The effect of air passenger transport service quality on customer satisfaction and word of mouth communication: A research during the COVID-19 pandemic period

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many sectors in the world as well as human health. Air transport was among the sectors where this effect was felt the most, with the decrease in the number of journeys that started with the curfews and the cessation of crossings between countries. In the following periods, the discovery of the vaccine and the rapid implementation of it have led to the beginning of a period called the new normal in many countries around the world. Within the scope of the measures put into practice in this period, it has become an important issue to investigate the evaluations of the passengers about the service quality of the airlines and the factors affecting their satisfaction with it. In this context, when the relevant literature is examined, it is seen that the studies on this subject are limited during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting the airline service quality of air passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic period and their effect on customer satisfaction, and the effect of customer satisfaction on word of mouth communication. Research data were collected throughout Turkey with snowball sampling method. Online survey method was used to collect data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used in the analysis of the data collected in the study. As a result of the analysis, the perception of service quality regarding the physical aspects of the airline and the service quality perception of the common elements of the airline and its area on the perception of the general service quality of the airline and the perception of the general service quality of the airport; airline service quality perception and airport service quality perception on customer satisfaction and word of mouth; It was found that customer satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on word of mouth.