ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

MBA PROGRAM

Assessment of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A case study of Ethiopian

Air Lines

A thesis submitted to school of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration.

By:

Gashaw Girma Kassahun

Advisor: Dr.Tufail Ahamad

June 2011

Addis Ababa

1
 ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

MBA PROGRAM

Assessment of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A Case Study of

Ethiopian Air Lines

By:

Gashaw Girma Kassahun

(ID NO. GSR/0452)

Approved by Board of Examiners

________________ ___________

Advisor Signature

________________ ___________

Examiner Signature

June 2011

Addis Ababa

2
 Declaration

I, the under signed, declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a
degree in any other University, and that all sources of materials used for the thesis have been
duly acknowledged.

Declared by:

Name _________________________

Signature ______________________

Date: _________________

Confirmed by:

Name _______________________

Signature _______________________

Date: __________________

Date and place of submission _______________________

3
 Acknowledgement

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Tufail Ahamad, my thesis

advisor, for his unreserved support and encouragement throughout the thesis work. He was

always open to discussion, a good listener, and open to challenges.

I would also want to express my heartfelt thanks to Ethiopian Airlines for allowing me to pursue

my studies. Special thanks go to Ato Biniam, public relations officer for his support in getting

the permission to conduct my study.

Finally, I am very grateful for my friend Ali Yibre without his ideas and support this paper may

not look as it appear now.

4
 Table of Contents

Contents Pages

Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................................ I
Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ II
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. IV
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. V
Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... .VI
Abstract ................................................................................................................................... …VII

Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background ...............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ..........................................................................................................3
1.3 Objectives .................................................................................................................................5
1.4 Significance of the Study ..........................................................................................................5
1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study ............................................................................................6
1.6 Organization of the Study .........................................................................................................6

Chapter Two
Literature Review
2.1 Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................................................7
2.2 Service Quality...........................................................................................................................9
2.3 The Importance of Service Quality in Airline Services ..........................................................12
2.4 Airline Service Quality ............................................................................................................14
2.5 Customer Satisfaction ..............................................................................................................16
2.6 Customer Loyalty.....................................................................................................................18
2.7 The Relationship Between Satisfaction and Service Quality .................................................19
2.8 The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty ........................................21

5
Chapter Three
Methodology
3.1 Research Approach ..................................................................................................................22
3.2 Research Design ......................................................................................................................23
3.3 Sampling Method and Sample Size ........................................................................................25
3.4 Data Collection Method ...........................................................................................................25
3.5 Data Analysis Method..............................................................................................................27
3.6 Description of the Study Area .................................................................................................28

Chapter Four
Results and Discussion
4.1 Data Sample Information .........................................................................................................32
4.2 Service Quality Measurement .................................................................................................34
4.3 Analysis of Service Quality and Passengers’ Satisfaction ......................................................36
4.4 Describing the Findings ..........................................................................................................41
4.5 Customer Satisfaction in Ethiopian Air Lines ........................................................................42

Chapter Five
Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................44
5.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................45
References
Appendixes

6
 List of figures pages

Figure 2.1 SERVQUAL Model ......................................................................................................9

Figure 3.1 Frame Work of the Research Design ..........................................................................24

7
 List of Tables pages

Table 4.1Distribution of demographic variables ..........................................................................32

Table 4.2 service dimensions and measurement ...........................................................................33

Table 4.3 one sample t test ............................................................................................................36

Table 4.4 overall performances in dimensions from passengers point of view ............................40

8
 List of Acronyms

EAL Ethiopian airlines

SERVQUAL Service Quality

WOM Word of mouth

9
 Abstract
Today competition is not only rife, but growing more intense constantly. However, companies
need to start paying keen attention to their competitors, they must understand their customers.
Airlines are suffering from each competition. They have to believe customers as core concept of
their business; customer satisfaction is what guarantees the future of air lines and it is
achievable by taking up their services and passengers’ needs. In other words, service quality is
typically defined in terms of consumer satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to measure the
service quality and its subsequent effect on customer satisfaction at Ethiopian airlines using a
model that describes various dimensions of service quality. To this purpose the researcher has
studied the service quality of the air line using SERVQUAL model. Convenience sampling
technique was used in the study to take a sample from the infinite population. A total sample of
150 respondents who have made a flight with Ethiopian airlines were taken as a respondent. A
questionnaire was designed based on the model in order to examine all the five factors of service
quality in the model for air line industry. It is inclusively concluded that passengers of EAL are
not satisfied with the perceived services of three dimensions of the model and it warns the air
line to focus on passengers expectations. Tangibles, assurance, responsiveness, reliability and
empathy are five features of the model and in tangibles and reliability the passengers are
satisfied, but in the remaining three passengers feel dissatisfied. Managers should train
employees, improve visually attractive facilities and coordinate all people, departments and
organizations involved with the services. Finally, managers at EAL should measure passengers’
satisfaction and service quality seasonally to keep the services corresponded with customers’
opinions.

10
 Chapter One
Introduction

1.1 Background

To remain competitive, service providers must render quality service to their customers.

Moreover, understanding and meeting customers’ expectations and subsequently being different

from competitors are important in order to survive in the today world of globalization.

The air transport industry is one of the world’s most important service industries. Air transport is

essential to economic progress. In an increasingly global community and market place, air

transport makes possible the rapid movement of millions of people and billions of dollars worth

of goods to the market around the world fast and efficiently.

Airlines are becoming more and more customer oriented with innovative ideas and approaches.

Though price would remain the core competitive element especially in the leisure markets and

short sectors, new product and service features will become increasingly important in long

sectors. In the drive to secure individual and unique customer relationship in order to ensure

customer loyalty, more and more airlines are striving to differentiate their products through

branding, more individual treatment of customers.

Due to the increasing competitive pressure in their home markets and in order to benefit from

untapped African markets, European and Middle Eastern airlines are focusing on the region’s

market more and more. They are opening new routes, forming alliances with African airlines,

and offering competitive prices thereby imposing increased competition to African Airlines:

KLM Airways and Emirates Airline are the two notable examples in this regard (Getachew

Mersha, 2004).

11
The competition existing in the airline industry is a cutthroat competition and it is

multidimensional. Ticket pricing, economies of scale due to alliance of group of airlines,

employing the latest technology to enhance efficiency, etc., are some of the competing methods

used.

Service Quality is another and major area of competition. The end product of an airline is the

transportation services it offers to its customers. And the main performance indicator of an

airline is its Service Quality. By Service Quality is meant all the chain of activities that must take

place efficiently and effectively to transport the passenger from origin airport to the destination

airport (Getachew Mersha, 2004).

Airline Service Quality is a key differentiator between the competing airlines. It is especially

very critical in a highly competitive environment such as that of the Ethiopian Airlines operating

environment. Therefore, Service Quality improvement is key issue that determines the very

survival of the airline itself.

Past studies have attempted to measure customers’ perception of service quality and the effect of

customer satisfaction levels on their future behavior, and various strategies for achieving

customer satisfaction and customer loyalty have been suggested to companies from the findings

of these studies. The gap-model of the SERVQUAL instrument (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and

Berry, 1991), that compares the perception of performance (P) to expectation (E), has been

widely used in past studies in a variety of industries. This study attempts to replicate the

SERVQUAL measurement of Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1991) in determining the

existence of ‘service-gaps’ in Ethiopian airline.

12
It is envisioned that the data that has been collected would reflect the quality of services provided

by the airlines, assessing if whether its performance was on par with the expectations of its

customers in terms of overall satisfaction and loyalty. The feedback from respondents provide

guidelines for participating the airline in terms of strategies to improve its services and sustain

loyalty among existing customers, as well as help in designing measures to attract new

customers. From a consumer perspective, the findings uncover the values that consumers look

for in the choice of airline services and other affecting factors.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

It is imperative that service companies’ measure and monitor service quality and satisfaction

with a view of influencing the behavioral intentions of their customers (Saha and Theingi, 2009).

The speed and intensity of change in service offerings has accelerated in recent years within the

airline industry (Atilgan et al., 2008). Challenge in the airline market is becoming globally tough

as the passengers’ needs and wants are growing in variety. In such an occasion, airline

companies need to be aware of the latest shift and trend to be able to react on time. Thus, precise

and timely information on a wide range of customer needs and expectations become critically

important nowadays.

Airline services are made up of a very complex mix of intangibles (Gursoy et al., 2005). Thus,

measuring customers’ expectations, as well as their service quality is a real challenge because

customer satisfaction is determined by many intangible factors such as neatness of the cabin,

crews behaviors, etc.(Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 1994).

Ethiopian airline is exposed to a heavy competition against giant alliance in the international

scene, regional alliance in Africa and the Middle East, and strong individual airlines from

13
Europe, Middle East and Africa. Unless the airline prepare and develops strategy to counter the

upcoming competitive pressure, the consequences could be unmerciful.

Managers at Ethiopian air lines should be able to customize the air line service proposition

according to the passenger service attitude by monitoring and controlling. More over it should

have strong commitment to service excellence as they also act as the ambassadors that carry the

image of Ethiopia.

There are a number of complaints on the service delivery system of Ethiopian Airlines both on

the domestic and international flights. A Number of reasons are behind these customer

discontents. Whatever the reasons may be, once the customer is dissatisfied, it would be very

difficult to gain their trust back. In this regard, a research should be carried out to urge a major

reform, to assesses the root causes of the problem and get the problem rectified.

14
1.3 Objectives

The main purpose of this study is to assess service quality using the five dimensions of

SERVQUAL model at Ethiopian air lines and its subsequent effect on customer satisfaction.

This study also seeks to determine the dimension(s) or factor(s) that significantly influenced

the satisfaction level of passengers. The satisfaction level to be explored in this study is

based on the gap between passengers’ level of expectations and perception of the airline

services.

The specific objective of the study includes:

To measure the satisfaction level among passengers within Ethiopian air lines.

To identify effect of service quality dimensions on the satisfaction level of passengers.

To identify the key challenges and provide alternative options which enable the air line

to improve its service quality.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Even if there are few documents about the service quality with regard to Ethiopian airlines, there

are no previous well documented studies on service quality and its subsequent effect on customer

satisfaction with regard to the air line.

This research is thus intending to fill the literature gap related to service quality and customer

satisfaction using a model that will describe the various factors of service delivery through five

dimensions. More specifically this study will serve as preliminary work or a stepping stone for

further study on the issue.

15
1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This paper takes as a respondent only those passengers that are waiting their flight at bole

international air port terminal. Hence other customers of the air line those who have no flight at

the time of the data collection are not considered. This may affect the effectiveness of the

findings. Moreover, the paper will not distinguish between citizenship among the travelers. From

this point of view any passenger who has used the service of the airline before is considered as a

respondent for the questionnaire regardless of their citizenship. So, the thesis does not consider

the cultural difference of their view of aspects of service quality and their feeling of satisfaction.

Moreover, because of lack of availability of time resource to the work the paper have not

distinguished between domestic flights and international flights.

1.6 Organization of the Study

The remaining part of this thesis is organized as follows. Chapter two presents theoretical

background on measuring service quality using a known service quality model (SERVQUAL)

followed by a review of previous studies particularly empirical literatures related to the

SERVQUAL model. In chapter three, the methodological framework of model, the research

approach, method of data collection, and research design issues are presented in detail. The

empirical results with descriptive statistics of the model are presented and analyzed in the fourth

chapter. Lastly, in chapter five, the main findings of the study are summarized and some

recommendations are discussed.

16
 Chapter Two

Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical Framework

Since the development of SERVQUAL by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985), service

quality has been widely researched and applied in different types of industries. SERVQUAL is a

‘diagnostic tool that uncovers a firm’s broad weaknesses and strengths’ in service quality

(Hoffman and Bateson, 2006). The SERVQUAL model (performance minus expectation)

focuses on the five ‘gaps’ affecting the delivery of excellent service quality. This study focuses

on Gap 5: the difference between airline passenger expectations and perceptions of service.

The five dimensions of the SERVQUAL scale include (see Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry,

1988):

(a) The physical facilities, equipment, and the appearance of the staff (Tangibles);

(b) The dependability and accuracy of the service provider (Reliability);

(c) The ability to know and willingness to cater to customer needs (Responsiveness);

(d) The ability of the staff to instill confidence and trust in the company (Assurance);

(e) The ability of the staff to provide a caring service to customers (Empathy).

The service quality literature initially focused on measurement issues. Following the introduction

of the SERVQUAL, attention centered on the determinants of perceived service quality with

particular emphasis on the service delivery process. SERVQUAL, with its five dimensions (i.e.

tangibles, assurance, reliability, responsiveness, and empathy) has come to symbolize the

American perspective on service quality (Brady and Cronin, 2001), the European perspective

represented by Gronroos service quality model.

17
SERVQUAL is designed to measure service quality as perceived by the customer. Consumers in

the focus groups discussed service quality in terms of the extent which service performance on

the dimensions matched the level of performance that consumers thought a service should

provide. A high quality service would perform at a level that matched the level that the consumer

felt should be provided. The level of performance that a high quality service should provide was

termed as consumer expectations. If performance was below expectations, consumers judged

quality to be low. To illustrate, if firms responsiveness was below consumers expectations of the

responsiveness that a high quality firm should have, the firm would be evaluated as low in

quality in responsiveness. Parasuraman et al. (1985) basic model was that consumer perceptions

of quality emerge from the gap between performance and expectations, as performance exceeds

expectations, quality increases; and as performance decreases relative to expectations, quality

decreases. Thus, performance-to-expectations ‘‘gaps’’ on attributes are used to evaluate the

quality of a service from the theoretical foundation of SERVQUAL.

The SERVQUAL model concentrates on five gaps impairing the delivery of excellent service

quality: this study focuses on gap 5: the difference between air line passenger expectations and

perceptions of service.

Before intensive efforts can be successfully undertaken to level out service management

problems that impede the delivery of truly excellent service quality, it is essential to know to

what degree customer perceptions of existing service fail to meet expectations; this study focuses

on that primary issue. There after it becomes important to know whether differences exist in

management perceptions of customer expectations (Gap 1), a discrepancy in management

perceptions and the service specifications that are enacted (Gap 2), etc. Thus this paper deals

18
with gap 5 which focuses on the differences between consumer expectations and perceptions.

This is the only gap that can be examined solely on the data from the consumer.

Word-of Mouth
Personal Needs Past
Communication experience

Expected
service

Gap 5
Perceived
service
Customer
Provider Service Gap 4 External
communications
Gap 3 delivery
to customers

Gap 1 Service quality

specifications

Gap 2
Management perceptions
of customer expectations

Figure 2.1 SERVQUAL Model

2.2. Service Quality

Gronroos (1982) and Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) were the pioneers in the

conceptualization of the service quality construct, these authors maintained that the overall

perception of quality was a disconfirmation of a customer’s expectation and his/her evaluation of

a service. Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed a disconfirmation measurement, the SERVQUAL

instrument, to measure service quality and its dimensions. Although the definitions of service

19
quality vary, the definitions are all formulated from the customer perspective: that is, what

customers perceive are important dimensions of quality.

However, Cronin and Talylor (1992) argued that service quality should be conceptualized as

“similar to an attitude” approach and should be operationalized by the “adequacy-importance”

model. Cronin and Taylor (1992), using a performance-based approach, developed the

SERVPREF measurement instrument. Cronin and Taylor (1994) maintained that performance-

based measurements display a slightly higher predictive power of customer perceptions of

service quality.

Other empirical researchers (Pitt, Watson, and Kavan, 1997; Babakus and Boller, 1992) also

provide evidence that the performance- based measure is superior. Moreover, Zeithaml, Berry,

and Parasuraman (1993) also conceded that the performance-based measurement was more

appropriate if the primary purpose of research was an attempt to explain the variance in a

dependent construct.

The dimensions of service quality have also been debated in the literature. For example,

Gronroos (1982) proposed technical (the tangible aspects of service delivery) and functional (the

expressive performance of the service) qualities as two critical dimensions of service quality.

Alternatively, Parasuraman et al. (1988) proposed five service quality dimensions, namely,

tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Rust and Oliver (1994) developed

a three-component dimensional model and concluded that the service product (i.e. technical

quality), the service delivery (i.e. functional quality), and the service environment were critical

dimensions of service quality. Dabholkar, Thorpe, D.I (1994) tested a hierarchical

conceptualization of retail service quality that proposed three levels: (1) customers’ overall

20
perceptions of service quality; (2) primary dimensions; and (3) sub dimensions. Brady and

Cronin (2001) adopted the view that service quality perceptions were multidimensional and

identified the primary dimensions of their model based on Rust and Oliver’s (1994) findings.

In Brady and Cronin’s (1992) conceptualization, each primary dimension has three sub

dimensions that define the basis of service quality perceptions and customers evaluate the

reliability, responsiveness, and empathy aspects of these sub dimensions. The aggregate

evaluations of the sub dimensions form their perceptions of an organization’s performance on

each of the three primary dimensions, and those perceptions then lead to an overall service

quality perception. The debate on service quality dimensions is still ambiguous, but it is

generally accepted that perceptions of service quality are multidimensional and the dimensions

are industry-specific.

Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml (1991) demonstrate perceived service quality as the customer-

based performance measure. Headley and Bowen (1997) inform that service quality is the

difference between what customers’ needs and what they certainly perceive as outcome. Service

quality can be defined in the marketing literature as a post consumption assessment of services

by customers. Holdford & Reinders (2001). Perceived service quality is also seen in the

customer’s global point of view or judgment of the overall excellence or superiority of the

service Ugboma, et al. (2004). According to Mostafa (2005), service quality has become a

famous research topic because of its important relationship to costs, profitability, customer

satisfaction, customer retention, service guarantees, and financial performance.

Service quality is defined as a form of attitude that results from the comparison of expectations

with perceptions of performance over time (Parasuraman et al, 1988). The increasing

21
competition and uncertain economic conditions have generated an increasing demand of

expectation for quality services. In the same vein, a decreasing tolerance for poor service quality

is observed (Hart et al, 1990).

Customer perceptions on the other hand are also influenced by the indirect influence of the

service providers’ organizational structure, philosophy and corporate culture (Heskett 1987).

Customers’ expectations are diverse and constantly evolving and are formed by their experience

with the companies at the time of the service delivery (Davidow et al, 1989; Zeithaml et al

1990).

However, the perceived quality is the discrepancy between the customers’ expectations and their

perceptions of the actual performance (Zeithaml et al, 1990). The measurement of services has to

be based on perceived quality rather than objective quality because services are intangible,

heterogeneous and their consumption and production occurs simultaneously (Brensinger, 1993).

2.3 The Importance of Service Quality in Airline Services

Quality has become a significant concern for those in the service industry, specifically the airline

industry. Although people primarily use airplanes to satisfy their need to go from one place to

another, procedures from ticketing, checking, boarding and traveling to baggage handling, etc.

can also deeply influence travelers’ attitudes to the services provided by airlines and their

satisfaction with those services. Hence, airline passengers can experience many service

encounters with front-line employees as well as in-flight attendants, this is called ‘moment of

truth’. Passengers may judge or evaluate airline service quality through a comparison between

their experiences and expectations, over a number of quality attributes (Grönroos, 2000).

22
So far, many academic researchers have devoted themselves into studying the quality of airline

service by following the simple logic of comparing expectations/experiences or gap analysis. In

the research of Gourdin and Kloppenborg (1991), for example, indicated that identification of

service gaps is the first step toward quality improvements. Their findings showed that the gap

between passenger expectations, and management perceptions of passenger expectations, was the

most crucial failure point. That is, a critical issue for airline managers is being aware of

passenger expectations and meeting those expectations. Ostrowski, et al. (1993) also pointed out

that superior service quality could lead passengers to a significantly higher propensity of retained

preference. Some similar points also can be seen in the research of Lee and Cunningham (1996).

Thus, the service quality of airlines is an important issue, not only for airline managers; it is also

a key factor in building long-term brand recognition.

Whether for business purposes, official duties or for holidays, passengers traveling on airlines

expect certain levels of service quality, and this applies to specifically Ethiopian air lines

travelers as well. Consumers’ overall impressions of service quality are linked to how efficiently

an organization renders its services, and it is this impression that determines customers’

behavioral intentions to continuously patronize the airline or not. Good service quality helps

organizations increase profits (Buzzell and Gale, 1987) and maintains their competitive

advantage within their specific industry (Park, Roberson, and Wu, 2004). Airlines also need to be

aware of differences in service expectations among airline passengers (Sultan and Simpson,

2000; Cunningham, Young and Lee, 2002). Since service quality and delivery are tangible,

customers can make comparison between good and poor service providers. Thus, it is important

for airlines to develop passenger-focused services by making an effort to understand passengers’

expectations (Park, Robertson, and Wu, 2004).

23
Some research has shown that, besides having to change planes, flight scheduling, ticket prices,

in-flight service, employee attitudes, facilities and ticketing procedures are also key factors in

determining how airline service quality is evaluated and can influence a traveler’s choice of

airline (Cunningham, et al. 2002; Sultan and Simpson, 2000).

2.4 Air line Service Quality

First, we perceive air transport as service retailers. Although airlines offer varying degrees of

tangibility, airlines predominantly sell services. The demand for an airline seat is a derived

demand based on the customers’ desire to be in a different location at a certain time. One airline

seat is really not much different from another. It is the quality of service given to the customers

that will differentiate the competitors, determine market share and ultimately profitability

(Ayling 1991, Ott 1993).

Second, the expectation from a customer from an airline is mainly service related. Airlines must

surpass a passenger’s expectation of timeliness, convenience and comfort (Ott, 1993). Third, it

was revealed in an earlier study that convenient schedules is the most important service indicator

for frequent (more than 10 trips a year) and moderate fliers (3- 9 trips a year) whilst light fliers

(1-2 trips a year) ranked destinations as their main preference (Ott, 1993). This justifies that

though the objective of flying from one place to another is for transportation purposes, the

importance in ranking by airline passengers is mainly service related.

Most of the literature suggests that airline passengers look at service quality as a multi-

dimensional variable, which is consistent with the Parasuraman’s et al. (1988) conception of

service quality popularly known as SERVQUAL. SERVQUAL measures service quality based

24
on five dimensions namely reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness. The

instrument is based on the premise that customers’ assessments of overall service quality are

determined by the “gap” between their level of expectations and their perceptions of actual

performance. The instrument has been used by researchers to measure airline service quality

such as Sultan and Simpson (2000). In general, service quality literature recognizes expectations

as an instrumental influence in consumer evaluations of service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1985

as cited in Sultan & Simpson, 2000).

According to Atilgan et al. (2008), in most of the service settings customers may not received the

level of service they expected before the actual service experience. The performance of the

service falls either under customers’ expectations or above expectation. When expectations are

exceeded, service is perceived to be of high quality and also to be a surprise. When expectations

are not met, service quality is deemed unacceptable. When expectations are confirmed by

perceived service, quality is satisfactory. However, quality, which falls short of expectations, has

a greater effect on customer satisfaction than quality which exceeds satisfaction (Zeithal and

Bitner, 2000). The notion that service quality and customer satisfaction are distinctive variables

has achieved some degree of consensus among researchers (Saha and Theingi, 2009).

The construct of service quality is evaluated by the actual service performance in terms of

particular service attributes in the specific context; whereas satisfaction is measured by the

customers’ overall service experiences. Customer satisfaction depends on a variety of factors,

including perceived service quality, customers’ mood, emotions, social interactions, and other

experience-specific subjective factors (Rust and Oliver, 1994). According to Crompton and Love

(1995), the two constructs are likely to be positively correlated, but unlikely to be linear.

25
Although researchers have generally agreed on the conceptions and distinctiveness of service

quality and satisfaction, their causal relationship is yet to be resolved including in the airline

service consumption.

Quality has become a significant concern for those in the service industry, specifically the airline

industry. Although people primarily use airplanes to satisfy their need to go from one place to

another, procedures from ticketing, checking, boarding and traveling to baggage handling, etc.

can also deeply influence travelers’ attitudes to the services provided by airlines and their

satisfaction with those services. Hence, airline passengers can experience many service

encounters with front-line employees as well as in-flight attendants, this is called ‘moment of

truth’. Passengers may judge or evaluate airline service quality through a comparison between

their experiences and expectations, over a number of quality attributes (Grönroos, 2000).

2.5 Customer Satisfaction

Yi (1990) defined customer satisfaction as “... an emotional response to the experiences

provided by, associated with particular products and services purchased, retail outlets, or even

molar patterns of behavior such as shopping and buyer behavior, as well as the overall market

place” (Yi, 1990, p. 69). Although, there are a number of customer satisfaction theories in the

literature such as contrast theory, dissonance theory, and equity theory, research shows that

expectation-disconfirmation paradigm has received much empirical attention (Parasuraman et

al., 1988). However, other empirical findings demonstrate that customer satisfaction can also be

measured through product or service performance (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Churchill and

Surprenant, 1982) or an outcome of service quality (Anderson et al., 1994). Investigating all

these theories and providing an extensive review of the customer satisfaction is well beyond the

26
scope of this study, instead this study defines customer satisfaction and relates it to repurchase

and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions.

When customers praise the firm and express preference for the company over others, it means

that they are likely to increase the volume of their purchases (Zeithaml et al., 1996). In the

present study, repurchase intention refers to the airline passengers’ plans to fly with the national

airline company in their next trip.

There is overwhelming evidence in both service quality and customer satisfaction literatures that

repurchase intension is an outcome of service quality perceptions as well as satisfaction obtained

from purchase episode (Carman, 1990; Singh, 1988; Smith et al., 1999; Zeithaml and Bitner,

2000). On the other hand, WOM also received considerable research attention. Kau and Loh

(2006, p. 103) delineated WOM as “... the informal communication between consumers about

the characteristics of a business or a product”. Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) argued that WOM

communications tend to be highly persuasive and extremely effective in nature; thus companies

need to understand factors creating WOM intention and to invest heavily in creating a positive

one.

Customer satisfaction has become a key intermediary objective in service operations due to the

benefits it brings to organizations (Saha and Theingi, 2009). The importance of customer

satisfaction is derived from the generally accepted philosophy that for a business to be successful

and profitable, it must satisfy customers (Bitner and Hubbert, 1994). Previous research has

demonstrated that satisfaction is strongly associated with re-purchase intentions (Cronin and

Taylor, 1992; Fornell, 1992). Customer satisfaction also serves as an exit barrier, helping a firm

to retain its customers (Fornell, 1992; Halstead and Page, 1992). Several studies have concluded

27
that it costs more to gain a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. In addition,

customer satisfaction also leads to favorable word-of-mouth publicity that provides valuable

indirect advertising for an organization (Halstead and Page, 1992; Fornell, 1992).

In many industries, having satisfied customers also means that organization receives fewer

complaints (Fornell, 1992), hence reducing costs in handling failures. Researchers also maintain

that satisfied customers are willing to pay more for the benefits they receive and are more likely

to be tolerant of an increase in price (Fornell, 1992). Bitner and Hubbert (1994) concluded that,

through satisfying customers, organizations could improve profitability by expanding their

business and gaining a higher market share as well as repeat and referral business.

2.6 Customer Loyalty

Since airline companies are very concerned about customer loyalty, they need to review and

reexamine their strategies not only to sustain customer loyalty but also to remain competitive.

Natalisa and Subroto (2003) suggested that domestic airline operators need to honor promises

made in their promotional and external communication materials. Continuous training activities

should also be provided to frontline operators, in addition to developing various kinds of loyalty

programs to ensure continued customer loyalty. Chin (2002) stated that an attractive frequent

flier program could actually contribute to increased loyalty from the repeat business of an

increased number of customers. In addition, Dick and Basu (1994) suggested that reliability and

confidence might encourage loyalty to the service provider.

Even though customer loyalty is very important to the survival of service companies, Selnes,

(1993) contend that this is an area that needs to be researched further. The result of customer

loyalty can be depicted in customer behaviours such as repurchase intentions and purchasing

28
sequence (Day, 1969) and attitudinal outcomes, such as recommending the service to others

(Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry, 1990; Selnes, 1993).

2.7 The Relationship between Satisfaction and Service Quality

To achieve a high level of customer satisfaction, most researchers suggest that a high level of

service quality should be delivered by the service provider as service quality is normally

considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000; Anderson et

al., 1994; Cronin and Taylor, 1992). However, the exact relationship between satisfaction and

service quality has been described as a complex issue, characterized by debate regarding the

distinction between the two constructs and the casual direction of their relationship (Brady,

Cronin and Brand, 2002). Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) concluded that the confusion

surrounding the distinction between the two constructs was partly attributed to practitioners and

the popular press using the terms interchangeable, which make theoretical distinctions difficult.

Interpretations of the role of service quality and satisfaction have varied considerably (Brady et

al., 2002; Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1988). Parasuraman et al.

confined satisfaction to relate to a specific transaction as service quality was defined as an

attitude. This meant that perceived service quality was a global judgment, or attitude, relating to

the superiority of the service. Cronin and Taylor (1992) argued against Parasuraman et al.’s

categorization. Cronin and Taylor (1992) found empirical support for the idea that perceived

service quality led to satisfaction and argued that service quality was actually an antecedent of

consumer satisfaction. Cronin and Taylor (1992) asserted that consumer satisfaction appeared to

exert a stronger influence on purchase intention than service quality, and concluded that the

strategic emphasis of service organizations should focus on total customer satisfaction programs.

29
The authors reasoned that consumers may not buy the highest quality service because of factors

such as convenience, price, or availability and that these constructs may enhance satisfaction

while not actually affecting consumers’ perceptions of service quality.

Cronin and Taylor (1994) later conceded that the directionality of the service quality/satisfaction

relationship was still in question and that future research on the subject should incorporate multi-

item measures.

The authors suggested restricting the domain of service quality to long-term attitudes and

consumer satisfaction to transaction-specific judgments. However, Bitner and Hubbert (1994)

determined that service encounter satisfaction was quite distinct from overall satisfaction and

perceived quality. The authors concluded that the constructs exhibited independence.

Adding to the debate about the distinction between service quality and satisfaction, customer

satisfaction has also been operationalized as a multidimensional construct along the same

dimensions that constitute service quality (Sureshchandar, Rajendran, and Anantharaman, 2002).

Despite strong correlations between service quality and customer satisfaction in their study, the

authors determined that the two constructs exhibited independence and concluded that they were

in fact different constructs, at least from the customer’s point of view.

Brady and Cronin (1992) had endeavored to clarify the specification and nature of the service

quality and satisfaction constructs and found empirical support for the conceptualization that

service quality was an antecedent of the super ordinate satisfaction construct. In addition, the

authors found that explained a greater portion of the variance in consumers’ purchase intentions

than service quality. A reverse casual relationship has also been hypothesized between the two

30
constructs. Rust and Oliver (1994) maintained that while quality was only one of many

dimensions on which satisfaction was based, satisfaction was also one potential influence on

future quality perceptions.

2.8 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty

In various studies the relationship between service quality and customer preference loyalty had

been examined (Boulding,Kalra, Staelin, & Zeithaml, 1993; Cronin & Taylor, 1992). In their

study Cronin and Taylor (1992) focused solely on repurchase intentions, whereas Boulding et

al. (1993) focused on the elements of repurchasing as well as the willingness to recommend. In

the study by Cronin and Taylor service quality did not appear to have a significant (positive)

effect on repurchase intentions (in con- trast to the significant positive impact of satisfaction on

repurchase intention), whereas Boulding et al. (1993) found positive relationships between

service quality and repurchase intentions and willingness to recommend.

31
 Chapter Three
Methodology
The aim of this section is to highlight the overall methodological considerations of the thesis.

The methodology section is divided into five sub-sections. The first section outlines the general

research approach which the paper relies on, and the second encompass a discussion of the actual

research design applied throughout the thesis. The following third section elaborates on the

sampling method used and the justification for it and the sample size determined for the research.

Finally, section four and five respectively constitute the method of data collection and the

description of the data analysis method.

3.1 Research Approach

Unsurprisingly, descriptive research involves describing a problem, context or a situation. This is

a feature of exploratory research as well of course; however descriptive type questions are more

structured, and more reliant on prior ideas and methods. We would more usually describing

what was happening in terms of pre existing analytical categories, or relaying on other ideas in

some way.

The knowledge obtained in the thesis is mainly based on primary research data. This is a result of

no prior research conducted on service quality and its subsequent effect on customer satisfaction

with regard to the airline as mentioned in the problem identification. Hence, in order to solve the

research problem at hand, the thesis will rely on primary data sources mainly the use of

questionnaires. Nonetheless, supporting arguments or patterns found in annual reports and

brochures were involved where necessary.

32
This thesis is somewhat qualitative research because satisfaction should be described and it

cannot be measured by numbers, it is somewhat quantitative research in the sense that we

compare factors of service quality together and find top priorities.

3.2 Research Design

In order to answer the problem statement and pertaining research objectives carefully, the

research design is reflected on and discussed in each step below.

In answering the research objectives, this paper will propose an integrated conceptual framework

for measuring passengers’ service quality perception and derived satisfaction as a point of

departure. The SERVQUAL framework models and analyzes the passenger gap between

expected and perceived service with respective to air line service attributes as indicator of the

perceived service quality and satisfaction. In this paper the five dimensions and their respective

attributes of the model are expressed using a five point Likert scale in the following manner:

much worse than expected, worse than expected, equal to expected, better than expected and

much better than expected. Five different scores were assigned: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, to represent this

five-point scale. Hence satisfied passengers must have received perceptions equal to or more

than expectations. So the hypothesized test value in this study is 3 and it can split passengers into

satisfied and unsatisfied passengers and the null and alternative hypotheses can be specified as

below.

Null hypothesis Ho: µ = 3

Alternative hypothesis Ha: µ ≠ 3

The main aim of the study is descriptive because the study will assess service quality and depict

customer satisfaction among Ethiopian air line passengers.

33
 Service quality

Expectation
Perception

Tangibles
Tangibles

Satisfaction
Reliability
Reliability

Responsiveness
Responsiveness

Assurance Assurance

Empathy Empathy

Figure 3.1 Frame work of the research design

34
3.3 Sampling Method and Sample Size

To conduct the research passengers who have flown on Ethiopian air lines on any route were

selected as a respondent. The respondents selected at Bole international airport were those who

waiting for their flight and transit passengers. Therefore, convenience sampling technique was

used in the study. The reason for using convenience sampling is because the population is too

large and it is impossible to include every individual and because of their convenient

accessibility and proximity to the researcher. A total sample of 150 passengers who had traveled

using Ethiopian airlines was taken as a respondent. Out of which 144 passengers returned a

completely filled questionnaire, two passengers returned a questionnaire with missing data and

four others returned unfilled. Therefore, 144 provide a response that served as data for analysis

to present the findings and draw conclusion.

3.4 Data Collection Method

To measure the travelers’ evaluation of airport services at Ethiopian air lines, a survey was

conducted; using a questionnaire. During the research, a list of critical variables that influenced

travelers’ evaluation of airport services was prepared, which is largely based on the following

literatures.

Parasuraman et al. (1991) undertook a significant work to measure service quality across a broad

range of services and they come up with a framework known as SERVQUAL. The SERVQUAL

is a five-dimensional construct of service quality consisting of tangibles, reliability,

responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. It has a 22-item instrument that captures customers’

expectations of service and their perceptions of the received service. The SERVQUAL model

35
constitutes the basis for the analysis of passengers’ perception of in-flight service quality and

derived satisfaction.

To develop the SERVQUAL scale, Parasuraman et al. (1991) gathered data from five different

service categories. Even though these categories represent a broad range of services,

SERVQUAL’s five dimensions and 22 item scales drawn from those industries are difficult to

apply to airlines. This is because the SERVQUAL instrument does not address other important

aspects of airline service such as in-flight meals, frequent flyer programs and seat space. Against

this back- ground, the present study tries to include the important determinants of airline service

quality.

The SERVQUAL scale has been modified to fit the specific context of aviation industry by

generating additional quality related measures or items other than the ones already included in

the SERVQUAL instrument to develop a more appropriate scale for measuring air line service

quality. This present study has been designed to include eight items related to the expectation on

airlines service operation which are recommended by the international aviation industry in

accordance to air line service quality. The respondents were asked to indicate the degree of

offered services at Ethiopian airlines which corresponded to their expectations. The expectations

and perceptions were captured in a single dispensation in terms of perception/expectation

difference, which is consistent with the approach suggested by Carman (1990).

A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 150 respondents who had traveled

by air, conveniently at the Bole air port terminal. Out of which 144 were returned, two

questionnaires were rejected due to missing data and four were returned unfilled. Therefore, 144

questionnaires served as data for analysis to present the findings and draw conclusion. The

36
respondents selected at Bole international airport were those who waiting for their flight and

transit passengers.

The purpose of this thesis was to find information to answer how and which objectives. The

study focused on collecting, analyzing and comparing data to get the opportunity to find critical

elements influencing passenger satisfaction and to make comparisons between them.

3.5 Data Analysis Method

The data received from the respondents was analyzed with help of statistical software program:

statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). For the analysis of the five dimensions of the

service quality and each respective attribute, a descriptive statistics of the mean difference was

used and a T- TEST was conducted with 5% level of significance or a 95% confidence interval.

37
3.6 Description of the Study Area

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the flag carrier of Ethiopia. During the past sixty plus years,

Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in Africa for efficiency

and operational success, turning profits for almost all the years of its existence. Operating at the

forefront of technology, it has also become one of Ethiopia’s major industries and a veritable

institution in Africa. It commands a lion’s share of the pan African network including the only

daily east-west flight across the continent. Ethiopian serves 61 international destinations.

Furthermore, it is working diligently to make the Ethiopian Aviation Academy the leading

aviation academy in Africa. Ethiopian is one of the airlines, in the world, operating the newest

and youngest fleets. It is established in 1945 G.C and owned totally by the government. Its vision

is be the most competitive and leading aviation group in Africa by providing safe, market driven

and customer focused passenger and cargo transport, aviation training, flight catering and ground

services by 2025. The airline has three important missions which are expressed as; to become

the leading Aviation group in Africa by providing safe and reliable passenger and cargo

transport, aviation training, flight catering, MRO and ground services whose quality and price

“value proposition” is always better than its competitors, to ensure being an airline of choice to

its customers, employer of choice to its employees and an investment of choice to its owner and

to contribute positively to socio economic development of Ethiopia in particular and the

countries it operates in general by undertaking its corporate social responsibilities and providing

vital global air connectivity.

Ethiopian airline has a total of 47 Aircrafts among which six are cargo aircrafts and the

remaining 41 are passenger aircrafts. Out of the total aircrafts 32 are Boeing aircrafts. In addition

38
to the current fleets that the air line has there are 39 aircrafts ordered. The orders are from

Airbus, Boeing and Diamond air craft industries. The order includes 10 Dream liner jets from

Boeing.

Ethiopian air line serves a total of 78 destinations .among which 61 are international destinations

and 17 are domestic destinations. When we see the regional classification of the destinations it

has 39 in Africa, 7 in Europe & America, 15 in the Middle East & Asia, 17 Domestic. In addition

to the passenger destinations the air line gives cargo service for a total of 25 destinations. Of

these destinations 18 are in Africa, 5 in the Middle East and 2 in Europe.

Ethiopian has code share agreements with a total of eleven air lines. Of which two are African

air lines, five are from Europe, three from the Middle East and one from Asia. The airline has

also Signed Memorandum of Understanding with ASKY Airline on Strategic Partnership and

Investment. ASKY Airline is a newly established airline based in Lome-Togo.

The air line has a special feature called Cloud Nine: Combined service of First and Business

Classes, Cloud Nine has the space, comfort and a style of service that makes flying with

Ethiopian a pleasure all the time. In the Economy Class, Passengers are offered 12 audio

channels with access to a video library of more than seven titles. Sheba Miles is Ethiopian’s

Frequent Flyer customer loyalty program. As a member of Sheba Miles, passengers accumulate

miles which will entitle them to ticket awards and many other privileges. The more they fly the

higher the benefits. Since October 2007 it has reciprocal business partnership with Lufthansa’s

Miles & More.

As to its capacity building, the ultra modern airport terminal was inaugurated on January 21,

2003. This spacious terminal handles all international flights with its 21st century facilities.

39
Ethiopian is self-sufficient in all aviation training systems. The Ethiopian Aviation Academy

offers training for pilots both for foreign nationals and Ethiopians, aircraft technicians, cabin

crew (Service trainee), and marketing, management and finance staff. Ethiopian air line has won

eight awards between the year 2008 and 2011 for different nominations including best air line of

Africa for the year 2009.

40
41
 Chapter Four

Results and Discussion

4.1 Data Sample Information

A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed at Bole Airport terminal. Out of which 144 were

returned, two questionnaires were rejected due to missing data and four were returned unfilled.

Therefore, 144 questionnaires served as data for analysis to present the findings and draw

conclusion. Further the data analysis is performed to reach the findings.

Table 1 reveals the demographic information of the respondents. When we see the first

demographic variable that is gender division of the respondents, majority of the respondents

were males, i.e. 63.89% representing a bigger part of the sample group. However, 36.11%

percent of the respondents were females. This study was only aimed at those passengers that

were waiting their flight and transit passengers who were waiting their next flight at bole

international air port terminal. The main reason for not involving the response of other customers

of the air line is due to inconveniency because they are dispersed geographically. However, it

seems that the information gained was sufficient enough to conduct the analysis.

When we see the distribution of the second demographic variable which is the level of education

most of the respondents have an educational level above college diploma. When we see the

specific qualification level 15.97% of the respondents have a qualification of doctorate degree,

26.39% have a second degree qualification, 20.14% of the respondents have a first degree

qualification, 4.86% of the respondents have an educational qualification of college diploma and

the certificate and other qualification level comprises of 32.64%

42
The other main variable that the respondents were asked is the number of flights they had made

using Ethiopian air line. For this question majority (51.34%) of the respondents answered they

had made a flight with the airline more than thirty times, 13.19% of the respondents answered

the category one to nine flights, 20.83% of the respondents answered the category ten to nineteen

flights and 14.58% answered the category twenty to twenty nine.

Table 4.1 Distribution of Demographic Variables (N = 144)

No. Variable Frequency Percent

1. Gender

A. Male 92 63.89

B. Female 52 36.11

Total 144 100

2. Highest education qualification

A. Doctorate degree 23 15.97

B. Postgraduate 38 26.39

C. Degree 29 20.14

D. Diploma 7 4.86

E. certificate (other) 47 32.64

Total 144 100

3. Number of flights

A.1-9 19 13.19

B.10-19 30 20.83

C.20-29 21 14.58

D. More than 30 74 51.34

Total 144 100

Source: Questionnaire analysis, 2011.

43
4.2 Service Quality Measurement

A widely used method of measuring service quality is the gap analysis model, originally

developed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman in (1998). The model concentrates on five Gaps

which can impair the extent of service quality deliver. This study focus on gap five: the

difference between passenger experiences and expectations of services. The result can be either

positive (the experience better than the passenger thought it would be) or negative (the

experience was worse than expected). Although the other four gaps are also important factors in

service quality, Gap five is the only that can be determined solely from data collected from

airline passengers; in order to determine the other gaps, we would required data from the airline,

itself. In order to measure gap five, which determine between customer expectations and

perceptions, the SERQUAL instrument developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in 1985

was adopted. It contained five determinants; they are tangible, reliability, responsiveness,

assurance and empathy. Details from these service attributes are presented in table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Service Dimensions and Measurement

TAN1 Appearance, attitude and uniforms of employees

TAN2 In-flight modern and clean facilities

TAN3 Varity and quality of in flight meals

TAN4 Varity and choices of in-flight entertainment facilities

TAN5 Providing visually appealing equipment

REL1 Efficiency of the check in process

REL2 Transfer service and efficiency at departure airport

REL3 On time performance of schedule flights

44
REL4 Remedial procedures for deployed or missing baggage

REL5 Providing ground /in-flight services consistently

REL6 Performing the services right the first time

RES1 Capable to response to emergency situations

RES2 Prompt attention to passengers specific needs

RES3 Understanding the specific needs of passengers

RES4 Keeping customers informed about when services will be performed

RES5 Prompt respond of employees of the airline to your request or complaint

RES6 Capacity to respond to canceled or delayed flights

ASS1 Sincerity and patience in resolving passengers problems

ASS2 Probability of flight breakdowns

ASS3 Safety performance of airline

ASS4 Knowledgeable and skillful provision and services

ASS5 Sincere and responsive attitude to passenger complaints

ASS6 Employees instill confidence to passengers

ASS7 Employees are consistently courteous

ASS8 Knowledgeable employees to answer customers question

EMP1 Numerous ,easy to use ticketing channels

EMP2 Convenient flight schedule

EMP3 Spontaneous care and concern for passengers needs

EMP4 Having a sound loyalty program to recognize you as a frequent customer

EMP5 Having other travel related partners e.g. car rental,hotels,travel insurance

45
4.3 Analysis of Service Quality and Passengers’ Satisfaction

Based on the measurement scale for service quality proposed in the previous section, we further

analyzed the differences in perceived quality between Ethiopian airlines passengers. Here,

respondents were asked to separately evaluate each service attribute, according to the gap

between their perception and expectations, using a five point likert scale: ‘Much better than

expected’, ‘better than expected’, ‘equal to expected’, ‘worse than expected’, and ‘Much worse

than expected’. Five different scores were assigned: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, to represent this five-point

scale.

The researcher used one-sample t- test for the data analysis. The one-sample T test procedure

tests whether the mean of a single variable differs from a specified constant. This test assumes

that the data are normally distributed; however, this test is fairly robust to departures from

normality. The sample size in my study was 144 and based on ‘Central Limit Theorem’ we were

allowed to presume the data were normally distributed approximately. A 95% confidence

interval for the difference between the mean and the hypnotized test value was supposed.

Satisfied passengers must have received perceptions equal to or more than expectations. So the

hypothesized test value in this study is 3 and it can split passengers into satisfied and unsatisfied

passengers and the null and alternative hypotheses can be specified as below.

Null hypothesis Ho: µ = 3

Alternative hypothesis Ha: µ ≠ 3

46
As noted earlier, the study specifies the level of sampling error (0.05) and thus the two-tailed

critical value is ±1.96.

The scores for each attribute were then tabulated; the results can be found in Annex 2 (data

analysis in details).

Table 4.3 One Sample t test

Test value=3

t df1 Sig(2- Mean 95% confidence

tailed) difference interval of the
difference
Lower Upper

TAN1 Appearance, attitude and 9.123 143 0.000 0.383 0.300 0.465
uniforms of employees
TAN2 In-flight modern and clean 7.435 143 0.000 0.291 0.253 0.387
facilities
TAN3 Variety and quality of in 8.322 143 0.000 0.341 0.284 0.431
flight meals
TAN4 Varity and choices of in- 7.21 143 0.000 0.453 0.312 0.543
flight entertainment
facilities
TAN5 Providing visually 6.345 143 0.003 0.124 0.092 0.187
appealing equipment
REL1 Efficiency of the check in 9.490 143 0.000 0.474 0.376 0.572
process
REL2 Transfer service and 2.262 143 0.025 0.117 (0.015) 0.220
efficiency at departure
airport
REL3 On time performance of -5.006 143 0.000 (0.304)2 (0.424) (0.185)
schedule flights
REL4 Remedial procedures for -12.36 143 0.000 (0.643) (0.746) (0.541)
deployed or missing
baggage

1
df is the degree of freedom which is similar in all attributes (n-1).
2
Numbers in brackets indicate negative value.

47
REL5 Providing ground /in-flight 0.596 143 0.497 0.034 (0.074) 0.153
services consistently
REL6 Performing the services 5.634 143 0.000 0.365 0.247 0.493
right the first time
RES1 Capable to response to -2.383 143 0.016 (0.127) (0.235) (0.021)
emergency situations
RES2 Prompt attention to -14.98 143 0.000 (0.796) (0.902) (0.698)
passengers specific needs
RES3 Understanding the specific -8.584 143 0.000 (0.529) (0.650) (0.407)
needs of passengers
RES4 Keeping customers 2.352 143 0.020 0.126 0.020 0.232
informed about when
services will be performed
RES5 Prompt respond of -15.42 143 0.000 (0.983) (1.108) (0.857)
employees of the airline to
your request or complaint
RES6 Capacity to respond to -6.65 143 0.000 (0.390) (0.501) (0.271)
canceled or delayed flights
ASS1 Sincerity and patience in -9.04 143 0.000 (0.604) (0.736) (0.473)
resolving passengers
problems
ASS2 Probability of flight -10.78 143 0.000 (0.585) (0.692) (0.478)
breakdowns
ASS3 Safety performance of 8.567 143 0.000 0.348 0.291 0.436
airline
ASS4 Knowledgeable and skillful -6.23 143 0.000 (0.352) (0.469) (0.224)
provision and services
ASS5 Sincere and responsive -3.35 143 0.005 (0.210) (0.310) (0.081)
attitude to passenger
complaints
ASS6 Employees instill -0.983 143 0.327 (0.057) (0.170) (0.057)
confidence to passengers
ASS7 Employees are consistently 6.221 143 0.000 0.0352 0.244 0.465
courteous
ASS8 Knowledgeable employees -2.719 143 0.007 (0.187) (0.322) (0.051)
to answer customers
question
EMP1 Numerous ,easy to use 3.954 143 0.000 0.248 0.124 0.371
ticketing channels
EMP2 Convenient flight 0.432 143 0.312 0.031 (0.067) 0.142

48
 scheduling
EMP3 Spontaneous care and 2.43 143 0.015 0.143 0.031 0.251
concern for passengers
needs
EMP4 Having a sound loyalty and 9.14 143 0.000 0.468 0.356 0.534
mileage program to
recognize you as a frequent
customer
EMP5 Having other travel related -18.86 143 0.000 (1.048) (1.157) (0.938)
partner e.g. car rental,
hotels, travel insurance
Source: Questionnaire analysis, 2011.

According to the figures listed in Table 4.3, and from the views of travelers, it can be seen that

for the perceptions of service quality attributes which were better than expected have positive t-

values and service scores while for those attributes which were worse than expected have

negative t-values and service scores. The factors which had t-values greater than 1.96 were

significant in positive direction and the factors with t-values less than -1.96 were significant in

negative direction which implies that, in both cases, their p-values approach to zero and their

respective mean difference values also largely deviate from the test value (3) as their t-values far

from the critical value in both direction. In other words, in both directions the null hypothesis can

be rejected. On the contrary, those attributes whose calculated t-value lies between 1.96 and -

1.96 were statistically insignificant in both directions. That means their mean value do not differ

from the test value and thus we cannot reject the null hypothesis for these attributes, which

includes REL5, ASS6 and EMP2. Accordingly, we can say that in these attributes the airline is

performing a service level that is more or less equal to what passengers expect. Hence, the air

line needs to strive more to provide a service level that exceeds the expectation of its customers.

49
Based on the above general analysis, in those attributes such as TAN1, TAN2, TAN3, TAN4,

TAN5, REL1, REL2, REL6, RES4, ASS3, ASS7, EMP1, EMP3, and EMP4; we reject the null

hypothesis as their calculated t-values is larger than the critical value (1.96). In other words, their

mean differences were positive and their means were greater than (different from) the test value

(3). Therefore, from the perspective of these attributes the airline has scored a service level that

exceeds the performance expectation of its customers. But when we see the specific mean value

(see appendix B) for these attributes we can say that there is still some ample expectation or need

that is not met by the actual service provided.

However, in the attributes such as REL3, REL4, RES1, RES2, RES3, RES5, RES6, ASS1,

ASS2, ASS4, ASS5, ASS8, and EMP5; we reject the null hypothesis as their calculated t-values

were greater than the critical value in absolute terms which implies that the mean differences had

negative sign and the means of each were less than (different from) the test value. Therefore, we

can say that in these attributes the airline has scored a service level that is below what

passengers’ expect. And when we see their mean value (Appendix B) the respective value for

these attributes is much lower than the test value (3).

Accordingly, the top five attributes of service quality whose experience had better than expected

for Ethiopian air lines were in the sequence of REL1 (Efficiency of the check in process), EMP4

(Having a sound loyalty and mileage program to recognize you as a frequent customer), TAN1

(Appearance, attitude and uniforms of employees), TAN3 (Variety and quality of in flight

meals), and TAN2 (In-flight modern and clean facilities). On the reverse the top worst five

qualities of service attributes were consecutively given as EMP5 (Having other travel related

partner e.g. car rental, hotels, travel insurance), RES5 (Prompt respond of employees of the

airline to your request or complaint), RES2 (Prompt attention to passengers specific needs),

50
REL4 (Remedial procedures for deployed or missing baggage), and ASS2 (Probability of flight

breakdowns). ‘Efficiency of the check in processes was better than expected and it was the first

best attribute. ‘Having other travel related partner e.g. car rental, hotels, and travel insurance’

was much worse than expected and shows most passengers agree that it is the first worst

attribute.

In comparison of 5 groups item means (i.e. Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance,

and Empathy), the first attribute was ‘Tangible’ and ‘Reliability’ was the second. The others in

priorities were ‘empathy’, ‘Assurance’, and ‘Responsiveness’. So we can conclude that from the

point of view of passengers responsiveness items were the worst than expected and assurance

items in following.

Table 4.4 Overall performances in dimensions from the passengers’ point of view

Dimensions Group items mean difference

Tangibles 1.592

Reliability 0.043

Empathy (0.158)

Assurance (1.612)

Responsiveness (2.699)

Source: Questionnaire analysis, 2011.

4.4 Describing the Findings

In the questionnaire, differences in travelers’ perception and expectation have been examined in

connection with Ethiopian air lines, including the five dimensions of services defined by

SERVQUAL model with 95% confidence interval. According to the services that are offered by
51
Ethiopian air lines, the researcher measured customer satisfaction among the passengers of this

air line using the five dimensions of SERVQUAL model. All 30 attributes have been tested for

finding out whether the passengers are satisfied or not. With these findings research objectives

have been addressed and answered.

4.5 Customer satisfaction in Ethiopian Air Lines

Satisfaction of customers was measured and we observed that passengers were satisfied in

seventeen attributes. But in thirteen attributes out of 30 attributes we saw dissatisfaction of

passengers. Reliability (efficiency of the check in process) was the first most important aspect

and gained the second highest mean difference in Ethiopian air line performance from the

passengers’ point of view. It shows that Ethiopian air line often gives high priority for security of

the passengers in order to bring the desired outcome with appropriate time. On time performance

of schedule flights and Remedial procedures for deployed or missing baggage were the least two

mean factors. From these attributes point of view efficiency is what EAL requires and it can be

achieved by doing things in the right way.

The second in the most important factors was empathy (having a sound loyalty program to

recognize you as a frequent customer). However empathy items mean difference was negative

and being in the third position. So, EAL managers and employees have to change their mind

about delivering services to their customers. Warmth and supportiveness in behaving with

passengers can create impressive results.

The third, the fourth and the fifth feature in order of most important features was tangibles

(appearance, attitude and uniforms of employees, Variety and quality of in flight meals and In-

flight modern and clean facilities respectively) based on passengers attitude. According to the

52
items mean difference tangibles were placed in the first position in Ethiopian air lines

performance. So that it appears that Ethiopian air lines have lot of good points in tangibles that

cause satisfied passengers. The management can provide some visually appealing equipment or

some in flight entertainments to empower this dimension and thereby increase the satisfaction

level among its customers or passengers.

In travelers’ view assurance was the fourth dimensions in Ethiopian airlines performance as the

group mean difference showed in the above table. We can observe that the items mean difference

was negative and thus we can infer that passengers perceive less than what the passengers expect

in assurance items. For instance, passengers made more complaints about sincerity and patience

in resolving passengers’ problems.

They pay for the service they perceive but they feel unsatisfied because employees lack sincerity.

However the air line should put in its policies and promote it steadily to keep its customers for a

long time.

The fifth in performance was responsiveness in passengers view in Ethiopian air lines. It shows

that Ethiopian air line has not tried hard to improve its responsiveness as it seems that the air line

should give more attention to customers’ needs. “Capacity to respond to cancelled or delayed

flights”, “Prompt attention to passengers specific needs“, and “prompt respond of employees of

the air line to your request or complaint” made the most complaints of travelers about Ethiopian

air lines responsiveness. So, in this regard managers at EAL have to pay more attention to

responsiveness items and prepare a short term plan to create critical changes. In addition it means

that managers need to redefine goals and policies, modify the organizational structure, reengineer

job and design necessary specifications, likewise training and monitoring employees.

53
 Chapter Five
Conclusions and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusions

This study used SERVQUAL framework to model and analyze the passenger gap between

expected and perceived service with respective to air line service attributes as indicator of the

perceived service quality and satisfaction. In this paper the five dimensions and their respective

attributes of the model are expressed using a five point Likert scale in the following manner:

much worse than expected, worse than expected, equal to expected, better than expected and

much better than expected. Hence satisfied passengers must have received perceptions equal to

or more than expectations and vice versa.

Accordingly, in the three dimensions: responsiveness with a group mean difference of -2.699,

assurance with a value of -1.612 and empathy with a mean difference value of -0.158 the

passengers’ perceived services were lower than what passengers’ expected and in the other two

dimensions: tangibles with a group mean difference of 1.592 and reliability with a positive value

of 0.043 their experiences were better than expectations. This is measured by taking the overall

mean difference from the test value which enables to compute the performance of the airlines.

Thus in most dimensions Ethiopian air lines’ passengers are dissatisfied with the services which

they perceive.

But with respect to each attributes, they had better satisfaction than expectations in seventeen out

of thirty attributes that have been considered in the questionnaire and in the remaining thirteen

attributes they were dissatisfied. Accordingly, the top five attributes of service quality whose

54
experience had better than expected for Ethiopian air lines were in the sequence of REL1

(Efficiency of the check in process), EMP4 (Having a sound loyalty and mileage program to

recognize you as a frequent customer), TAN1 (Appearance, attitude and uniforms of employees),

TAN3 (Variety and quality of in flight meals), and TAN2 (In-flight modern and clean facilities).

On the reverse the top worst five qualities of service attributes were consecutively given as

EMP5 (Having other travel related partner e.g. car rental, hotels, travel insurance), RES5

(Prompt respond of employees of the airline to your request or complaint), RES2 (Prompt

attention to passengers specific needs), REL4 (Remedial procedures for deployed or missing

baggage), and ASS2 (Probability of flight breakdowns). The first best attribute was ‘Efficiency

of the check in processes’ and ‘Having other travel related partner e.g. car rental, hotels, and

travel insurance’ was the first worst attribute.

55
5.2 Recommendations

Primarily, we can inclusively infer that in three dimensions of the model passengers of

Ethiopian airlines are not satisfied with the perceived services and it warns managers to focus on

passengers expectations. The airline should strive to gain more information about travelers’

attitude and prepare plans to improve weak points.

In tangibles, the company has satisfied customers. For instance for attributes like appearance and

attitudes of employees customers had get satisfaction. It makes the job easier for managers to

empower this dimension. Since, in tangibles the passengers can see the changes visually. The

management can provide some visually appealing equipment or some in flight entertainments.

Providing variety and choices of in flight entertainment facilities should be there. There are

many tools and programs to entertain passengers such as showing films, broadcasting music and

various magazines.

EAL should pay attention more about reliability. Reliability consists of “efficiency of the check

in process”, “transfer service at departure point’’, “on time performance of scheduled flights”,

“remedial procedures for delayed or missing baggage”, “providing ground/in flight services

constantly” and “performing the services right the first time”. These six factors play an important

role in satisfying passengers. EAL has achieved a good score on the attribute “efficiency of the

check in process” and it should insist on providing this attribute efficiently in the future. But in

attributes such as “on time performance of scheduled flights” and “remedial procedures for

delayed or missing baggage” it has scored weak. So from this attributes point of view EAL

should strive for better performance because this do not require spending more money and it can

be achieved in a short term plan. Managers should only increase their controlling, commanding,

56
monitoring and coordinating effort. In other words, efficiency is what EAL requires and it can be

achieved by doing things in the right way.

For assurance, EAL should train its employees and evaluate its performance consistently.

“Sincerity and patience in resolving passengers’ problems”, “sincere and responsive attitude to

passenger complaints”, “employees instill confidence to passengers” and “knowledgeable

employees to answer costumers question can be obtained by learning and practicing. To achieve

this attributes employees’ should participate in scheduled training courses and we all know that

the behavior of employees is often instrumental in bringing about the desired outcome. By

providing informative feedback on employees’ performance, using differential rewards and

consistently training, EAL can improve its employees’ performance and subsequently its

passengers’ satisfaction. Actually in addition to efficiency, assurance needs effectiveness.

Effectiveness is doing right things and it can be acquired by a medium term plan.

To improve empathy in EAL, managers should study their target market precisely; what they

really want and how they can be satisfied. The airline has a positive score in easy to use ticketing

channel but the score is not that much satisfactory. Since expanding sales channels require

investments, on line ticketing can be appropriate solution. “Care and concern for passengers

needs” can be resulted by training employees and monitoring performance. The airline has a

policy of rewarding frequent customers through Sheba miles program. Having a sound loyalty

and mileage program to recognize frequent customers can bring a competitive advantage for

EAL. Frequent customers will turn into loyal customers that they can help EAL to survive in

competitive environments. EAL needs some strategic alliances and joint ventures to other travel

related partners e.g. car rentals, hotels and travel insurance. Such programs have mutual benefits

(both for the airline and the parties involved). This helps to increase the satisfaction level among

57
passengers. Nevertheless, some strategic alliances look not so economical but they bring long

term benefits. It is more important to do what is strategically right than what is immediately

profitable (Kotler, 2003).

As noted before, responsiveness is willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

“Capacity to respond to cancelled or delayed flights”, “understanding the specific needs of

passengers” and “prompt respond of employees of the airline to request or complaint” are some

examples of responsiveness in airline industry. There are some organizations which all

employees have to perform marketing and the customer is the core of organization. They try to

identify customers’ needs and work to satisfy them As to responsiveness for better performance

employees should try to identify customers’ needs and work to satisfy them (Kotler, 2003). EAL

should strive to be the same. It means that managers need to redefine goals and policies, modify

the organizational structure, reengineer job and design necessary specifications, likewise training

and monitoring employees. Moreover, managers should give priority to required actions for

achieving effective and immediate outcomes.

58
 References

1. Anderson, E., Fornell, C., and Lehmann, D.R. (1994), “Customer satisfaction, Market share,

and Profitability: Findings from Sweden”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 (July), pp.

53-66.

2.Anderson , E.W. and Sullivan, M.W. (1993), “The antecedents and consequences of customer

satisfaction for firms”, journal of marketing science, Vol.12, pp. 125-143.

3. Atilgan, E., Akinci, S., and Aksoy, S. (2008). “Expectations and perceptions for airlines:

The Sun Express case with the gaps model” Journal of Global Strategic

Management, 3, June, pp. 68-78

4. Ayling, R (1991). “How Does Service Drive the Service Company?" Harvard Business

Review, Nov/Dec pp. 146-154.

5. Babakus, E. and Boller, G.W. (1992), “An empirical assessment of the SERVQUAL scale”,

Journal of Business Research, Vol. 24, pp. 253-68.

6. Bitner, M.J. and Hubbert, A.R. (1994), Encounter satisfaction versus overall satisfaction

versus quality. Sage Publications, pp. 72-94.

7. Boulding, W., Kalra, A., Staelin, R. & Zeithaml, V. A. (1993). “A dynamic process model of

service quality: from expectations to behavioral intentions”. Journal of Marketing

Research, 30(February), 7-27.

8. Brady, Michael K. and Cronin, J.J. (2001), “Some new thoughts on Conceptualizing Perceived

Service Quality. A Hierarchical Approach”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 65 (July), pp.

34-49.

59
9. Brady, M.K., Cronin, J.J. and Brand, R.R. (2002), “Performance-only measurement of service

Quality: a replication and extension”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 55 (1), pp. 17-31

10. Brensinger, P. (1993), “ An empirical investigation into consumer perception of combined

product and service quality: the automobile,” PhD dissertation; University of South

Florida, U.S.A.

11. Buzzel, R. D., and B. T. Gale. (1987), “The PIMS Principles.” Free Press. New York, NY.

12. Carman, J.M. (1990). Consumer perceptions of service quality: An assessment of

SERVQUAL dimensions. Journal of Retailing, 66(1), 235-255.

13. Chin, A. (2002), “Impact of Frequent Flyer Programs on the Demand for Air Travel.” Journal

of Air Transportation 7, no. 2 (2002): 53-86.

14. Churchill, G.A. and Surprenant, C. (1982), “An investigation into the determinants of

customer satisfaction”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 19, pp. 491-504.

15. Crompton, J.L. and Love, L.L. (1995). “The predictive validity of alternative approaches of

evaluating quality of a festival.” Journal of Travel Research. 34,1, pp.11-24.

16. Cronin, J.J., & Taylor, S.A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A reexamination and

extension. Journal of Marketing, 56(3), 55-68.

17. Cronin, J.J. and Taylor, S.A. (1994), “SERVPERF versus SERVQUAL: reconciling

performance-based and perceptions- minus-expectations measurement of service

Quality”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, pp. 125-31.

18. Cunningham, L.F., C.E. Young, and M. Lee. (2002), “Cross-Cultural Perspectives of Service

Quality And Risk in Transportation.” Journal of Air Transportation 17, no. 1 pp.

3-26.

60
19. Dabholkar, P.A. and Thorpe, D.I. (1994), “Does customer satisfaction predict shopper

intentions”, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining

Behavior, Vol.7, pp. 161-71.

20. Davidow, H. & Uttal, B (1989), “ Service Companies – Focus or Falter,”

Havard Business Review, 67 (4): p 77 – 85.

21. Day, G. S. (1969), “A Two Dimensional Concept of Brand Loyalty.” Journal of Advertising

Research, no. 3 pp. 29-35.

22. Dick, A.S., and K. Basu. (1994): “Customer Loyalty Toward an Integrated Conceptual

Framework.” Journal of Academy of Marketing Science 22, no. 2 pp. 99-113.

23. Fitzsimmons J. and Fitzsimmons M.J. (1994). “Service management for competitive

advantage.” New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

24. Fornell, C. (1992), “A national customer satisfaction barometer: the Swedish experience”,

Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56, pp. 6-21.

25. Getachew Mersha (2004), Business Process Reengineering: a focus on ontime performance.

A case study on Ethiopian airlines.Addis Ababa.

26. Gourdin, Kent N. and Kloppenborg, T. J. (1991), “Identifying Service Gaps in Commercial

Air Travel: The First Step Toward Quality Improvement”, Transportation Journal,

Vol. 31 (1), pp. 22-30.

27. Gronroos, C. (1982), Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector, Helsinki,

Finland: Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration.

28. Grönroos, C. (2000), Service Management and Marketing – A customer relationship

management approach. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. England.

29. Gursoy, D., Chen, M. and Kim, H.J. (2005). “The US airlines relative positioning based on

61
 attributes of service quality.” journal of Tourism Management., 26,1,pp.57-67.

30. Halstead, D. and Page, T.J. Jr (1992), “The effects of satisfaction and complaining behavior

on consumers’ repurchase behavior”, Journal of Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and

Complaining Behavior, Vol. 5, pp. 1-11.

31. Hart, L., Heskett, L. and Sasser, E. (1990), "The profitable art of recovery” Harvard Business

Review; Jul/Aug, pp. 148-156.

32. Headley, D. E., & Bowen, B. D. (1997). International airline quality measurement. Journal of

Air Transportation World Wide, 2(1), 55-63.

33. Heskett, L (1987), “Lessons in the Service Sector”. In Brown, S., Gummesson, E.,

Edvardson, B., Gustavsson, B., editors, “ Multidisciplinary and Multinational

Perspective.” Massachussetts: Lexington Books.

34. Hoffman, K. D., and J. E. G. Bateson. (2006), Services Marketing. 3rd ed. Thompson

Learning: Mason, O. H.

35. Holdford, D., & Reinders, T. P. (2001, Summer). Development of an instrument to assess

student Perceptions of the quality of pharmaceutical education. American Journal of

Pharmaceutical Education, 65, 125-131.

36. Kau, A.K. and Loh, E.W.Y. (2006), “The effects of service recovery on consumer

satisfaction: a comparison between complainants and non-complainants”, Journal of

Service Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 101-11.

37. Kotler, P. (2003), Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall, 11th edition.

38. Lee, Moonkyu and Cunningham, L.F. (1996), “Customer Loyalty in the Airline Industry”,

Transportation Quarterly, Vol. 50, No 2, Spring: 57-72.

39. Mostafa, M. M. (2005). An empirical study of patients' expectations and satisfactions in

62
 Egyptian hospitals. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 18(6/7),

516-533.

40. Narayandas, N. (1996). The link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: an

empirical investigation.Working Paper, No. 97-017, Harvard Business School, Boston,

MA.

41. Natalisa, D. and B. Subroto. (2003), “Effects of Management Commitment on Service

Quality to Increase Customer Satisfaction of Domestic Airlines in Indonesia.”

Singapore Management Review 25, no.1, pp. 85-104.

42. Ostrowski, R.L., O’Brien T.V., and Gordon G.L. (1993), “Service quality and customer

loyalty in the commercial airline industry”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 32 (2),

pp. 16-24.

43. Ott, J (1993). Airlines Customer Service Rated ‘Average” in Survey. Aviation Week and

Space Technology, 138 (5): 31.

44. Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. and Zeithaml, V. (1985), “A conceptual model of of service

quality and its implications for future research”, journal of marketing, Vol

49, fall, pp. 41-56.

45. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., and Berry, L. L. (1988), “SERVQUAL: a multiple-item

scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality”, Journal of

Retailing, Spring, pp. 12-40.

46. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L.L. (1991). Refinement and reassessment of

the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing, 67(4), 420-450.

47. Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. and Zeithaml, V. (1993) ‘More on improving service quality

measurement’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 69, pp.140–147.

63
48. Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. and Zeithaml, V. (1994), “Reassessment of expectations as a

comparison standard in measuring service quality: implications for future research”,

journal of marketing, pp. 45-58.

49. Park, J. W., R. Robertson, and C. L. Wu. (2004), “The Effect of Airline Service Quality on

Passengers’ Behavioral Intentions: A Korean Case Study.” Journal of Air Transport

10, no.6 pp. 435-9.

50. Pitt, L.F., Watson, R.T., and Kavan C.B. (1997). “Service Quality: A Measure of Information

System Effectiveness”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 19 (2), June, pp. 173-187.

51. Rust, R.T. and Oliver, R.L. (1994), “Service Quality: insights and managerial implications

from the frontier.” Sage Publications, London, pp. 1-20.

52. Saha, G.C. and Theingi (2009). “Service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.

A study of low-cost airline carriers in Thailand.” Managing Service Quality., 19, 3,

pp.350-372.

53. Schiffman, L.G. and Kanuk, L.L. (2004), Consumer Behavior, 8th ed., Prentice-Hall,

Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

54. Selnes, F. ((1993):) “An Examination of the Effect of Product Performance on Brand

Reputation, Satisfaction and Loyalty.” European Journal of Marketing 27, pp. 19-35.

55. Singh, J. (1988), “Consumer complaint intentions and behavior: definitional and taxonomical

issues”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, pp. 93-107.

56. Smith, A.K., Bolton, R.N. and Wagner, J. (1999), “A model of customer satisfaction with

service encounters involving failure and recovery”, Journal of Marketing Research,

Vol. 36, pp. 356-72.

64
57. Sultan, F. and M. C. Simpson. (2000), “International Service Variants: Airline Passenger

Expectations and Perceptions of Service Quality.” Journal of Services Marketing

14, no.2/3 pp. 188-216.

58. Sureshchandar, G.S., Rajendran, C., and Anantharaman, R.N. (2002), “The relationship

between service quality and customer satisfaction – a factor specific approach,

Journal of Service Marketing, Vol. 16 (4), pp. 363-379.

59. Ugboma, C., Ibe, C., & Ogwude, I. C. (2004). Service quality measurements in ports

of developing economy Nigerian ports survey. Managing Service Quality, 14(6), 487-

495.

60.Yi, Y. (1990).“A critical review of consumer satisfaction”, journal of marketing research,

p. 69.

61. Zeithaml, V.A. and Bitner, M.J. (2000). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus

Across the Firm. Madison: McGraw-Hill.

62. Zeithaml, V.A., A. Parasuraman, and L. L. Berry. (1990). “Delivering Quality Service:

Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations.” New York, NY. The Free Press.

65
 Appendix A. Questionnaire

Addis Ababa University

College of Management, Information and Economic Science

School of Business and Public Administration

MBA Program

This questionnaire is designed to gather information on “service quality and customer

satisfaction on Ethiopian Air lines”. The purpose of the study is to fulfill a thesis requirement for
the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at Addis Ababa University. Your highly
esteemed responses for the questions are extremely important for successful completion of my
thesis. The information that you provide will be used only for the purpose of the study and will
be kept strictly confidential. You do not need to write your name. Finally, I would like to thank
you very much for your cooperation and sparing your valuable time for my request. Please circle
one to show how much you agree or disagree.

Gender

1.male 2.female

Educational qualification

1.doctrate degree 4.diploma

2.2nd degree 5.certificate (other)

3.1st degree

No of flights using Ethiopian airlines

1. 1-9 4. more than 30

2. 10-19

3. 20-29
66
 Much worse Equal to Better Much
worse than expected than better
than expected expected than
expected expected
Appearance, attitude and uniforms of employees 1 2 3 4 5

In-flight modern and clean facilities 1 2 3 4 5

Varity and quality of in flight meals 1 2 3 4 5

Varity and choices of in-flight entertainment facilities 1 2 3 4 5

Providing visually appealing equipment 1 2 3 4 5

Efficiency of the check in process 1 2 3 4 5

Transfer service and efficiency at departure airport 1 2 3 4 5

On time performance of schedule flights 1 2 3 4 5

Remedial procedures for deployed or missing baggage 1 2 3 4 5

Providing ground /in-flight services consistently 1 2 3 4 5

Performing the services right the first time 1 2 3 4 5

Capable to response to emergency situations 1 2 3 4 5

Prompt attention to passengers specific needs 1 2 3 4 5

Understanding the specific needs of passengers 1 2 3 4 5

Keeping customers informed about when services will 1 2 3 4 5

be performed

Prompt respond of employees of the airline to your 1 2 3 4 5

request or complaint

Capacity to respond to canceled or delayed flights 1 2 3 4 5

Sincerity and patience in resolving passengers 1 2 3 4 5

problems

67
Probability of flight breakdowns 1 2 3 4 5

Safety performance of airline 1 2 3 4 5

Knowledgeable and skillful provision and services 1 2 3 4 5

Sincere and responsive attitude to passenger 1 2 3 4 5

complaints

Employees instill confidence to passengers 1 2 3 4 5

Employees are consistently courteous 1 2 3 4 5

Knowledgeable employees to answer customers 1 2 3 4 5

question

Numerous ,easy to use ticketing channels 1 2 3 4 5

Convenient flight schedule 1 2 3 4 5

Spontaneous care and concern for passengers needs 1 2 3 4 5

Having a sound loyalty program to recognize you as a 1 2 3 4 5

frequent customer

Having other travel related partner e.g. car 1 2 3 4 5

rental,hotels,travel insurance

68
Appendix B. Overall Mean Table

Sample Size Mean

Appearance, attitude and 144 3.383

uniforms of employees

In-flight modern and clean 144 3.291

facilities

Varity and quality of in flight 144 3.341

meals

Varity and choices of in-flight 144 3.453

entertainment facilities

Providing visually appealing 144 3.124

equipment

Efficiency of the check in 144 3.474

process

Transfer service and 144 3.117

efficiency at departure airport

On time performance of 144 2.696

schedule flights

Remedial procedures for 144 2.357

deployed or missing baggage

Providing ground /in-flight 144 3.034

services consistently

69
Performing the services right 144 3.365

the first time

Capable to response to 144 2.873

emergency situations

Prompt attention to passengers 144 2.204

specific needs

Understanding the specific 144 2.471

needs of passengers

Keeping customers informed 144 3.126

about when services will be

performed

Prompt respond of employees 144 2.017

of the airline to your request

or complaint

Capacity to respond to 144 2.61

canceled or delayed flights

Sincerity and patience in 144 2.396

resolving passengers problems

Probability of flight 144 2.415

breakdowns

Safety performance of airline 144 3.348

Knowledgeable and skillful 144 2.648

provision and services

70
Sincere and responsive attitude to 144 2.79

passenger complaints

Employees instill confidence 144 2.943

to passengers

Employees are consistently 144 3.0352

courteous

Knowledgeable employees to 144 2.813

answer customers question

Numerous ,easy to use 144 3.248

ticketing channels

Convenient flight schedule 144 3.031

Spontaneous care and concern 144 3.143

for passengers needs

Having a sound loyalty 144 3.468

program to recognize you as a

frequent customer

Having other travel related 144 1.952

partners e.g. car

rental,hotels,travel insurance

71