| This quantitative study utilized SERVQUAL, a gap theory service quality measurement instrument, to compare the perceived quality of service provided to pilots by Nav Canada, a privatized air traffic control organization in Canada, to the perceived quality of service provided to pilots by the Air Traffic Organization, a nonprivatized air traffic control organization in the United States. This study addressed the gap in the literature regarding perceived quality of service provided by privatized and nonprivatized air traffic control organizations to their direct customers: pilots. The purpose of this study was to determine if a privatized air traffic control organization, such as Nav Canada, or a nonprivatized Air Traffic Organization provided better perceived service quality to pilots. The problem was U.S. government officials are poised to privatize the United States' air traffic control, yet data were lacking regarding which type of organization provides better service quality. There is potential for privatization to lessen the perceived service quality provided to U.S. pilots affecting the stakeholders of the entire U.S. national airspace system, the safety of those operating the system and the U.S. economy. This study was a non experimental, cross-sectional research design and used an Internet-based SERVQUAL survey, modified for the U.S. and Canadian air traffic control industry, to collect data on perceived service quality provided to pilots by their air traffic control. The population studied were certificated pilots from the United States and its territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada who used their respective air traffic control facility within the previous 12 months. The sample included 79 participants from Canada and 125 participants from the U.S. for a total of 204 pilot participants. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 23, using independent sample t-tests. Data analysis revealed three major findings. There was not a statistically significant difference in the perceived quality of service provided to pilots by the Air Traffic Organization and the perceived quality of service provided to pilots by Nav Canada. According to the analysis of the SERVQUAL instrument data, the Air Traffic Organization provided better perceived service quality, indicated by a less negative service quality overall mean gap score. U.S. pilots were significantly more satisfied with service quality provided to them by the Air Traffic Organization than Canadian pilots were with the service quality provided to them by Nav Canada. |
