An empirical investigation of passenger diversity, airline service quality, and passenger satisfaction

The importance of the airline service quality and passengers' satisfaction in the logistics management process has been recognized by scholars in the field. Yet, theoretical and empirical attention to relate them was lacking.; The study was designed to investigate the relationships among passenger diversity (airline class, purpose of the trip), airline service quality, and passenger satisfaction. Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following: (1) to examine the relationship between passengers' airline classes and airline service quality; (2) to examine the relationship between passengers' purpose of the trip and airline service quality; (3) to examine the relationship between the passenger diversity factors and passenger satisfaction; (4) to examine the relationship between airline service quality and passenger satisfaction. An empirical investigation of air passengers traveling via Los Angeles International Airport was carried out through the use of a self-administered survey questionnaire. From the 2000 distributed questionnaires, 490 usable responses were received representing a 24.5% response rate.; The empirical results reveal that passengers were somewhat satisfied with the services provided by airlines. Passenger diversity factors do not influence airline service quality. First class passengers have a tendency to be more satisfied than business or coach travelers. Passenger satisfaction was the same among those traveling for business and pleasure/personal reasons. Airline service quality strongly influences passenger satisfaction. It was also found that in explaining the overall variation in passenger satisfaction, the quality dimensions of responsiveness, empathy, and assurance were the most significant to air travelers.