Modeling passengers’ future behavioral intentions in airline industry using SEM

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationships among the extracted constructs of airline service quality (SQ), perceived image, perceived value, passenger satisfaction and their influence on passengers’ future behavioral intentions in the domestic aviation sector market in Indian context. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework is developed based on previous studies. In order to address a lack of comprehensive evaluation of airline SQ, this study extracted the dimensions of airline SQ and used them in the structural model. The conceptual model is tested using structural equation modeling approach using maximum likelihood estimation technique. A sample of 526 domestic full-service passengers was used to test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Findings – Out of the three dimensions of airline SQ extracted, convenience and promptness with reliability dimension of SQ was having a direct influence on perceived image, perceived value and passenger satisfaction which in turn influence BI. The findings of this study indicate the passenger evaluation process flows from perceived image to satisfaction via passenger perceived value and not directly from perceived image to passenger satisfaction. Only passengers’ satisfaction was found to have a direct influence on passengers’ future BI. Originality/value – This study modified SERVPERF instrument for airline settings and empirically validated the instrument using data from Indian domestic passengers. This research adds to the body of knowledge by providing a conceptual framework which gives an empirical insight into the interrelationship among the constructs of airline SQ, perceived image, perceived value, passenger satisfaction and its effects on passenger’s future BI. The conceptual model developed and tested in this paper will act as a reference in forming suitable marketing strategies for airline’s competitive advantage.