Tourist satisfaction: airline service performance as a satisfaction determinant J. W. de Jager & L. de W Fourie Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa Abstract The problem under investigation in this paper is to investigate to what extent airline management has sufficient knowledge about the perceived perception of tourists or passengers with regard to the services rendered to them. This becomes increasingly important resulting from the financial difficulties airlines are experiencing since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America. The need for the study results from a worldwide tendency of economic downturn and the public caution on air travel, which is caused by the capacity of the airline industry to exceed demand substantially. The purpose of this study is to investigate selective service quality elements that contribute to the satisfaction of tourists when making use of domestic airlines in South Africa. The perceptions of consumers on service recovery is vital in understanding areas of success and areas of failure within three major airline passengers in South Africa on specific performance areas, inter alia South African Airways, Comair and Kulula.Com. 1 Introduction The rapid increasing rate of tourism to developing countries needs to be synergised with good planning of all necessary services and facilities, of which transport is vital, but often a neglected area. Since the democratic election in South Africa in 1994, tourism has increased at a progressive pace. After the upliftment of sanctions the country became a global competitive tourist attraction. For this reason it is important to ensure that tourists are amongst others satisfied with the services provided by domestic airlines. This can be achieved by managing service quality to maintain a sustainable tourism environment. The study attempts to identify the service dimensions that matter Sustainable Tourism, F. D. Pineda, C. A. Brebbia & M. Mugica (Editors) © 2004 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-724-8 276 Sustainable Tourism most to airline passengers as well as the rate of satisfaction with regards to pre- selected service elements. 2 Tourism and the service experience Tourism is essentially a service industry or perhaps more accurately an amalgam of service industries. Its management practices are typically concerned with issues as service quality and productivity (Otto & Ritchie [19]; Yoon & Uysel [24]; Kozak [13]; Haber & Lerner [9]; Nield et al. [18] and Weiermair & Fuchs [23] as they fall within the aegis of services marketing. Although Otto & Ritchie [19] refer to these aspects as critical concerns, it refers to technical issues that may only tell part of the management story. The other critical side, according to the author, is the subjective personal reactions and feelings experienced by consumers when they consume a service. This phenomenon has been termed the service experience and has recently been found to be an important part of consumer evaluation of satisfaction with services. He concludes that understanding experiential phenomena in tourism is particularly important as emotional reactions and decisions often prevail amongst consumers. Bearing in mind the abovementioned it is evident that airlines and to a lesser extent tour operators should understand the needs and perceptions of passengers in order to satisfy their needs and consequently to try and capture the biggest market share. 3 Tourism transport and need satisfaction Transport is an integral part of tourism that facilitates the movement of e.g. holidaymakers and business travelers. Transport can be regarded as the key element of the tourist “experience” and is an integral part of the tourism industry. Transport provides the essential link between tourism origin and destination areas (Page [20], p.1). Prideaux ([21], p.53) states that air transport has made a significant contribution to the growth of tourism in many parts of the world including destinations in Asia, Spain, Africa and the Pacific Islands. For this reason it can be argued that tour operators should be concerned with various issues facing the tourism industry. This includes aspects like customer care and the tourist’s experience while traveling as well as the preparation process before traveling. Page ([20], p.3) states that owing to the choice of transport available and the competitive environment for tourist travel in free market economies, transport operators recognize the importance of ensuring that the travel experience is both pleasurable and fulfills consumers’ expectations. Clearly an investigation should include aspects that originate from the pre booking stage through to the completion of the journey. Gursoy et al. [8] point out that several studies suggested that airline service quality is one of the most critical factors that is likely to influence travelers airline selection decision and significant relationships exist among reputation, service and retained preference. Attributes that are related to service quality that are perceived as important by airline customers are price, safety, timelines, luggage transportation, quality of food and beverage, comfort of the seat, check in process, and inboard service. Chang and Sustainable Tourism, F. D. Pineda, C. A. Brebbia & M. Mugica (Editors) © 2004 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-724-8 Sustainable Tourism 277 Yeh ([3], p.166) however point out that aspects like price, was initially regarded as primary competition weapon. According to the author, airline industries soon realized that competition on price alone represent a no win situation on the long run. Empirical studies of demand for airlines, show that service quality is central to the choice of airlines for both business and leisure travelers. 4 Tourism marketing strategies – swift towards customer care According to Tsaur et al. ([22], p.107) airlines are offering amongst others more convenient routes, more promotional incentives like mileage rewards, frequent flyer membership program and sweepstakes in an attempt to consolidate their market share and to enhance profitability. However, they point out that the marginal benefits of marketing strategies gradually reduce because most of the airlines act similarly. Due to the recognition of the limitation of marketing strategies, some air carriers rather tend to focus on the commitment of improving customer service quality. Like any other industry, the airline industry’s understanding of what passengers expect is essential to providing superior service quality. Gilbert and Wong ([7], p.519) suggest that delivering superior service quality is a prerequisite for success and survival in today’s competitive business environment. Gursoy et al. ([8], p.1) points out that an essential component of a successful positioning strategy is gaining a better understanding of customers’ perception of quality of services provided by airlines. Dube and Renaghan ([5], p.90) emphasize that a positioning strategy should wove together promises of distinct experiences, benefits, and personal values with the actual production of the service experience. The tourist should experience the feeling of power when he/she for example experiences a bigger seat compared to the normal economic class seat. According to Gilbert and Wong ([7], p.519) the airline industry is undergoing a very difficult time and many companies are in search of service segmentation strategies that will satisfy different target market segments. Some of these segmentation strategies may include choices like low cost versus traditional airlines and business class versus a combination of economic and business class travelers. Eccles ([6], p.20) point out the need for social marketing strategies – in essence tourism marketing will increasingly focus on the customer. This includes investigating the needs, expectations and satisfaction rates of consumers regarding the service rendered on airlines. Gilbert and Wong ([7], p.519) came to the conclusion that the lessons that have been learned over the last decade from service quality proves that there is a strong indication that improvement in service provides improved profit due to increasing customer base through new and repeat purchases from more loyal customers. The improvement in performance quality and satisfaction will result in retention and expansion of tourist numbers, more vociferous and active tourism support, and ultimately enhanced profitability and political support. As a result it seems logical that there should be a causal link between quality of tourism supplier’s performance, level of consumer satisfaction, and the organizations success. Sustainable Tourism, F. D. Pineda, C. A. Brebbia & M. Mugica (Editors) © 2004 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-724-8 278 Sustainable Tourism Higher performance quality and satisfaction levels are perceived to result in increased loyalty and future visitation, greater tolerance of price increases, and an enhanced reputation. This is important to attract new tourists through positive word-of-mouth and media acclaim [1, p.786]. 5 Research problem It is assumed that tour operators and airline management are planning their business with sufficient knowledge about the perceived perception of tourists or passengers with regard to the services rendered to them. The problem under investigation in this paper is to investigate to what extent the services are being satisfied. This should provide some extent of direction in order to satisfy client’s need and consequently