Pre-print copy: Please cite as

Chen, H., Peng, N. and Hackley, C. (2008) ‘Evaluating Service Marketing in Airline

Industry and its Influence on Student Passengers’ Purchas

T a i p e i - L o n d o n R oJ uo t u e r n a a s l aonf eT x r aa mv pe l e a’ n

Marketing, 25/2, 149-160.

First author: Chen Hui-ling, MBA at Royal Holloway, Unive

Contacting email: annie_huiling@hotmail.com

S e c o n d a u t h o r : D r. C h r i s H a c k l e y, P r o f e s s o r o f M a r k e t i n g i n t h e D e p a r
M a n a g e m e n t a t R o y a l H o l l o w a y , U n i v e r s i t y o f
Chris.Hackley@rhul.ac.uk

T h i r d a nc do r r e s p o n dai un tgh o r : D r . N o r m a n P e n g , P h D i n M a n a g e m e n t , R o y a
Holloway, University of London. Contacting email: Norman_peng@hotmail.com
Evaluating Service Marketing in Airline Industry and its Influence
on StudentPassenger s’ Purchasing Behaviour-using Taipei-London
Route as an example
Abstract

This research tries to understand how travellers purchase and us

s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e d b y s t u d y i n g Ta i p e i t o L o n d o n r o u t e o f f i v e a i r l i n e s . T h e s e
most travelled airlines are British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines,
EVA Airways and the Royal Dutch Airways.

The mainanalyticalframework is using the 7Ps of service marketing to identify the

gaps between the desired and received service. The primary data will be gathered
t h r o u g h m u l t i p l e s t a g e s o f s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d i n t e r v i e w s t h a t i n c l u d e s 6 0 Ta
overseas students.

The main findings propose that price although is one of the important components
b u t d i f f e r e n t q u a lsi et yr voi scf ec a n b e e q u a l l y i f n o t m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n p r i c e
especiallyin long-haul flights. The comfort of the in-flight equipments and services
such as seating, entertainment and flight attendant ’s attitude are several things that
students seriously concern.In addition, the special student discount either in price or
other forms like the amount of baggage allowances too had important
an impact on
s t u d e n t t r a v e’sl l edre c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s . L a s t l’s
y, saaifrel ti ny er e c o r d a n d t h e
i m p r e s s i o n o f b e i n g s a f e o r n o t a l s o c
student’s preferences one way or another.

K e y Wo r d s : S e r v i c e M a r k e t i n g , A i r l i n e I n d u s t r y, C o n s u m e r B e h a
Tourism

2
1.0 Introduction

Competition [between airlines] increased more obviously because price of

ticket is not the only issue that passengers care about. Fare increases or
decreases are not the only factors to influence passengers’ welfare. Service is
becoming more important is this competition. (Morrison and Winston, 1995)

The airline industry has evolved rapidly in recent decades. It was a luxurious

travel style at the early of the last century but has become one of the most common

methods of travel today. By 2003, there were 590 million travellers who travelled by

plane in Europe alone (Eurostat News, 2005). Globally, it was forecast that, by 2005,

the world passenger traffic (measured in passenger-kilometres

performed by scheduled airlines of ICAO contracting states) would reach 3,807

billion, compared with 1,367 billion in 1985 (Hanlon, 1999, p.14). There was a phase

when most airlines were state-owned, followed by a period of oligopoly before we

entered a stage when competition is as intense as any other commodity goods (Shaw,

1999). Partly because of these changes, the service quality and marketing

of the airline industry also changed rapidly. In the early days, airlines placed a heavy

emphasis on service quality because it was a luxurious leisure pursuit. Then, it

became a secondary focus when it entered the oligopoly stage. During this stage,

price and price wars were the primary concern of the travellers and the airline

companies. This tide shifted again during the 1990s, as some airlines started to

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reemphasise and improve their service to attract travellers (Zeithaml and Bitner,

1996). However, the focus of existing studies is on the industry rather than the

traveller.

The purpose and contribution of this research is to capture the contemporary

airline service marketing through 60 overseas student passengers and their evaluation

of five world-classed airlines’ performance on the Taipei-London route. There are

existing studies on airline’s service performance and studies on travelling

behaviour; nonetheless, the originality of this research lies in its attempt to combine

the two through a qualitative interpretive approach.

Despite the limitations, the findings reconfirm some existing literature on the

issue, such as the importance of safety, but also produce some new suggestions

about how airlines can improve customer satisfaction through understanding what

passengers regard as a quality flying experience. In addition, the findings of this

research can also bring new thoughts to other travel, tourism and hotel industries

because the focus of this research is on marketing and service instead of aviation. But

before this research turns to passengers’ experiences, it is necessary to review a

selection of literature that helped to establish a perimeter for this research.

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2.0 Literature review

The literature that helped to develop this study is primarily about the airline

industry, the overseas student market of Taiwan, service marketing, consumer

decision making, research methods and philosophical frameworks. In this section, we

will sample a couple of representatives from each category and point out the

potential gap within the current studies.

Background to recent airline industry development

According to Williams (1994), the deregulation of the airline industry has

influenced several regions besides the US. Before the deregulation, an oligopoly

market with intense competition and price sensitive consumers were

two important features (Shaw, 1999; Doganis, 2001). During the transaction, several

gaps between the provided service and the perceived service occurred (Gourdin and

Kloppenborg, 1991). Some of the gaps are no longer significant, because they had to

be resolved or replaced by newer challenges, such as the safety issue after

911, the development of electronic ticketing and environmental issues, but some are

still valuable in this study.

Proussaloglou and Koppelman (1995) in Chen (2003) point out that, to

understand the main attributes which could influence the passenger’s decision when

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choosing a flight, it is important to acknowledge the passengers’ point of view

when selecting an airline. They mention that there are three issues which can

influence the passenger’s decision and these are: the purpose of travel, the

passenger’s attributes and the airline’s incentives.

One of the reasons why this study used an Asia Pacific-Europe route is due to its

significance in today’s airline industry. Shaw (1999, p.127) describes how ‘both

Boeing and Airbus agreed that the crucial market for new large jets is that form

Asia/Pacific markets to Europe’. Although Boeing and Airbus are not airlines that

are faced with general travellers on a daily basis, they do recognise their customers,

and some important airline companies have to be competitive in the Asian market in

order to be competitive worldwide.

Previous studies on the Taiwanese overseas students’ market

Since Taiwan (formally known as the Republic of China) entered the WTO in

2002, the government called for the ‘Internationalisation of higher education’,

because this is an important of enhancing the competitiveness of Taiwan and its

citizens (Tsai, 2002). Students also think that learning English and studying abroad

could advance both their career and themselves.

The overseas students’ market of Taiwan is consistently growing. The numbers

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 of overseas students reached 33,000 in 2005. According to figure

2.2, the USA and UK attract many Taiwanese students. Moreover, the number of

overseas students in the United Kingdom is growing continuously, second among

almost all other countries except for the United States. This number reached 9,248 in

2005, which has doubled compared to ten years ago. This means that the UK

is becoming more attractive since the number of students in the US remained

relatively constant during the same timeframe. Some airlines have become aware of

this potential market, while others have not. Therefore, that is why this research

selected Taiwanese overseas students as its research target.

Figure 2.2 Number of Taiwanese students studying in the USA and UK from
1996 to 2005:

Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Destination

USA 13,425 14,042 13,109 14,443 15,547 14,878 13,767 10,324 14,054 15,525

UK 5,095 6,414 6,173 6,553 8,567 7,583 9,548 6,662 9,207 9,248

Source from: Ministry of Education, Taiwan

http://www.edu.tw/EDU_WEB/EDU_MGT/BICER/EDU7954001/1990-2005.htm

Airline service marketing and consumer decision making

In order to study an airline’s service quality and what it means to

passengers, it is important to elaborate on the definition of service marketing and

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how it can be applied to the airline industry. Kotler et al (2005) define service as “any

activity, benefit or satisfaction that is offered for sale”.

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985, 1988) in Li (2003) also clarify how

services can meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. They describe how an

expectation can be divided into two types: desired service and adequate service

(Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1993 in Li, 2003). From this literature, it appears

that adequate service means the actual service that the customer received, while the

desired service is the quality of service for which the customer wished. This

terminology will allow this research to identify and differentiate

the airline’s service from its passengers’ expectations.

Palmer (1994) states that ‘pure’ services include the following

characteristics: intangibility, inseparability, variability, perishability and the inability

to own a service. However, the service provided by airlines often has

to rely on intangible but also tangible aspects as well. These can include food,

seating, entertainment programmes, etc.

Another approach to the study of an airline’s service marketing is through Rust,

Zahork and Keiningham’s (1996) work. According to them, intangible components

play a vital role in winning and maintaining customers (Rust, Zahork and

8
Keiningham, 1996). Below is a model that includes the four components of service

and how it can be applied to the context of the airline industry.

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Figure 2.5 The four components of a service

Service Service Product

Delivery

Physical
Product

Service Environment

Source: Rust and Oliver, 1993 in Rust, Zahork and Keiningham (1996, p.15)

Figure 2.6 Components of the Service Industry

Industry Physical Product Service Product Service Service Delivery

Environment

Airline Ticket In-flight meal & Service counter, Food and drinks
drinks, Airport lounge &serving, maintenance
Cabin of the facilities and
Entertainment
actual performance
programme
of attendant services.

Source: Rust, Zahork and Keiningham (1996, p.17)

At the other end of the spectrum, consumers and their background

play an equally important role when selecting an airline. As Chiang (2003, p.149)

10
wrote: “Passengers select different airlines based on service quality, travellers’

socioeconomic characteristics and the purpose of the trip”. Sultan and Simpson

(2000, p.188) agreed and elaborated further by writing: “Major airline industry

competitors, seeking to gain or expand market share globally or regionally, provide an

opportunity to explore the service expectations and perceptions of customers of

different nationalities”.

The above scholars highlight the need to consider the consumer’s background

when assessing service quality and airline’s performance. For example, “greater

importance has been attached to the quality of service perceived by individuals in

influencing decisions to continue with repeat purchases” (Crosby and Stevens, 1987

in Bejou and Palmer, 1998). In addition, Natalisa and Subroto (2003) also

acknowledge that the customer's level of satisfaction is heavily influenced by their

interaction and service received from the personnel who directly serve them.

The following review will address two consumer behaviour models which will be

used in this research.

Shaw (1999) speaks about the roles involved in the decision making process,

such as deciders, gatekeepers, users, buyers and influencers.

Because of the uniqueness of each role, this model is helpful in understanding and

11
analysing how consumers came up with their decision and also shows the

different players’ involvement (Shaw, 1999, p.12-14).

A generic model of consumer problem solving is another framework which is

important to the understanding of consumer behaviour and airline customers. In this

model, there are five stages within the decision making process: problem recognition,

the search for alternative solutions, the evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post-

purchase use and the re-evaluation of the chosen alternative (Peter and Olson, 1999).

This model will also be included, since it allows this research to examine

consumers’ mindsets during different stages of consumption. Combining these two

models of consumer behaviour will allow this research to have a dynamic view of how

and why Taiwanese student passengers select airlines in the way they do.

Within the context of the airline industry, Kaynak and Kuchkemiroglu’s (1993)

research offers some factors that concern passengers when choosing airlines.

Namely, the reliability of the airline, their past experience with the airline, the price

of the tickets, service quality and safety are the five most important factors when

selecting airlines. This study mentions that customers place great importance on these

attributes before purchasing a ticket. In another study, Chen (2003) also

identifies that there are some attributes which are considered by frequent

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international traveller when choosing airlines for travel to Europe. These are the

connection to the destination, price, emergency handling, services and special

discount for frequent flyers. These criteria will allow this research to be more

precise during the interview and analysis stages.

This section reviewed a selection of the literature on the airline industry, the

Taiwanese overseas student market, service marketing and the consumer decision

making process. With this literature presented, the following section will

focus on this research’s data collection procedure and analytical approach.

3.0 Research method and analytical approach

With the literature presented, the purpose of this section is to present and explain

how the data were gathered and why its approach was appropriate. In short, this

research adopted a qualitative approach through interpreting 40 in-depth interview

transcripts gathered from a pool of 60 Taiwanese students. The interviews explored

the participant’s previous experiences as well as their attitude

towards future consumption. These will be elaborated after presenting the framework

that this research adopted.

The core framework for this research was developed by Zenthaml and Bitner

(1996), as shown in figure 3.1. According to them, customer expectations are the

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standard reference points for performance against which service experiences are

compared, and are often formulated in terms of what a customer believed should or

will happen.

Figure 3.1 The Customer Gap

Expected Service

GAP

Perceived Service

In addition, the 7Ps of service marketing, the generic model of consumer

problem solving and the roles involved in consumer decision making were also

incorporated as guidance for this research. In the following sections, how the data

were gathered and why it was a sensible approach, given the purpose of this research,

will be discussed.

Data Collection

This section will discuss the flow of the data collection, the source of the

interviewees and the selection of the airlines. The following figure demonstrates

the procedures and key themes of the data collection process:

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Figure 3.2 The Flow of the Research and Key Themes

First stage- 60 individuals Key themes for analysis

Purpose: Identify five Interviewee’s past behaviour
airlines that can be used in
this research How knowledgeable are these
interviewees regarding airlines
Method: Questionnaire and their services
Through: 2005’s Important service attributes
Taiwanese Student
Association and other Interviewee’s future behaviour
universities’ Taiwanese once a comparison chart is
students shown
The reasons for their new
decision
Important service attributes that
Second stage (part one) - 40 were not considered
individuals
Additional information that was
Purpose: Identify interviewee’s not considered by the researcher
past experience and behaviour
Method: Semi-structured
interview
Through: 2005’s Taiwanese
Student Association at Royal
Holloway and other
Second stage (part two) - 40
universities’ Taiwanese students
individuals
Purpose: Explore interviewee’s
expectations and possible future
behaviour
Method: Semi-structured
interviews
Through: the 2005 and 2006
Taiwanese Student Association at
Royal Holloway and
otherniversities’ Taiwanese
students

As presented above, 60 overseas students were recruited during the first stage of

15
the research. They were used to identify the five most commonly used airlines when

travelling to the UK. The following figures (3.3 and 3.4) show the distribution of

their choices:

Figure 3.3 Taipei to London, the most commonly used airlines among students
(overall)

Most used airlines Times used by respondents

Cathay Pacific Airways 39

EVA Airways 22

British Airways 28

China Airlines 16

Royal Dutch Airlines 15

Other 17

*The total number of respondents is 60, but some travelled multiple times; therefore
the sum is larger than 60

*There are several interviewees who are regular flyers. They flew more than ten times
and could not remember every flight; therefore, only the times they can
recall are included

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Figure 3.4 Taipei to London, the most commonly used airlines by students
(most recently)

Most used airlines Times used by the respondents

Cathay Pacific Airways 14

EVA Airways 13

British Airways 12

China Airlines 8

Royal Dutch Airlines 7

Other 6

With the key airlines being identified, this research started to investigate these

popular airlines and their characteristics before proceeding further (Appendices One

and Two). By understanding these airlines better, it ensured that the interviews

would be as efficient and effective as possible.

With the five most popular airlines identified and their specific service attributes

presented, 40 participants were recruited from the original 60 Taiwanese students for

the second stage. In terms of the demographics and other information regarding

these 40 interviewees, this research tried to balance its mix without setting a strict

quota. The following is a summary of the interviewees:

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Figure 3.5 Characteristics of the interviewees

Total interviewees 40

Gender (Male/Female) 15/25

Average Age 27.6

Average month studying at UK 20

Educational Level 3/37

(Undergraduate/Postgraduate)

Average flying times per person 3.4

(Taipei to London)

As shown above, there are more female than male

participants; moreover, they are mostly graduate students who travel frequently

between Taiwan and UK. The potential influence of these characteristics will be

discussed separately. In the next section, the issues of the data analysis method and

the design of the questionnaire will be discussed.

The Semi-Structured Interview Questionnaire Design and Analysis

To reiterate, the objective of this study was primarily to identify the airline

carriers’ service attributes that are important to Taiwanese students who are/were

studying in the UK.

Given this research’s topic and objective, the qualitative approach is more

suitable, since its nature was to explore and identify a phenomenon (Malhotra and

Birks, 2003). In addition, the interpretive technique was a useful analytical tool in

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this genre of qualitative studies. It is an approach that tries to ‘generate rich

descriptions of everyday events and issues’ (Hackley, 2003, p.25). These two

techniques could improve the understanding of the participants’ decisions and

their rationale behind them.

To gather the data for this qualitative and interpretive study,

semi-structured, in-depth interviews were adopted. This is a popular method that can

aid the data gathering and analysis (Fontana and Frey, 1994; May, 1998),

especially when designed to ‘reflect the interviewee’s view of world’

(Hackley, 2003, p.121). Furthermore, semi-structured interviews are a useful way to

gain, sometimes unexpected, feedback (Hackley, 2003). They were

suitable for this research because they allowed the interviewer to have some control

over the topic and direction, while not dictating the discussion.

In terms of the questionnaire itself, the questions were formed based on

Kaynak and Kuchkemiroglu (1993) and Chen’s (2003) researches. It was improved

through informal discussions, after surveying 60 student travellers. The semi-

structured interview consists of three parts (Appendix four). The first one involves

the interviewee’s background, such as his/her educational-level, sex and age.

Additionally, it also covers other, more specific information, such as how many years

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the interviewee has been studying in the UK and how many times the has interviewee

travelled to UK. This part will help to identify and form relationships with the later

two main question categories.

The second part of the questionnaire mainly focuses on the interviewee’s past

flying experience, important attributes and travelling behaviour; for example, which

service attributes they found satisfying and important when selecting an

airline. And thirdly, what other alternative did they consider, why, and why did they

did not pick that airline. This part will be conducted without any additional

information, but solely rely on the interviewee’s own memory, judgement and

reflection.

The final part of the questionnaire will be presented to them after an organised

table-Airline Comparison Chart (Appendix Two) is shown to them. In this table, it

has five selected airlines’ products and service information, which include duration,

travel kit, transfer point, price and frequency of flying. After

letting the interviewees reflect on the given information, the researcher then will ask

them whether they noticed these differences or not, what attributes are important to

them and whether they will consider changing their decision in their future

purchases.

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 Taking these three categories into account will provide a

dynamic insight into the Taiwanese students’ preferences when selecting an

airline. With the literature and research method presented, the following section will

present the passengers’ experiences.

4.0 Presenting and analysing the passenger feedback

The student passengers discussed several interesting topics throughout

different stages of the interviews. The following are some of the emerging themes

that caught this research’s attention. During this section, partial transcripts will be

presented while some additional transcripts can be found in Appendix Five. The

original transcripts are not included, due to their quantity.

The Unique Class (Elite Class) Offered by EVA Airways

EVA Airways provides a unique fourth class which has a specially designed

configuration. Shaw (1999) expresses that ‘some airlines attempt to achieve such a

seating configuration informally, but only one which is the Taiwanese airline EVA

Air makes a four-class aircraft a standard part of its product’. The four classes are

First, Business, Evergreen Deluxe (Elite class for Boeing 777 only)

and Economy class.

According to EVA airways, all EVA intercontinental services offer a unique

21
class called the Evergreen Deluxe Class cabins or Elite Class. It offers a very high

quality service and many enhancements that can only be found in other airlines'

business class. For example, it has a large seat configuration and individual video

systems. This class received massive praise from the passengers (additional

transcripts can be found in Appendix Five).

I always choose EVA because of its Elite class which was called Evergreen
Deluxe in Boeing 747. I can enjoy the better facilities which are like Business
Class offered by other airlines, but [at a] cheap price. (respondents AC)

However, not every participant who travelled with EVA bought

an Elite Class ticket. Amount the 13 participants who collectively flew with EVA 22

times, only five mentioned they would always travel Elite Class. Others would travel

in Elite Class after they accumulate enough mileage and received a free

upgrade or were given it as a gift by someone else.

The participants’ feedback agreed with Calder’s (2003) view that even price is

one of the most important attributes that passengers consider; however,

it is still possible to charge a premium price through providing

a better service mix. The impact of these favourable opinions and how

they can be transformed to a positioning strategy will be discussed later.

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The Web Service

With the progression of the technology and the emergence of the hyper-

competitive environment, e-commerce and information systems play essential roles in

the airline industry as well (Shaw, 1999). Web service is a key part of information

systems. The companies applied these systems to enhance their competitiveness, such

as improving product quality and customer services.

In the airline industry, many airlines use internet services to attract more

customers by making the transaction more customer-friendly. Laudon and Laudon

(2002) point out that information systems are not only essential for management, but

that most organisations also need it to prosper or even survive in

today’s competitive environment. In this research, passengers agreed that they will

take an airline’s web service into account while shopping for and selecting airlines:

The convenient web service is the most important issue to me. I always
choose Cathay Pacific Airways because of their online booking and checking-
in service. I don’t have to arrive at the airport two hours early to queue in
front of the counter. It is quite time saving and convenient for me.
(Respondents AF)

According to other participants, Cathay Pacific Airway’s convenient web

service, on some level, contributed to the user’s favourable attitude. On the other

hand, the web service’s influence should not be overstated. Even though nearly all

of the participants used the internet to search for alternatives, only a handful bought

23
his/her ticket without the assistance of a travel agency.

As Chaffey et al (2003) proposed that a good internet service is not only a good

source of marketing but also relationship marketing which is essential in

today’s deregulated airline industry. With the high development of internet

technology and communication facilities, the web service is becoming

a necessity for airlines. At the same time, student passengers and other consumers

who are already familiar with this instrument will expect the airlines to provide this

service at some level.

In-flight Service

The unique class and web services certainly are important, but the in-flight

service is the fundamental aspect that will be evaluated by the student passengers.

They pointed out three main criteria: the flight attendant’s service attitude, the food

and the environment.

Flight attendant’s service quality

Because of the booming service industry in recent years, corporations have

started to provide additional and sometimes less noticeable services that were not

available before (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). In addition, the emphasis on

marketing started to shift from the product itself to the overall impression that it gives

24
to consumers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985 in Li, 2003). The following

quote is one participant’s view (additional transcripts are contained in Appendix

Five):

I choose Cathay Pacific Airways because of their good service. The flight
attendants are all kind and polite. Even if I push the call button several times
requiring water because I felt sick. They were still very patient.
(Respondents AN)

From the passengers’ perspective, they cared very much about the service they

received from the cabin attendants. Perhaps more importantly, sometimes it is not

only the formality of the service, but whether the flight attendants were sensitive,

caring and patient. Berry and Parasuraman (1991) assert that both service quality and

customer satisfaction are positively correlated. Therefore, the quality of the flight

attendants is crucial for airlines since they are the people who will have direct contact

with the passengers.

Quality of food

In Chinese and perhaps some other Asian-Pacific cultures, dining has other

social meanings apart from basic physical needs (Deng, 1997 in Li, 2002). In the

Chinese saying, dining, clothing, living and travelling are four vital

parts in people’s lives. Hence, the quality of the food served during the flight can also

be a unique selling proposition. A couple of respondents described their experience

25
of the in-flight meals service and how much they cared about the food quality.

In my experience, many airlines do not care about the quality of the in-flight
meals. However, Cathay Pacific Airways’ in-flight meals are provided by
Hyatt Hotel. Even though I am sitting in Economy Class, I still can enjoy high
quality food from a five star hotel on the airplane. (Respondents AN)

Based on general observations during the interviews, although passengers cared

about the quality of food, but it is not the single most important issue. On the other

hand, there are some who care about this a lot, based on the examination of

their texts. According to this point, if airlines intend to attract more

Taiwanese or Chinese international students, these companies have to pay more

attention to the quality and style of the in-flight food service, because it could affect

customers’ satisfaction and re-purchasing intention.

Environment: the type of aircraft, seating comfort, and entertainment system

The Skytrax magazine (2006) describes how the in-flight environment is an

essential issue for long-haul flight passengers. The environment of the aircraft

involves the comfort of the seats and the entertainment system. A

number of participants gave a rather detailed description of the features of the cabin

and the following comment was made by one participant:

I had used EVA AIR a few years ago when they used Boeing-747s, but that
flight was awful because they didn’t have a personal TV service. I can only
choose a few music programmes during the flight. I haven’t used EVA since

26
 then. However, since EVA uses Boeing-777s to fly from Taipei to London. I
decided to try again. I find that the new type aircraft is good. They offer a 3-
3-3 seat arrangement, so the space of the seats is wider. I also have a
personalised movie channel, a music programme as well as video games.
(Respondents BD)

According to these international students’ views, they are concern about and

well-aware of the in-flight environment that the airlines offered. If the price is

similar, they would choose the airline that can make them more comfortable,

depending on their travel needs. During this research, food and seat comfort ranked

the highest, while entertainment systems and service quality were rated slightly

lower.

This once again suggested that price is not the only indicator for passengers but

can be affected by multiple issues; therefore, airlines should make

efforts to improve their offer since this is an effective way of building long-term

relationships (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).

Special Offer for Students and Loyalty Programmes

Kotler et al (2005, p.393) specify that segment marketing is about adapting a

company’s offerings so that they more closely match the needs of one or more

market segments. The respondents mentioned a couple of offers that can attract their

attention:

27
 Being a student, I would like to choose the airlines which offer special
discounts on student tickets. Some airlines offer very good prices to students.
Otherwise, I also would consider the baggage allowance, because I may have
to carry some necessary things from my home country. That is why I choose
Royal Dutch Airlines because it offers a 30 kg baggage allowance which is
also the best deal for students. (Respondents BG)

Due to the special needs of the students, they would like to choose the

airlines which provide a tailor-made service for them. Student-fares and a baggage

allowance are the two aspects that mostly concern student travellers. This information

will allow airlines to form their targeting strategy if they wish to tag onto the student

market.

Apart from the tailored offer, some other loyalty programmes can also

offer additional incentives. Rust, Zahork and Keiningham (1996) explain

that defensive marketing could help companies to maintain a long-term relationship

with their customers, which is generally more cost-effective than pursuing new

customers.

I always choose Cathay Pacific Airways or British Airways to London. The

reason is that I can earn more miles based on the benefits of the Asian Mile
system. No matter which I choose, I can accumlate the mileage and enjoy the
upgrade service. This is an important issue to me because I also can have
other benefits while booking a hotel or shopping using this Asian Mile
system. Even when I want to travel to another country, if I choose the airline
within this system, I still can accumulate the miles I fly. It’s quite good.
(Respondents AF)

From the passengers’ point of view, they think that earning benefits by taking

28
flights is attractive. They enjoy the services and benefits, such as upgrades, discounts

and shopping, as long as they fly with airlines within this Asian Mile system. British

Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways are also members of the oneworld alliance, and

passengers who join the AsianMile programme also can have the benefits of the

oneworld members’ airlines (Appendix six). One observation made during the

interviews was that loyalty programmes only attract those who travel

frequently, which is about a quarter of the total participants. For the rest of them,

an immediate discount is sufficient. Airlines must consider their objectives and their

consumer profile before deciding on which strategy to implement.

Good Connection to the Destination: the Number of Transfer Points

Long-haul flights can be a tiring experience regardless of the quality of the

service; therefore, many passengers like to choose airlines that can take them to their

destination fast (Shaw, 1999, p.124). At the moment, it is difficult drastically

to decrease the flight duration due to technological reasons; however, too many

transfer points and regular delays will be a disadvantage.

I will pick the flight which will let me arrive at my destination the quickest. I
remember I have taken Royal Brunei Airlines once, because of a cheap ticket,
however, it took me over 24 hours. I had to transfer four times to London. I
almost went crazy during the trip. Since then, I do not like to spend too much
time on a flight which has too many transfer points even if the ticket is cheap.
(Respondents AJ)

29
 Long-haul flights certainly are not an experience they enjoyed, especially those

who travelled often. Nearly all of those who travelled often tried to share a story

about their painful encounters with delays and flight cancellations. One the other

hand, flight duration is difficult to be shortened drastically due to

technological reasons, and airlines have to utilise transfer points to be

economical; consequently, airlines and passengers have to come up with solutions

that are acceptable to both sides.

Safety

Although it may sound obvious, passengers can accept a reasonable

trade-off between airlines’ offers, but safety is the most important feature that cannot

be compromised (Shaw, 1999). When it comes to safety, no informed

participants would deny the importance of this issue:

Safety is the most important issue for me when selecting airlines, because life
is precious. If I knew that China Airlines have had so many accidents in ten
years, I would not ever take China Airlines! When I saw the number of
fatalities, it frightened me seriously. I could not believe that I choose China
Airlines just because of the cheap tickets. I think other services are not
important compared to life. Nothing is more important than life itself.
(Respondents AH)

Through the passengers’ views, even though they think that good service is

a necessity in their experience, nevertheless, the safety record is still a priority

without dispute, and this can have a crucial impact on the passengers’ decision-

30
making process (Morrison and Winston, 1995; Shaw, 1999).

From the above, it appears that safety is a priority as well as a bottom line that an

airline has to provide. It is not only important to student travellers but most other

travellers as well. Since 911, airlines are facing additional and sometimes very

difficult challenges from within the industry and the macro-environment.

All of the above topics are individual offers provided by airlines, but the last topic of

the analysis section will look at the sum of these parts - brand image and

reputation.

Brand Image and Reputation

Kotler et al (2005, p549) assert that brand includes a wide range of

offers and that ‘brand names tell the buyer something about product quality. Buyers

who always buy the same brand know that they will get the same quality each time

they buy’. In other words, all the different offer criteria discussed above could be

summarised through brands and the meanings associated with brands.

In the interviews, several respondents stated that they would buy tickets from

certain airlines due to the recommendations of their friends. Some of the interviewees

would actively advocate the airline with which they flew. For example, five

respondents said that, when they saw or heard about EVA airways, they would think

31
that it is the safest airline, while other respondents stated that Cathay Pacific Airways

would remind them of the good service quality.

Cathay Pacific Airways always gives me a good impression because of their

reputation. The majority of my friends also choose Cathay to travel. They told
me that they choose Cathay Pacific Airways because that they saw some
reports about the good service and safety provided by Cathay Pacific. I also
agree with them due to the enjoyable flying experiences with Cathay.
(Respondents AO)

Moreover, the fact that all of participants can remember which airline they

travelled with last time and could name their favourite airline reconfirmed the

importance of brand and branding to consumers as well as airline companies.

Before turning to the managerial implication section on how these findings can be

transferred to marketing strategy, the following figure will again summarise the

highlights of this chapter:

32
Figure 4.1 The important themes and findings of this research

Findings
Theme

Having a cabinet class between the traditional economy and business

Cabinet Class
class can be attractive to student passengers

A convenient web service could pass information to passengers more

Web Service
efficiently. More importantly, it could allow them to avoid
queuing in front of the counter at the airport

The three in-flight services offered by airlines that the passengers

In-flight
cared the most about are: the cabin attendants’ service attitude,
Service
the food and the entertainment programmes

Airlines can tailor their offer to students by offering student

Special Offer
discounts and baggage allowance

A comprehensive benefit package through loyalty

Loyal
programmes can also be effective for student passengers
Programme

Minimum transfer stops and the shortest duration are crucial to

Efficiency
students who will be travelling on long-haul flights

The safety record of the airlines is of deep concern to student

Safety
passengers

Reputation Interviewees will choose the airline with an overall image that fits
and Brand their travelling needs
Image

5.1 Managerial Implications

In this section, the existing literature with be combined with

some of the above findings to suggest how airline companies can improve their

competitiveness in the short-, medium- and long-term. This research realises that

there are many alternatives but here only presents those that were routinely pointed

33
out by the participants.

Short-term improvement: the in-flight service

The first important lesson from this research’s respondents relates to

the kind of in-flight service that the airline provided. These are the areas where

airlines can improve within a relatively short period of time and with an efficient

amount of preparation.

The first issue that concerns the respondents is the flight attendants’ service.

Some of them, mainly those who came to the UK to study for the first time,

worried about their language skill; therefore, they choose EVA Airways, China

Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways, which have Chinese-speaking cabin crews. This

is one possible approach to making the passengers more secure and comfortable.

Another issue relates to the choice of food. Although other factors should not be

undermined, however, airlines can add value to their services if they can appreciate

their passengers’ dining habits. This effort will be positively acknowledged by the

passengers.

The third factor concerning the interviewees is the in-flight entertainment

programme. They care about that whether airlines can offer up-to-date and the

newest movies, music as well as video games because long-haul journeys are long

34
and tiresome, Additionally, the majority of the student participants are members of

generation X (1965-1979), who are curious, adventurous, enjoy challenges and like to

pursue fashionable things (Li, 2003). These services can be provided within a

relatively short period of time and preparation. Additionally, although in-flight

entertainment alone probably will not be enough, but it could still contribute to the

overall package.

Medium-term: the Inspirations from EVA Airway’s Elite Class

During this research, the respondents’ favourable attitude towards EVA’s Elite

Class confirmed the study by Johnson and Nunes (2002). They propose that there is a

gap between the upper and the middle-class that was not recognised by the

corporations.

The background of the students can be used to explain their purchase decisions

and travelling preferences. From the feedback gathered from the interviews, these

participants mainly are funded by their slightly above middle-class families at some

level. They find business class too expensive and unnecessary, but also find economy

class unattractive.

Currently, only EVA has pioneered this type of in-between class and it is quite

successful in terms of capturing this marketing segment. Apart from EVA, only Virgin

35
Atlantic Airways has a Premium Economy Class which is similar to EVA’s Elite

Class, but it is only offered on a limited scale. On the other hand, having an extra

class will require a wide range of activities, such as new seating arrangements,

service, marketing and financial obligations.

Long-term: Airlines’ Safety and Branding Image

As mentioned in the previous chapter, safety cannot be replaced by any amount

of service (Shaw, 1999). Therefore, it is essential for airline companies to

be safe and have an image of being safe. Because airline’s actual safety is more of an

aviation safety subject, hence, this section will explore two suggestions about how

airlines can use a service marketing strategy to acquire an image of being safe.

As demonstrated by some of the participants in this research, they do have an

existing belief about which airline is safer. According to weak theory (Ehrenberg et

al, 2002), airlines should not expect to alter the travellers’ existing beliefs within a

short period of time.

Airlines with a superior safety record, like EVA Airways and Cathay Pacific

Airways, could stress their records in their promotional kits as a reinforcement and

reminder to travellers. For airlines with inferior safety records, like China Airlines,

one suggestion to improve their image is through public relations and endorsements

36
by aviation specialists, especially through the channels of newspapers and specialised

travel magazines. These channels can be perceived as credible due to their nature

(Hackley, 2005). The combination of public relations, newspapers and advertising

should slowly allow the airline to gain confidence among different segments of the

general public. If traditional advertising and promotion are less effective because

consumers already have a strong belief, then brand placement and other subtle

approaches should be considered.

6.0 Limitations of this study and future research opportunities

One of the concerns about this research topic is whether the findings can

contribute to other service industries, since it is rather focused on a

phenomenon. Undeniably, the primary reason for this study was to fill in the gap that

was caused by the increasing numbers of Taiwanese students in the UK.

On the other hand, with the appropriate redesign and special consideration

depending on the unique nature of other service industries, the findings of this

research can contribute to other service industries, such as hotels, restaurants and

cruises because the focus of this research is on marketing activities, such as

segmentation, service quality, brand image and reputation, rather than aviation.

Regarding the interview approach, despite it allowing this study to gain many

37
insightful views from the passengers, there are some limitations as well. For instance,

due to the number of respondents, it is difficult to establish a correlation between

service attributes and behaviour. It is a major disadvantage that influenced the

managerial implications because it increased the amount of speculation

involved.

Secondly, one problem with interviews is that, if something is sensitive to the

interviewees, then the respondents might not be honest, which can lead to a

misleading analysis. For instance, one respondent initially claimed

that she had bought an economy class ticket but later admitted that she flew business

class because she did not want to be viewed as showing-off or different, despite the

interviews being conducted individually and privately.

In order to strengthen the findings gathered from this research, several potential

researches can be done in the future. One is to use a similar questionnaire and

approach on students who travelled from Taipei to other

countries, such as the US. Another possibility is to use a similar questionnaire to test

other consumer groups who also travelled from Taipei to London. Through these

comparative studies, it should be possible to provide additional validity to this

research and method.

38
7.0 Conclusion

This research examined Taiwanese overseas students’ travel behaviour and how

airline services marketing can accompany this consumer segment’s needs in multiple

stages.

According to the respondents, safety is unquestionably their priority. In

addition, they pointed out that EVA’s Elite class is very attractive due to its service

being positioned above economy class and the fact that its price is far lower than for

business class. In addition, a user-friendly web interface, in-flight service, duration

and student discounts were four other areas that student travellers

found important. Based on these findings, this research made some suggestions about

how the airline industry can appeal to student travellers in the short-, medium- and

long-term.

This research focuses on only a small fragment within the airline indus

service marketing. However, this study tries to explore one area which was previously

i g n o r e d b y o t h e r r e s e as.r cThhe i s s t u d y w i s h e s t o a d d r e s s t h e p o t e n t i a l w i t h i n t h i s

segment of the discipline and contribute to the knowle

as well as the travel and tourism industry.

39
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45
 Appendix one- History of the airlines used in this study

Airlines History Notes

The only airline operates four

Established in 1989, second large airline in
classes of service: First,
Taiwan, ranked as one of the world's top-10
EVA Airways Business, Evergreen Deluxe
safest carriers by Aero International
(Elite class in 777 only) and
Magazine.
Economy class.

Due to several high fatality

Established in 1959, the oldest and aviation accidents and intense
China Airlines largest international airline in Taiwan. competition with EVA AIR, its
Operating at 20 countries and 40 cities. operating performance is in
decline.

The fourth large airline in Europe. KLM merged with Air France in
KLM Servicing at 90 countries and 500 2004, now its name Air France-
Royal Dutch Airlines destinations. Alliance with North West KLM and also a part of SkyTeam
Airlines. Allicance.

BA is also the second largest

The largest airline in the UK. Established
airline in Europe (Behind Air
in 1919, servicing at 97 countries and 263
British Airways France), with more flights from
destinations through ‘oneworld’strategic
Europe to Asian/ Atlantic
alliance partnership. 　
than any other operators.

The best airline in the world in

2006 by Air Transport World
Established in 1946. Operating to 60
Magazine. Its acquisition with
Cathay Pacific destinations around the world. Servicing at
Drangonair. First direct non-stop
Airways 135 countries and 570 destinations through
flight from HKG to LHR in 1980
‘oneworld’strategic alliance partnership.
and it was also the longest flight
that time.

Source:www.evaair.com.tw,www.china-airlines.com,www.klm.com,
www.cathaypacific.com, www.britishairways.com

46
 Appendix two-Airline comparison chart

Airlines EVA Airways (BR) China Airlines (CI) Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) British Airways (BA) Cathay Pacific Airways (CX)

TPE-BKK-LHR TPE-FRK(AMS) by CI TPE-BKK-AMS-LHR TPE-HKG by CX

1* Route TPE-HKG-LHR all by CX
all by BR To LHR by BA all by KLM HKG-LHR by BA
Frankfurt or
2 Transfer Point Bangkok Bangkok & Amsterdam Hong Kong Hong Kong
Bangkok & Amsterdam
3 Flight Hour 15.5 16 , 19 19 14.5-15 14.5-15

4 Type of Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER Boing747-400 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-400

EY 3-3-3
5* Configuration of Seat 3-4-3 3-2-2-3 3-4-3 3-4-3
EZ 2-4-2
EY(經濟艙)- 20 KG
6 Baggage Allowance Elite(EZ菁英艙)-25KG EY(經濟艙)- 20 KG EY(經濟艙)- 30 KG EY(經濟艙)- 20 KG EY(經濟艙)- 20 KG

7 Type of Ticket 1-year student ticket 1-year student ticket 1-year student ticket 1-year student ticket 1-year student ticket
Price
EY-35,500
Before tax 31,000 30,000 29,000 31,000
8 EZ-41-500
(approximately)
9 Frequency of Flight 6/per week 6/per week 7/per week 3/per day 4/per day
10* Safety Accident : 1, fatality: 0 Accident : 9, fatality: 747 Accident : 4, fatality: 0 Accident : 37, fatality: 0 Accident : 2, fatality: 0

Airlines EVA Airways (BR) China Airlines (CI) Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) British Airways (BA) Cathay Pacific Airways (CX)

11* Over night Kit EY-none, EZ-yes none none yes Yes

Sandwich and cup noodles,

12* Extra snacks Cup noodles and crackers Crackers Crackers Cup noodles and ice bar
Chocolate pie

Mandarin, Taiwanese,
13* Language Mandarin, English English, Dutch English English, Mandarin, Cantonese
English
1 Route: This category demonstrates that whether the airlines are operating through collaboration or independently.
5 Configuration of Seat: This category means that the layout of seats in the Economy (Elite) class.
10 Safety: This category explains that the accidents happened and the numbers of fatality since 1989 (The time EVA Air was established) to
2006.
11 Over night kit: This item usually includes some toiletries, such as tooth brush, comb and eyeshade etc.
12 Extra snacks: This service means that the extra food offered expect the in-flight meal.
13 Language: The common used dialect on flight, this category usually influenced by the nationality of Airlines or flight attendants.
b Source From: www.evaair.com.tw, www.china-airlines.com, www.klm.com, www.cathaypacific.com, www.britishairways.com,

Aviation Safety Network, http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/

48
Appendix three-Respondents’ background

Name Gender M/F Age Education level Qualification Y/N Flying times Month studying in the UK 2nd survey Y/N
AA M 26 Post-Graduate(PG) Y 6 36 Y
AB F 25 PG Y 5 12 Y
AC F 27 PG Y 4 24 Y
AD F 27 PG Y 4 24 Y
AE M 30 PG Y 27 156 Y
AF M 34 PG Y 16 96 Y
AG F 29 PG Y 1 12 Y
AH F 28 PG Y 3 12 Y
AI F 26 PG Y 6 30 Y
AJ M 33 PG Y 5 18 Y
AK M 34 PG Y 3 13 Y
AL F 21 Under-Graduate(UG) Y 6 60 Y
AM F 25 PG Y 3 14 Y
AN F 26 PG Y 3 14 Y
AO F 26 PG Y 1 12 Y
AP F 25 PG Y 1 12 Y
AQ M 33 PG Y 1 12 Y
AR F 33 PG Y 1 11 Y

49
Name Gender M/F Age Education level Qualification Y/N Flying times Month studying in the UK 2nd survey Y/N
AT F 23 UG Y 3 13 Y
AU M 27 PG Y 3 12 Y
AV F 30 PG Y 1 12 Y
AW F 30 PG Y 1 12 Y
AX F 26 PG Y 1 12 Y
AY M 25 PG Y 3 24 Y
AZ M 25 PG Y 1 5 Y
BA M 32 PG Y 1 6 Y
BB F 30 PG Y 1 10 Y
BC F 28 PG Y 1 12 Y
BD M 20 UG Y 7 60 Y
BE F 33 PG Y 3 12 Y
BF F 30 PG Y 3 12 Y
BG M 25 PG Y 3 12 Y
BH F 25 PG Y 1 1 Y
BI F 27 PG Y 1 1 Y
BJ M 29 PG Y 1 1 Y
BK F 24 PG Y 1 1 Y

BL F 25 PG Y 1 1 Y
BM F 26 PG Y 1 1 Y
BN M 27 PG Y 1 1 Y

50
Appendix four -Primary survey

Dear Responds:

This survey is part of an academic research. It aims to obtain your experience of

taking and the decision of choosing airlines. Your support is important to the quality

of this study. The survey questionnaire has three parts and one chart. Please read the

instruction carefully. All the information you provide will be use strictly for the

purpose of this study and nothing else. After finishing, please send it back to

annieopc@yahoo.com.tw

Sincerely,

First Part- Interviewee information

 Gender:

 Age:

 Education level:

 Years studying in the UK:

 Times of taking flight from Taipei to London:

 Sponsor of the ticket:

 Which airlines have you taken from Taipei to London before? Please list all
previous experiences.

 Are you willing to accept second interview in the near future? If yes, pleas
 leave your contact information, such as your email address.

Second Part- Past experience

 Is there any specific reason that you choose the airline mentioned above?
Please explain.

 Can you describe that experience in terms of its services (from evaluating
alternative flights, purchasing, and in-flight experience to post-evaluation)?

 Which part of that service do you find most satisfying and which part can be
improved? Why?

 Which attributes that you feel most important to you when selecting an
airline? Why are they important to you?

 If you flew with more than one airline before (from Taipei to London), can
you compare these experience?

 What other airlines did you considered? Why are these airline attracted your
interest? Why didn’t you pick that airline?

 While making decisions on purchasing ticket, who is the sole decision

maker? Who might have influenced the final decision? In what way?

 Do you think your international student identity might have influenced your
decision and your concerns? Why?

Third Part- Future decisions (Please take a look at the comparison chart before

you continue)

 Were you aware of these differences for the attributes? Which were you
aware of? Which weren’t you aware of?

 If you knew the differences before you purchase the ticket, do you think you
will choose otherwise?

 Among those attributes, which do you think is most important to you as

student? Why is that?

 What attributes do you feel are less important, why?

 Are there any attributes that you think is important but is not included?

 Finally, is there any airline that you would like to try in the future?

Thanks for your time and cooperation!

Appendix five- Additional Interview Transcripts

Additional transcripts on ‘The Unique Class (Elite Class) Offered by EVA

Airways’

At long-haul flight, the important thing which I concern is seating comfort, but
I can not afford the Business Class price. Elite Class not only provides the
good quality service, such as personal TV of big screen and wider seat. This
special class is different with other airlines. I like all the services that provided
by Elite Class, when seating there, I feel much more satisfied and enjoyable
than other airlines. (Respondents AE)

When I seat at Deluxe Economy Class (Elite Class), I enjoyed all the services
which are provided to me. For example, I have more specious seat, personal
TV, video games, travel kit and extra snack. I care about the quality of in-
flight service especially in long haul flight, but I could not afford Business
Class or First Class. They are too expensive! Therefore, I always choose EVA
Airways because they offer this special class but reasonable price to
passengers. (Respondents AB)

Additional transcripts on ‘The Web Service’

I’m satisfied with the web service of Cathay Pacific Airways. From purchasing
ticket, booking, meal ordering, checking in to cumulating mileage, I can check
all the information on web. (Respondents AI)

Additional transcripts on ‘In Flight Service- Flight Attendant’s Service Quality’

When taking the long haul flight, the thing which I care about is in-flight
service, especially in cabin crew’s attitude. I want to have a sense of
familiarity and friendliness (referring to the preference of having Chinese or
Taiwanese attendants). (Respondents AI)

Some foreign Airlines, such as KLM, they do not have Chinese attendants.
This makes me feel insecure when I was taking my first long haul flight from
Taipei to London. Sometimes they can be a little inpatient when I do not
understand their saying. I do not choose that company since then.
(Respondents AL)
Additional transcripts on ‘In Flight Service- Quality of Food’

When I choose flight, I will not choose the west companies because of some
reasons. The first issue is in-flight meal. I could not stand it when the airlines
offer west style food only, such as cold bread and soup. I am not comfortable
with it. (Respondents AJ)

Although I am studying in Western country, I still do not like Western style

food! I am only used to Asian cooking that’s why I like to choose the airline
which can offer the oriental food during flight, for example, EVA AIR, China
Airlines and Cathy Pacific Airways. (Respondents AM)

Additional transcripts on ‘In Flight Service- Environment: the type of aircraft,

seating comfort, entertainment system’

I usually sleep in long haul flight. Even I just can afford the ticket of Economy
Class; I would choose the better one. The reason I choose British Airways is
that their seats have two extra head rests which can make me feel more
comfortable. I have better rest because of this facility. (Respondents AT)

Taipei to London is quite a long flight, so I like to use personal TV set with
updated entertainment and various magazines to kill such a long flight time.
EVA AIR and China Airlines even offer the new movies that have not shown
in Taiwan. They also provide many kinds of magazine, such as National
Geography, Vogue, and Times etc. (Respondents AS)

Additional transcripts on ‘Special Offer for Students and Loyalty Programme’

The thing I most concern is that baggage allowance, however, most airlines
just offer 20kg baggage allowance to students as same as normal passengers.
20 kg is not enough for international students, because we have to carry some
books which are very heavy! That’s why I hope that airline could lift
restriction of baggage allowance for students. (Respondents BE)

Additional transcripts on ‘Good Connection to the Destination: the Number of

Transfer Point’
 I do not like to take the flight with too many transfer points, because it’s time
wasting! (Respondents AY)

I prefer direct flight to destination. I will select the airline with least transfer to
save time. Long distant flights are tiresome. (Respondents AI)

Additional transcripts on ‘Safety’

Although I think service is a key factor for me when choosing airlines,

however, I still concern the past accident record of airline companies. When I
see those air accidents happened, it usually scare me lot. So I will not choose
the airline which has high accident rate. (Respondents AS)

Additional transcripts on ‘Brand Image and Reputation’

Since my first time to fly abroad, I have chosen EVA Airways. I usually search
travel information on internet, when I saw the report from some magazines
and websites which showed that EVA Airways is top 10 safest airlines of the
world. Some of my friends and relatives also suggest me to choose EVA AIR
because of its friendliness and good reputation. I saw several advertisements
on TV and magazines which were impressed me in the mean time. After that, I
decided to try it. Since taking EVA AIR once, I have never taken other airlines.
EVA Airways not only offer me the safest environment but also good quality
of in-flight service. (Respondents AA)
Appendix six- Explanation of three Alliance of Airlines

Code sharing

Code sharing is referring to a form of alliance that based on the reality that no

airline can operate on all parts of the globe. Therefore, sometimes airline A will share

a route with airline B who covers that specific route by using airline B’s aircraft but

under airline A’s two-letter computer code. Code sharing is also the first originated

and a key feature of the major airline alliances in the airline industry. (Shaw, 1999,

p.89).

Star Alliance

Star Alliance, is the largest and the most historic alliance in the world. This

organization started at 1997. The original idea of each airline alliance is code-sharing.

This idea refers to a practice where a flight operated by an airline is jointly marketed

as flight for one or more other airlines. Passengers who join this programme can enjoy

the benefits as accessing airport lounge worldwide, earning and redeeming

miles/points, upgrade service etc.

The members of Star Alliance are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, All Nippon

Airways, Asian Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Bmi Airlines, Lot Polish Airlines,

Lufthansa Aviation Group, Scandinavian Airlines System, Singapore Airlines, South

African Airlines, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Portugal Airlines, Thai

Airways, United Airlines, US Airways, VARIG Brazilian Airlines.

Source from: http://www.staralliance.com/star_alliance/star/frame/main_10.html

Sky Team Alliance

Sky Team Alliance launched at 2000, is the second largest airline alliance-

behind the Star Alliance.

The members of Sky Team Alliance are Aeroflot-Russian Airlines, Alitalia

Airlines, Aeromexico, Air France, Royal Dutch Airlines, Continental Airlines, Korean

Air, CSA Czech Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Delta Air.

Source from: http://www.skyteam.com/skyteam

oneworld Alliance

Oneworld Alliance launched at 1999, it is the third largest after Star Alliance and

SkyTeam. Member airlines and their affiliates enjoy a high degree of co-operation in

scheduling, ticketing, code sharing, flight transfer operations, frequent flyer benefits,

shared airport lounges, reducing costs and sharing 'best practice'.

The members of this alliance are American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay

Pacific Airways, Qantas Airlines, Fin Air, Iberia Airlines, Aer Ligus and LAN

Airlines.
Source from: http://www.oneworld.com