Service failure and recovery in the airline industry: Evidence from the TRNC

The marketing concept is based on the principle of satisfying customers. The ultimate goal of marketing and marketers is to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and to enhance the relationship with customers. Loyal customers are the most profitable group for companies. Service failures are unwanted defects but they are inevitable. Service failures can happen both during the process of service delivery and as a result of delivery process. Therefore, to avoid dissatisfaction and keep the current customer satisfied, service providers have a second chance which is called ‘service recovery’. It is important for the service provider to employ effective service recovery strategies to alter undesirable consequences of failures (Maxham, 2001). The aim of the study is to investigate the service failure recovery experiences of airline passengers who are flying to or from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ercan Airport. This research will identify the failure types that passengers experience during their travel and the recovery strategies used by the service firms. The study also explores customer expectations (the expected recovery action) when the recovery had not been attempted. The study also aims to measure whether passengers are satisfied with the recovery strategies used and their behavioral intentions (e.g., WOM intentions and repurchase intentions) after the recovery process. This study shed light on managing customer relations within the airline industry in North Cyprus. Delay of flight, damaged and lost luggage, uncomfortable seats, and food and beverage quality were identified as the most frequent experienced failure types by passengers. Explanation, apology and professional and friendly staff attitude iv were identified as mostly used recovery strategies by airlines. Explanation, offering a better service and apology were identified as the mostly frequently expected recovery strategies. Further, there exist negative relationships among perceived severity of the service failure and satisfaction with the recovery and time taken to resolve a problem and satisfaction with the recovery (i.e. as time taken and perceived severity increase, satisfaction drops). On the other hand, positive relationships were found among satisfaction with the recovery and overall satisfaction, overall satisfaction and repurchase intentions and overall satisfaction and recommending the airlines. Keywords: Service recovery, satisfaction, loyalty, airline industry, North Cyprus.