The impact of airline baggage service insurance on customer loyalty and satisfaction: The case of Istanbul Grand Airport (İGA)

The aviation industry is one of the most crucial factors determining the performance of the global economy. Throughout history, commercial relations have led to the start of international exchanges and have met the economic growth demand of countries. Due to its strategic significance, influencing various aspects such as tourism and globalization, the aviation industry will lead countries in rapid economic and financial growth in both the present and the future. Due to its strategic location, Turkey provides services in line with the requirements of civil aviation in international air transportation. In this regard, the airport management, airline companies, and ground services in Turkey provide services of high standards, positively impacts the country's economy. One of the crucial services that influence this situation is ensuring the management of passenger baggage in case of any disruptions, loss, or damage, as per the coverage of assurance. Within the aviation industry, ensuring customer loyalty and satisfaction is the ultimate goal. The aim of this thesis is to examine how baggage service insurance affects customer loyalty and satisfaction in the aviation industry. Within the scope of the study, a research was conducted with 385 passengers who flew at Istanbul Grand Airport, the mega airport operating in Turkey, and benefited from the baggage service. A 31-question survey was applied to the passengers, related to the Customer Loyalty Scale, Customer Satisfaction Scale and demographic factors. Validity and reliability analyzes of the survey and frequency and distribution analyzes of descriptive statistics were carried out with the SPSS 21.0 statistical software. In the variables of the research, the relationship between customer loyalty and satisfaction was examined with T Test, KMO and Bartlett's Test, Anova, Correlation and Regression analyses. As a result of the evaluations made; it has been observed that there is a significant relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction created by baggage service insurance in passengers, and that customer loyalty and satisfaction positively affect airline baggage service insurance.