Influence of service quality, loyalty programme and perceived value on word-of-mouth behavior of domestic and international airline passengers in India

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the combined effect of airline service quality (ASQ), loyalty programme and perceived value (PV) on word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior of passengers’ traveling to domestic and international destinations from India. Design/methodology/approach Passenger’s perception on service quality, loyalty programme and PV varies with flight type, which can affect WOM. This study was designed to know whether destination based difference in passengers’ perception on airline services affects their WOM. Hence, a sample of 554 frequent passengers was taken, which includes 358 domestic and 196 international passengers. The responses were collected using well-structured questionnaire. The hypothetical model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling using analysis of a moment structures (AMOS). Findings Travel destination (flight) type moderates significantly the effect of ASQ on WOM behavior. ASQ affects WOM behavior more in domestic passengers. PV and loyalty programme do not moderate significantly with respect to destination type. PV was found to have significant influence on international passengers. However, loyalty programme was significant among domestic passengers. Practical implications Airline managers can develop appropriate marketing strategies targeting the passenger influencing attributes. ASQ is the most significant attribute applicable to both flight types. The airlines can focus on attractive ticket fares for international passengers and more loyalty programme benefits for domestic passengers. Originality/value This study examined the combined effect of ASQ, loyalty programme and PV on WOM behavior of passengers traveling in domestic and international sectors, which has not been researched yet.

1199. Decreased Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: An Ecological Time-Series Analysis, 2014 through 2020

Background Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as sanitary measures and travel restrictions, aimed at controlling the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), may affect the transmission dynamics of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV). We aimed to quantify the contribution of the sales of hand hygiene products and the number of international and domestic airline passenger arrivals on HRSV epidemic in Japan. Methods The monthly number of HRSV cases per sentinel site (HRSV activity) in 2020 was compared with the average of the corresponding period in the previous 6 years (from January 2014 to December 2020) using a monthly paired t-test. A generalized linear Poisson regression model was used to regress the time-series of the monthly HRSV activity against NPI indicators, including sale of hand hygiene products and the number of domestic and international airline passengers, while controlling for meteorological conditions (monthly average temperature and relative humidity) and seasonal variations between years (2014–2020). Results The average number of monthly HRSV case notifications in 2020 decreased by approximately 85% (P < 0.001) compared to those in the preceding 6 years (2014–2019) (Figure 1A). For every average ¥1 billion (approximately &9,000,000/£6,800,00) spent on hand hygiene products during the current month and 1 month before (lag 0-1 months) there was a 0.22% (P = 0.02) decrease in HRSV infections (Table 1). An increase of average 1,000 domestic and international airline passenger arrivals during the previous 1–2 months (lag 1–2 months) was associated with a 4.6×10−4% (P < 0.001) and 1.1×10−3% (P = 0.007) increase in the monthly number of HRSV infections, respectively. Figure 1. Monthly seasonal variations of number of HRSV activity, NPI indicators, and meteorological conditions during 2014-2020. (A) Monthly seasonal variations of number of HRSV cases per sentinel sites based on national HRSV surveillance data during 2014-2020. (B) Monthly seasonal variations of retail sales of hand hygiene products per ¥1 billion (unit: yen) during 2014-2020. (C) Monthly seasonal variations of number of domestic airline passengers per 1,000 population (unit: person) during 2014-2020. (D) Monthly seasonal variations of number of international airline passengers per 1,000 population (unit: person) during 2014-2020. (E) Monthly seasonal variations of average temperature (unit: ℃) throughout Japan during 2014-2020. (F) Monthly seasonal variations of relative humidity (unit: %) throughout Japan during 2014-2020. Table 1. Generalized linear Poisson regression model for the monthly number of human respiratory syncytial virus cases among prefectures in Japan. Conclusion This study suggests that there is an association between the decrease in the monthly number of HRSV cases and improved hygiene and sanitary measures and travel restrictions for COVID-19 in Japan, indicating that these public health interventions can contribute to the suppression of HRSV activity. These findings may help in public health policy and decision making. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Competitive Effects of Joint Ventures in the International Airline Industry

In the past two decades, many international airline carriers have expanded their cooperation by forming various joint ventures (JVs). One key feature of these JVs is that they require carriers to determine certain airfares jointly and integrate their operations as a single carrier in the market for international air travel. This paper tries to evaluate the impact of JVs on airfares. The focus is on a set of behind-to-gateway markets between a non-gateway U.S. city and a foreign gateway city, where both online and codeshare flights are offered, to study how the airfares of online flights are affected after carriers form JVs. A new hypothesis is discussed that JVs increase the airfares of online flights. Based on this hypothesis, an empirical model is built to evaluate the Oneworld alliance’s transatlantic JV established in July 2010. This empirical analysis, which uses the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)’s Airline Origin and Destination Survey (DB1B) international data from 2008 to 2013, indicates that the Oneworld transatlantic JV increased airfares of online flights by about 3%–4% in the behind-to-gateway markets. Previous studies, which emphasized the airfare reductions of codeshare flights in the connecting markets, may have overestimated the benefits to consumers from JVs. U.S. DOT can better protect consumers by evaluating plausible airfare increases in online flights in the behind-to-gateway markets when reviewing new applications for JVs.

Decreased human respiratory syncytial virus activity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: an ecological time-series analysis

Background Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as sanitary measures and travel restrictions, aimed at controlling the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), may affect the transmission dynamics of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV). We aimed to quantify the contribution of the sales of hand hygiene products and the number of international and domestic airline passenger arrivals on HRSV epidemic in Japan. Methods The monthly number of HRSV cases per sentinel site (HRSV activity) in 2020 was compared with the average of the corresponding period in the previous 6 years (from January 2014 to December 2020) using a monthly paired t-test. A generalized linear gamma regression model was used to regress the time-series of the monthly HRSV activity against NPI indicators, including sale of hand hygiene products and the number of domestic and international airline passengers, while controlling for meteorological conditions (monthly average temperature and relative humidity) and seasonal variations between years (2014–2020). Results The average number of monthly HRSV case notifications in 2020 decreased by approximately 85% (p < 0.001) compared to those in the preceding 6 years (2014–2019). For every average ¥1 billion (approximately £680,000/$9,000,000) spent on hand hygiene products during the current month and 1 month before there was a 0.29% (p = 0.003) decrease in HRSV infections. An increase of average 1000 domestic and international airline passenger arrivals during the previous 1–2 months was associated with a 3.8 × 10− 4% (p < 0.001) and 1.2 × 10− 3% (p < 0.001) increase in the monthly number of HRSV infections, respectively. Conclusions This study suggests that there is an association between the decrease in the monthly number of HRSV cases and improved hygiene and sanitary measures and travel restrictions for COVID-19 in Japan, indicating that these public health interventions can contribute to the suppression of HRSV activity. These findings may help in public health policy and decision making.

The US rebound will be less even than headlines imply

Significance Hiring was strong in the leisure and hospitality industries, anticipating higher consumer spending, the US economy's main driver. Accelerating progress on vaccination points to a faster-than-expected return to regular business activity while President Joe Biden's USD1.9tn relief package and proposed USD2.25tn first-phase infrastructure package announced yesterday promise additional stimulus. Impacts Service sectors whose tasks can be automated will see more mergers and acquisitions to lower the cost of capital for further automation. Automation will impose fierce downward cost pressure, driving companies that cannot adapt out of business in many sectors. International airline and hotel groups will seek to acquire regional carriers and smaller hotels serving domestic leisure travellers. Telemedicine will expand markets for at-home diagnostic equipment and health and fitness devices and apps.

Forecasting the nearly unforecastable: why aren’t airline bookings adhering to the prediction algorithm?

Using 27 million flight bookings for 2 years from a major international airline company, we built a Next Likely Destination model to ascertain customers’ next flight booking. The resulting model achieves an 89% predictive accuracy using historical data. A unique aspect of the model is the incorporation of self-competence, where the model defers when it cannot reasonably make a recommendation. We then compare the performance of the Next Likely Destination model in a real-life consumer study with 35,000 actual airline customers. In the user study, the model obtains a 51% predictive accuracy. What happened? The Individual Behavior Framework theory provides insights into possibly explaining this inconsistency in evaluation outcomes. Research results indicate that algorithmic approaches in competitive industries must account for shifting customer preferences, changes to the travel environment, and confounding business effects rather than relying solely on historical data.

Service Quality and Passengers’ Satisfaction of Airline Operations in Nigeria

The study evaluates passengers’ satisfaction with the service quality of international airlines at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria. The study randomly selects 4 out of 27 international airlines operating at the airport for the survey. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 100 respondents in each of the airlines since the study population could not be ascertained. A structured questionnaire was administered on the passengers when waiting to board the aircraft to elicit information on their travel characteristics and perceived satisfaction with the services rendered by the airlines using a five-point Likert scale. The data collected on passengers’ satisfaction with the airline’s service quality was analyzed using the servqual model while multiple regression model was used to predict the effect of service quality dimensions on passengers’ satisfaction with the airlines. The result of the servqual model shows that the passenger satisfaction rating of reliability dimension (0.66) is the highest followed by responsiveness (0.52), empathy (0.52), tangible (0.41), and assurance (0.36) has the least rating. Similarly, the result of regression model reveals that the coefficients of four dimensions reliability (β = 0.683; p ≤ 0.01), empathy (β = 0.656; p ≤ 0.01), responsiveness (β = 0.409; p ≤ 0.01) and tangible (β = 0.364; p ≤ 0.01) had statistically significant influence on passengers’ satisfaction of the airlines. The study concludes that service quality influences passengers’ satisfaction with international airline operations in Nigeria. The study recommends useful policy actions aimed at improving service quality to allow airlines to enjoy continuous loyalty and patronage by the passengers.