Development of a robust customer satisfaction index for domestic air journeys

Abstract

This research proposes a Robust Customer Satisfaction Index for air domestic journeys (RCSI), which could be less sensitive to outlier data than index scores based on the American customer satisfaction index (ACSI) formulation. Since traveler experiences in air journeys are a chain of services related to departure airport service, airline service, and arrival airport service, a new index for measuring passenger satisfaction for air journeys is required. In a sense then, this study is the first step towards integrating satisfaction literature to propose a robust index for air journeys. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to validate the theoretical model. The RCSI model was tested in the context of Colombian major domestic air-route where traveler's perceived quality and perceived value were found to predict significantly overall passenger satisfaction. In this study, we found that the RCSI score is similar to the average for the airline industry in ACSI. The findings show that the RCSI is less sensitive to outlier data than customer satisfaction indexes (CSIs) based on the ACSI model formulation. The RCSI model also allows the airline and airport managers to understand the specific factors, which significantly influence overall traveler satisfaction, by reading the causal relationship in the RCSI model. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd