Background Of The Study

This research is being conducted to find out the customer satisfaction of service quality in the
airline industry. Airline industry are companies which provides air transport services to their
customers who are wishing to travel internationally also domestically. There are various
subsections that can be divided in researching this study.

Firstly, the focus of this study. This study takes interest of the satisfaction of customer
by the service provided by airlines companies. Therefore, this study would take all matters that
is involved in the airline’s service from booking a ticket, checking in for a flight, sitting in their
assigned seat throughout the whole airplane ride until customers safely landed and claimed
their luggage.

Secondly, the segment or group that are receiving the airline industry services. Airline
customers consists from female and male customers which varies from teenagers to adults.
Some customers travel individually for work, meanwhile some customers travel in a group for a
holiday trip with family or friends. The customers using airline companies service are also
individuals from all types of races also religions. There are Muslim customers that uses airlines
companies to travel to Saudi Arabia for them to perform pilmigrage to the Holy Mecca as it is
more convenient than water transport. Thus, this shows the range of customers which are using
the airlines industry service.

Next, we are going to discuss on the phenomena that airlines industry has contributed
to the society of Malaysia. The phenomena that we would like to discuss about is related to the
famous airline company called Air Asia. Air Asia has came up with a slogan which states “Now
Everyone Can Fly!”, this slogan has intrigued many people of the public as they are searching
for the significant meaning of this slogan. Air Asia has applied this slogan as one of the
objective s of their business, that is to make flight tickets affordable for everyone to be able to
anyone who wishes to go on an aeroplane. Air Asia is also known to be one of the cheapest
airline company as their offer very cheap fares. Seasonally, they will host a sale called the ‘Air
Asia Hot Seats’ on this time of the year the flight ticket fares would go down very drastically in
pricing. Flight tickets are as low as RM16, which makes going on board on a plane extremely
affordable for everyone. Other than that customer satisfaction towards Air Asia has increased
rapidly due to this opportunity.
1.1 Background of the study (AMENDED)

The airline industry, that has been rising steadily since the Second World War, recorded
4.1 billion passengers in 2017, a figure that is projected to nearly double to 7.8 billion by 2036.
Airline industry are companies which provides air transport services to their customers who are
wishing to travel internationally also domestically. Ashgate (2011) categorises airline services as
intercontinental, international, regional or domestic; and the scope of airline operations can be
focused on scheduled services or charter flights. Study on the quality of airline services and its
effect on passenger satisfaction and loyalty is a critical concern that has drawn the interest of
practitioners and researchers because of its potential to influence airline profitability and
efficiency (Saha, Theingi, 2009). Regardless of the lack of holistic performance measures, the
quality of the service is always evaluated from the customer's point of view (Sein, Chey, 2013),
and according to Rhoades and Waguespack (2004), the meaning is ultimately subjective.

This study is focused on the interest of the satisfaction of customer by the service quality
provided by airlines companies. There is no doubt that customer satisfaction with the standard
of airline service is intricately linked to the way in which the quality of service is measured
(Donnett, Ineson, Stone, Colgate, 2000; Rahim, 2015). In relating to this, this study would take
all matters that is involved in the airline’s service from booking a ticket, checking in for a flight,
sitting in their assigned seat throughout the whole airplane ride until customers safely landed
and claimed their luggage. Therefore, a high degree of service efficiency should be provided by
airline operators in order to create and retain customer loyalty.

The group or segment of airline customers consists of female and male customers which
varies from teenagers to adults. Some customers travel individually for work, meanwhile some
customers travel in a group for a holiday trip with family or friends. The customers using airline
companies service are also individuals from all types of races also religions. There are Muslim
customers that uses airlines companies to travel to Saudi Arabia for them to perform pilmigrage
to the Holy Mecca as it is more convenient than water transport. Thus, this shows the range of
customers which are using the airlines industry service. Moreover, according to the Civil
Aviation Authority (2003), business passengers of airline industry form a large portion of Full-
Service Carriers (FSC) revenues. Douglas (2005) argued that one business class passenger on
the main market has equivalent profits for three or five economy class passengers. Mason
(2005) estimated that the business class, which represents just 12% of customers, accounted
for 28% of overall revenues. As a result, it has become crucial for FSCs to distinguish
themselves in the delivery of services to business passengers and to boost quality of service in
this class on a continuous basis in order to maximise their profitability.

Next, we are going to discuss on the phenomena that airlines industry has contributed to
the society of Malaysia. The phenomena that we would like to discuss about is related to the
famous airline company called Air Asia. Air Asia has came up with a slogan which states “Now
Everyone Can Fly!”, this slogan has intrigued many people of the public as they are searching
for the significant meaning of this slogan. Air Asia has applied this slogan as one of the
objective s of their business, that is to make flight tickets affordable for everyone to be able to
anyone who wishes to go on an aeroplane. Air Asia is also known to be one of the cheapest
airline company as their offer very cheap fares. Seasonally, they will host a sale called the ‘Air
Asia Hot Seats’ on this time of the year the flight ticket fares would go down very drastically in
pricing. Flight tickets are as low as RM16, which makes going on board on a plane extremely
affordable for everyone. Other than that customer satisfaction towards Air Asia has increased
rapidly due to this opportunity.