Effect of service quality and distinctive service offering on airline business performance: An implementation in aviation sector

High level of direct and indirect expenses in airline transport leads to high fares for domestic and international air transportation. Airline companies providing full service at low costs reduce ticket prices by adapting different practices in service presentation processes in some markets; however they pulled out of the market since the seat capacities of airplanes are higher than passenger demands. Therefore, regional air logistics operations have been started with narrower planes having less number of seats. The intense competitive environment in transportation sector forces businesses to seek different solutions. This study is of importance in terms of identifying the reasons why the regional airline transport is preferred and measuring business performance by revealing how the services furnished by the company that carries out interregional transportation with small airplanes are perceived by the passengers. It is known that the main reasons why people prefer to travel via airways are speed, comfort and safety. However, assessing the performance indicators devised to extend the client portfolio, it is observed that the services offered have become more important in the competition amongst the airline companies, and that the most important parts are the service quality and distinctive service offerings. The aim of this study is to determine the relation between distinctive service offering and service quality of the airline company and the effect of these two variables on the airline business performance. For this purpose, face-to-face surveys were conducted with the passengers of an airline company that targets customers in small markets and offers distinctive services. Answers given by the passengers for the service quality and distinctive service offering were dimensionalized through descriptive and corrective factor analysis, and effect of each factor on the business performance was analyzed. As a result of the study, it was found that distinctive service offering and service quality are directly related in all dimensions, and they positively affect the business performance.