving customers problem, perform the service right

at the first time will have higher satisfaction levels than their competitors. The finding is similar to the

research conducted by Sultan and Simpson (2000) that indicated that passenger perceived of service

quality is mainly linked to reliability. Overall, responsiveness appears to be insignificant for most of

the Chinese passengers when evaluating the service quality because most Chinese are more skeptical

of others’ intention and how truthful they are (Hofstede Insight, n.d.). The responsiveness of the

airline staff will be perceived as insincere help and profit motivated. As for tangibles, the appearance

of the physical facilities, equipment, personnel and materials are insignificant as the China passengers

are more concern on reaching their destination timely and safely. The physical attributes will be insig-

nificant as compared to the purpose of taking flights. In addition, with the emergence of online

flight booking and the convenience of e-commerce, physical attributes may not be a relevant variable

for evaluating the service quality of a Chinese airline company. On the other hand, assurance in ser-

vice quality is not significant for China’s passengers from a Chinese airline because they trust on the

actual performance and not promise. As Chinese society puts emphasis on actual results, assurance

will not be significant if a particular Chinese airline is not capable of providing satisfactory service.

Foreign Airline (Perceived Services Quality and Satisfaction)

The estimated parameters and the statistical significance levels are shown in Table 4. The multiple

regression analysis is divided into two sections where the first section show the indirect effect where

perceive service quality is the mediator and second section show the direct effect without any influ-

ence from mediator.

Indirect Effect of Five predictors towards Perceived Service Quality)

The multiple regression model for indirect effect with all five predictors produced R

=0.593,

F=102.460, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.588. This indicates that

58.8% of the variance in passenger perceived service quality towards Foreign airline is explained by

the five SERQUAL dimensions. The remaining 41.2% are due to other factors. The residuals do not

correlate since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW=2.025) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5.

Collinearity was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity

was found within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was

more than 0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 4, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y= 0.719 + 0.005

(Assurance)

+ 0.091

(Empathy)

+ 0.335

(Responsiveness)

+ 0.087

(Reliability)

+ 0.240

(Tangibles)

An assurance score of (p=0.888) does not show any significant relationship with passenger perceived

service quality towards Foreign airline for which the p-value is more than 0.05.

As shown in Table 4, the tangibles had significant positive regression weights (p=0.000; β= 0.240),

indicating that passengers who think that Foreign airline physical facilities are good, employees are

trustworthy and material or equipment looks modern will have a higher perceived services quality

level than Chinese airlines. The results are in line with Mohamed, AbdelFattah and Gadallah findings

who argued that the five tangible service attributes including the average age of the fleet, the appear-

ance of aircraft, the layout of the aircraft, the in- flight entertainment variety, and the cabin seat com-

fort were tightly related to the service quality (Mohamed, AbdelFattah and Gadallah , 2008). Reliabil-

ity had a significant positive regression weight of (p=0.002; β=0.087). This indicates that passengers

who perceive that Foreign airlines provide accurate service information, perform the service right the

first time and insist on error free will have higher perceived services quality level than China airlines.

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

According to Jing Zhu (2016) analysis on Chinese airlines, a top priority for improvement should be

given to the reliability dimension as the more reliable the Chinese airline the higher the customer per-

ceived on the quality of the airline services. Responsiveness had a significant positive regression

weight of (p=0.000; β=0.335). This implies that passengers who agreed that Foreign airlines employ-

ees provide prompt services, always willing to help and inform the customers exactly when services

will be performed are likely to have higher perceived services quality level than Chinese Airlines. This

finding is consistent with the study conducted by Bruning, Hu and Hao (2009) who suggested that

responsiveness such as attitude of the ground and flight crew members, baggage handling service,

efficient check-in service, and employees handling of requests or complaints promptly as being a

dominant predictor of the overall perceived quality level of Foreign airlines.

Indirect Effect of Perceived Service Quality towards Perceived Satisfaction)

The multiple regression model for indirect effect with perceived service quality produced R

= 0.558,

F=447.679, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.556. This indicates that

55.6% of the variance in passenger satisfaction towards Chinese airlines is explained by passenger

perceived service quality. The remaining 44.4% are due to other factors. The residuals do not corre-

late since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW=2.091) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5. Colline-

arity was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity was

found within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was more

than 0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 4, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y= 0.831 + 0.755

(Perceived Service Quality)

As shown in Table 4, the perceived service quality had significant positive regression weights

(p=0.000; β=0.755), indicating that passengers overall impression of the relative efficiency of the

Foreign airlines and its services are likely to have higher satisfy level than Chinese airlines. Previous

studies also point out that service quality is an important attribute for achieving a competitive ad-

vantage through the strategy of differentiation (Tiernan, Rhoades and Waguespack, 2008)

Direct Effect (Five predictors  Passenger Satisfaction)

The multiple regression model for direct effect with all five predictors produced R

= 0.488,

F=66.908, p=0.000, p-value<0.05. Since the F test is significant, we can conclude that the model is

acceptable for this research. The value of the adjusted R

was equal to 0.481. This indicates that

48.1% of the variance in passenger satisfaction towards Foreign airline is explained by the five SER-

QUAL dimensions. The remaining 51.9% are due to other factors. The residuals do not correlate

since the Durbin Watson statistic (DW=2.075) is within the acceptance range of 1.5-2.5. Collinearity

was tested by using tolerance and the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). No Collinearity was found

within the data since the results show that the tolerance for all independent variables was more than

0.1 and the value for VIF were less than 10.

From Table 4, we can see that the equation for the regression line is:

Y= 1.013 + 0.045

(Assurance)

+ 0.131

(Empathy)

+ 0.284

(Responsiveness)

- 0.066

(Reliability)

+ 0.293

(Tangibles)

An assurance score of (p=0.248) and reliability score of (p=0.164) does not show any significant rela-

tionship with passenger satisfaction towards Foreign airlines for which the p-value is more than 0.05.

As shown in Table 4, the tangibles had significant positive regression weights of (p=0.000; β=0.240),

indicating that passengers who think that Foreign airline physical facilities up to standard, employees

are presentable and material or equipment look modern will have a higher satisfaction level than Chi-

nese airlines. The results are in line with Tsantoulis and Palmer (2008), cabin comfort and in-flight

amenities were the most essential attributes of passenger satisfaction. Empathy had a significant

positive regression weight of (p=0.000; β=0.131). This indicates that passengers who perceive that

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

employee from Foreign airlines provide personal attention to individual passenger’s requirement and

understand the specific needs of customers will have higher satisfaction levels than Chinese airlines.

Responsiveness had a significant positive regression weight of (p=0.000; β=0.284). ). This implies

that passengers who agreed that Foreign airlines employees provide prompt services, are always will-

ing to help and inform the customers exactly when services will be performed are likely to have high-

er satisfaction level than Chinese airlines. This finding is consistent with the study conducted by

Tiernan, Rhoades and Waguespack (2008) which clearly show that responsiveness was critical to the

Foreign airlines when competing with Chinese airlines where the study indicated that frequent flyers

have a higher expectation on responsiveness of the staff towards the passengers’ need.

Table 4.

Passenger Satisfaction toward Foreign airlines

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

Sig.

Collinearity Statistics

Std.

Error

Beta

Tolerance

VIF

Indirect Effect

IV  Perceived Service Quality

(Constant)

0.719

0.128

5.619

0.000

Assurance

0.005

0.035

0.007

0.140

0.888

0.409

2.445

Empathy

0.091

0.042

0.110

2.181

0.030**

0.458

2.184

Responsiveness

0.335

0.023

0.545

14.728

0.000***

0.846

1.182

Reliability

0.087

0.028

0.111

3.072

0.002***

0.891

1.123

Tangibles

0.240

0.047

0.271

5.064

0.000***

0.405

2.469

Note: R

= 0.593, Adjusted R

= 0.588, Durbin Watson = 2.025, F-Test= 102.460 (P < 0.01)

Perceived Service Quality  Passenger Satisfaction

(Constant)

0.813

0.115

7.045

0.000

N/A

Perceived Service

Quality

0.755

0.036

0.747

21.158

0.000***

N/A

Note: R

= 0.558, Adjusted R

= 0.556, Durbin Watson = 2.091, F-Test= 447.679 (P < 0.01)

Direct Effect

IV  Passenger Satisfaction

(Constant)

1.013

0.145

6.984

0.000

0.409

2.445

Assurance

0.045

0.039

0.069

1.156

0.248

0.458

2.184

Empathy

0.131

0.032

0.165

4.080

0.000***

0.405

2.469

Responsiveness

0.284

0.026

0.458

11.018

0.000***

0.891

1.123

Reliability

-0.066

0.047

-0.079

-1.395

0.164

0.846

1.182

Tangibles

0.293

0.054

0.327

5.441

0.000***

0.409

2.445

Note: R

= 0.488, Adjusted R

= 0.481, Durbin Watson = 2.075, F-Test= 66.908 (P < 0.01), ***Statistically

significant at 0.01 level, ** Statistically significant at 0.05 level

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

Overall, assurance appears to be insignificant for Foreign airlines. Chinese passengers may not need

assurance in service quality from Foreign airlines because most of the flight information is readily

available and passengers can manage on their own on the flight arrangement. In addition, communi-

cation difficulties still exist, as there are many native languages in China asides from Mandarin, which

differ across states and provinces. Trust will be difficult to establish if there is communication prob-

lem and language issue. Reliability apparently deemed as insignificant for Chinese passengers on For-

eign airline. One of the possible explanations for this circumstance could be the preference on home

country services where Chinese passengers felt the warmth and dependability with staff from Chi-

nese airlines as compared with Foreign airlines. The psychological barrier where Chinese passengers

perceive that Chinese airlines are more reliable and better than Foreign airlines may cause reliability

of the service quality from Foreign airlines to be insignificant.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study suggests a new approach to theoretically explore the various dimensions of passenger

perceived service quality and satisfaction by comparing Chinese airlines to Foreign airlines. This study

confirms that not all of the five SERQUAL dimensions will influence passenger perception on air-

lines’ service quality. Results indicate that respondents from China generally perceive Chinese airlines

as being more empathetic and reliable and as providing a higher quality of tangibles. Table 5 features

a summary of the multiple regression results that were calculated. Results showed that Foreign air-

lines performed better than Chinese airlines in terms of responsiveness towards passengers’ need.

This may because physical attributes by Foreign airlines such as materials, plane, lounge, information

and support are readily available for passengers. However, despite that Foreign airlines perform bet-

ter in term of responsiveness, the communication difficulties still exist between the China passengers

and employees as not many personnel are well versed with the native languages in China. On the

other hand, Chinese passengers felt that travel with Chinese airlines was more reliable due to the

warmth and dependability of home country folks in comparison to Foreign airlines. According to

Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), there is a change of classification of complaints

starting in 2009 and the types of complaints are different compared to those of the previous years.

The type of complaints changed from flight delays, baggage problems, ticketing problems, flight

information, check-in services, cargo problems to passenger services, re-funding, services for disa-

bled, flight connection, chartered flights, over-sold ticket and miscellaneous. This may due to the

change in the demographic of passengers where most of the passenger are from Generation Y. Gen-

eration Y is one of the generations that predict differences in passenger complaint attitudes and be-

haviors. On issues ranging from Foreign affairs to social policy, generational differences in attitudes

can be very wide and most illuminating.

Understanding what drives generational differences strengthens the marketers understanding of how

passenger attitudes and loyalty (Howe, Strauss and Matson, 2000). In this study, more than 50 percent

of the passengers are from Generation Y (Born between 1980 to 1997) a generation identified as

being externally motivated, calculative and rationalistic about long range plans, as having a strong

feelings about social responsibility and thinking carefully about finance (Twenge, 2006). Therefore,

they are more concerned by the airline service quality. Due to the changes of demographic and par-

ticipation of generation Y, the challenges increase among the airline managers when designing strate-

gies to increase consumer satisfied quality and planning for operational efficiency. In the presence of

intangibility, perishability, variability, heterogeneity, inseparability, and lack of ownership when prob-

lem arises, it is easy for the passengers to have the sense of uncertainty and insecurity. To prevent

such circumstance, maintaining a great quality relationship with the passengers will usually lower their

uncertainty and provide them with a sense of security.

Phuah, Abdullah and Bernard

Table 5.

Summary of Comparison between China Airline and Foreign Airline

SERQUAL Dimensions

Chinese Airlines

Foreign Airlines

Indirect Effect

IV  Perceived Service Quality

Assurance

Reject hypothesis

Fail to reject hypothesis

Empathy

Reject hypothesis

Responsiveness

Fail to reject hypothesis

Reject hypothesis

Reliability

Reject hypothesis

Tangibles

Fail to reject hypothesis

Reject hypothesis

Perceived Service Quality



Passenger Satisfaction

Reject hypothesis

Direct Effect

IV  Passenger Satisfaction

Assurance

Fail to reject hypothesis

Empathy

Reject hypothesis

Responsiveness

Fail to reject hypothesis

Reject hypothesis

Reliability

Reject hypothesis

Fail to reject hypothesis

Tangibles

Fail to reject hypothesis

Reject hypothesis

Source: Survey 2018

Consumer protection is one of the core principles of ICAO’s economic development and the link

between high level of passenger satisfaction and business performance are increasingly clear. While

ICAO enables member states to fulfill their passengers’ primary needs, airlines might not be con-

sistent due to wide differences in quality of services offered by them. Therefore, establishing great

relationships with passengers has become a crucial factor for success. Moreover, ways of maintaining

a great relationship with customers also becomes an important issue for the airline industry. In addi-

tion, importance-performance analysis indicates that an airline should maintain the provision of ad-

vantages such as in-flight newspaper, magazines, entertainment like in-flight movies and on-time de-

parture or arrival.

Furthermore, focusing to improve services in areas like handling of delays, efficiency in check-in,

baggage handling service and quality of the reservation services will improve passenger loyalty to a

particular airline. The findings of this study indicate that Chinese passengers value traits of pragmat-

ic culture, outcome orientation, relationship and an airlines ability to provide good service. The main

limitation of this study is due to the random sampling method that was utilized, as it only covers cus-

tomers who passed through the departure gates of the Shanghai and Beijing Airports. Future studies

could potentially focus on passengers traveling from other airports in China. For this study, six hun-

dred questionnaires were distributed; however, the response rate was not very high at 68.2 percent.

This is due to the logic where flight passengers are normally in hurry of catching their flights and

tend to be less cooperative in survey. Therefore, only 409 valid questionnaires were collected. The

response rate for this study is only 68.2percent. The data collected could potentially be used by airline

management boards to help develop new strategies and to deliver more efficient services.

Chinese Passenger Satisfaction of Airlines

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BIOGRAPHIES

Dr. Phuah Kit Teng is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Communication and Law at

INTI International University. Her research interests include consumer buying behavior, food mar-

keting, digital marketing and organization behavior. With 8 years of research experience, she has pub-

lished over 20 articles and has presented over 30 papers related articles to her field.

Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah is currently a lecturer at Faculty of Business, Communication

and Law in Inti International University. With 10 years of teaching experience and 5 years of indus-

trial experience, she has keen research interest in Tourism marketing and sustainable tourist behavior.

Bernard Lim Jit Heng is a lecturer at the Faculty of Business, Communication and Law at Inti In-

ternational University. For his tenure of 10 years in the academic world, his interest is in business,

finance and management. He contributes to academic writing, co-curricular activities and operation

of the faculty.