Strategic Communication for Inflight Teams: Closing Expectation Gaps in Passenger Experience Delivery

Determining tricycle service quality and satisfaction in the Philippine urban areas: A SERVQUAL approach

Jeepneys are the most accessible and affordable public transportation in urban areas of the Philippines. The goal of this research was to explore passenger satisfaction with the overall service quality of a jeepney. A total of 600 jeepney passengers voluntarily answered an online questionnaire consisting of 59 questions. Different factors such as Passenger Expectation, Cleanliness and Comfort, Ambiance, Safety, Driver Behavior, Service Adequacy, Route Efficiency, Information Materials, Value for Money, Passenger Satisfaction, and Future Intentions were examined simultaneously by utilizing the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. SEM indicated that safety was found to have the highest effect on passenger satisfaction, followed by the driver’s behavior, value for money, service adequacy, and information materials. This is the first complete study that explores passenger satisfaction with the overall service quality of jeepneys. The findings of this study can be utilized by the government and jeepney operators to enhance the overall service quality by focusing on safety and the behavior of drivers. This would result in increased passenger satisfaction and, consequently, a positive intention on using the mode of transportation.

The aviation industry has evolved rapidly in recent years, and so have consumer expectations with regard to air travel. This study examines how air travellers conceptualise in-flight experience. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study is divided into two phases. First, semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken with 32 members of the flying public and analysed using thematic analysis. Second, based upon the key themes identified in the first phase, a questionnaire (with both quantitative and qualitative questions) was developed and administered to 151 participants. The first phase identified the different ways air travellers conceptualise in-flight experience, with the most important elements being food and drinks, flight attendants, entertainment, seat comfort, and leg room. In the second phase these important elements are shown to have statistically significant effects upon in-flight experience (using a t-test and chi-squared goodness of fit test), however, the size of their effects varied. A Friedman test (with post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank test) demonstrates that air travellers rank the contribution of each of these elements towards in-flight experience differently. The findings allow airline managers to prioritise different aspects of in-flight experience based upon their relative importance to air travellers.

The purpose of this study is to explore flight attendants' perceptions of the in-flight service needs of passengers with mobility impairments. In addition, this study seeks out flight attendants' recommendations for improving services to passengers with mobility impairments. The existing literature draws attention to the service needs of passengers with disabilities from the customers' perspectives. However, this study aims to understand these service needs from the service provider's perspective. Participants of the study are flight attendants who have extensive in-flight service experience and have served passengers with disabilities. The study finds four types of in-flight needs from people with mobility impairments: (1) the need for help in using in-flight amenities, (2) the need to be treated the same as passengers without any disabilities, (3) the need for individualized services, and (4) the need for effective communication and accurate information. To address these needs, flight attendants suggest that airline managers should provide adequate flight information for people with disabilities and sufficient training to front line airline and airport employees.

Drawing on the influence of primacy and recency effects in processing information about corporate social responsibility (CSR), the authors examine how internal (customer experience) and external (CSR reputation) factors impact the consumer-firm relationship in the presence of contradictory CSR information. Evaluating these factors provides a more comprehensive understanding of how consumers react to unethical and socially irresponsible actions. Contrary to recent research that suggests a reactive CSR communication strategy to be best due to recency effects, the present findings show that past customer experiences with the firm facilitate a ‘primacy effect’. Thus, when corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) occurs, a customer’s prior experiences mitigate negative consequences. Conversely, a firm’s positive CSR reputation may provide goodwill, although it does not guarantee that consumers will process CSR information differently. Therefore, firms cannot build a strong CSR reputation and expect to be immune from the consequences of CSI. Given these new findings of how consumers process contradictory CSR information, firms should implement a strategic and deliberate communication plan that delivers different messages to different stakeholders. Specifically, these findings suggest that firms benefit most from a proactive communication strategy with their current customers and a reactive communication strategy with the general public.

This paper proposes a new scale for assessing traveler experience in air travel. Here, passenger experience is measured through travelers' perception of service quality, considering it as a chain of services. The new scale is called air travel service quality (ATSQ). It considers three service quality stages: departure airport service, airline service, and arrival airport service. This paper applies the ATRS scale to examine service quality in domestic travels in a Colombian context. Given that traveler’s experience plays a crucial role in determining passenger’s satisfaction, a structural equation model (SEM) was applied to examine the relationship between service quality stages, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Adding the passengers' perception of the arrival airport to the integrated service quality measurement is considering one of the main contributions of this study. The finding of this research confirmed that all three stages of air travel service have a significant, positive effect on passenger satisfaction. The scale found in this research should provide useful information for developing effective operational and marketing strategies for the air travel market. In this way, airports and airlines could better understand how traveler’s perception of service quality may affect each choice related to which departure airport, airline, and arrival airport combination to choose from.

The phenomenon of passenger satisfaction is an important issue for public transport services and transport companies. Clarifying the relationship between influencing attributes and passenger satisfaction significantly improves service satisfaction. This study examines passenger satisfaction with intercity buses and, in particular, the role of digital information channels (websites and mobile apps) in promoting sustainable travel choices on the Madrid–Bilbao route. This study analyzed data from 459 passengers to identify the key factors influencing the bus choice for intercity bus travel. Punctuality, safety, and ticket price are the most important determinants. We use a combined structural equation modeling (SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) approach to capture the intricate relationships between service attributes and information channels. The results show that information channels, travel experience, and ticket prices significantly impact passenger satisfaction, which bus operators should improve. Also, inserting the SEM result as input for the ANN showed that ticket price is the most significant predictor of satisfaction, followed by information channels (84%) and travel experience (65%). This approach provides valuable insights for improving the passenger experience. This study emphasizes integrating digital transformation strategies into public transport systems to promote sustainable mobility goals.

Reducing costs whilst maintaining passenger satisfaction is an important problem for airports. One area this can be applied is the security lane checks at the airport. However, reducing costs through reducing lane openings typically increases queue length and hence passenger dissatisfaction. This paper demonstrates that evolutionary methods can be used to optimise airport security lane schedules such that passenger dissatisfaction and staffing costs can be minimised. However, it is shown that these schedules typically over-fit the forecasts of passenger arrivals at security such that in actuality significant passenger delays can occur with deviations from the forecast. Consequently, this paper further demonstrates that dynamic evolutionary re-optimisation of these schedules can significantly mitigate this over-fitting problem with much reduced passenger delays.

The study aims to investigate how service quality contributes to passenger loyalty in LCA Indonesia, considering satisfaction and trust. A survey was conducted with 400 respondents who used LCA services for domestic flights at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar between 2021 and May 2022. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The results indicate that service quality, passenger satisfaction, and trust are crucial in shaping loyalty. Satisfying services have the potential to foster trust, leading to passenger loyalty. Satisfaction and trust act as effective mediators of service quality and passenger loyalty. The findings highlight the importance of delivering high-quality services that meet passenger expectations and generate satisfaction. LCA Indonesia can build trust and establish a loyal customer base by exceeding customer expectations. Service quality is vital for providing positive experiences to passengers. Understanding the mediating roles of satisfaction and trust is also key. LCA Indonesia can enhance passenger loyalty by prioritizing service quality, improving satisfaction levels, and building trust among passengers. Addressing these factors strengthens the airline's competitive position and ensures long-term customer loyalty in a highly competitive market.

Airline travel is more affordable than ever and likely safer than ever too. Within half a day, a passenger can be on the other side of the world. However, medical care in-flight has been an issue for those with medical conditions and for those who fall sick during a journey. While airlines have the advice of multiple recognized organizations on needs and standards of care, in-flight emergencies occur at various levels. An emergency medical kit (EMK) together with trained cabin crew can be very effective at resolving the minor problems that arise and reducing the risk of escalation. On occasion, an overhead plea may be announced for additional medical expertise. Having the right content in a medical kit is more important in modern day travel, coupled with advances in equipment and passenger expectations. The authors address current issues of illness and other relevant conditions and suggest a content enhancement for an onboard EMK.

The aviation industry is experiencing a transformative shift driven by data engineering innovations that optimize operations and enhance passenger experiences. As global air travel expands and consumer expectations evolve, airlines and airports increasingly rely on sophisticated data infrastructure to manage complex operations. Through real-world implementations at major aviation hubs, data engineering has revolutionized critical functions from baggage handling to aircraft maintenance. London Heathrow's event-driven architecture for baggage management illustrates how real-time data processing eliminates historical pain points, while Lufthansa's predictive maintenance system demonstrates how properly structured data pipelines enable effective artificial intelligence applications. Singapore Changi Airport's implementation of graph-based data models for passenger flow optimization showcases the importance of selecting appropriate data modeling paradigms for specific problem domains. These successes contrast with cautionary examples where inadequate data quality undermined otherwise promising initiatives, highlighting data quality as a foundational requirement rather than a technical afterthought. The integration of batch and streaming capabilities, appropriate data model selection, and rigorous quality assurance represent defining characteristics of successful aviation data architectures that deliver measurable operational improvements and enhanced passenger experiences. The economic impact of these implementations extends beyond operational efficiencies to include enhanced revenue opportunities, improved asset utilization, and strengthened competitive positioning in an increasingly digital marketplace. Aviation entities that fail to embrace modern data engineering principles risk falling behind as the gap between data-driven organizations and traditional operators continues to widen. The remarkable improvements in passenger satisfaction metrics and operational key performance indicators demonstrate that data engineering has moved from a supporting technical function to a strategic business capability that directly influences both the bottom line and customer loyalty.

Transit service reliability is important for transit planning and operations as well as passenger experience. Large travel time variations increase operating costs and negatively affect passenger satisfaction. Existing literature focuses on specific aspects of transit travel times but less on how these aspects interact with each other. This paper proposes to combine previous research efforts by further decomposing observed trip travel times into four elements using 3 months of archived vehicle location and fare transaction data. Departure times and inter-stop travel times are obtained from vehicle locations. Dwell times at stops are estimated from fare transaction data using a dwell time model. Red-light waiting times are calculated using the vehicle locations and estimated signal timing plans. Then, using these as inputs, we identify important trip elements affecting the overall travel time variation, as well as how much variation can be attributed to each trip element using variance-based and one-at-a-time sensitivity analyses. The overall travel times and red-light waiting times are more affected by interaction effects between trip elements, whereas the overall inter-stop times and dwell times are mainly affected by large individual variations. The results suggest that planners must consider potential chain reactions where small variations in one trip element can lead to significant changes in the overall trip times as a result of interaction effects with varying cycle lengths in fixed signal timing plans. These findings will help planners better integrate available data sets, carry out comprehensive analyses, and pinpoint the determinants affecting travel time variation on each route.

The aim of the study is to ascertain the dimensions of safety experience of the female passengers in metro rail services provided by the Delhi metro rail in India. The impact of these dimensions on satisfaction is to be assessed. The female safety experience dimensions are obtained by performing an exploratory factor analysis. A structured instrument was used to collect responses from the female passengers. As output of the present research, nine dimensions viz. experience with other passengers, teasing experience, feeling towards metro rail, staff experience, outside metro station experience, compartment experience, behaviour experience, entry experience and recovery experience emerged as dimensions that lead to female passenger satisfaction as regards Delhi metro rail services. Further, out of these nine dimensions, five dimensions, namely, feeling towards metro rail, experience with other passengers, recovery experience and staff experience are found to be statistically significant.

Forecasting Airport Transfer Passenger Flow Using Real-Time Data and Machine Learning

Purpose This paper aims to study the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta, improve passengers’ travel experience and promote the sustainable development of intercity rail transit. Design/methodology/approach This article uses the AHP-fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to measure the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta. Firstly, it uses the AHP method to construct a service quality evaluation system for intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta. Secondly, based on the service quality evaluation index system for intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta, a survey questionnaire is constructed and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to measure the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta. Findings The service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta cities is at a level of passenger satisfaction, and the main factors restricting the improvement of the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta are convenience, economy and service effectiveness. Research limitations/implications Because the research object is the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta, the research results may not be universal. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to propose further tests. Practical implications This article further deepens the empirical contribution of service quality research theory and methods by studying the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta. It constructs a research framework for evaluating the service quality of intercity rail transit. This research framework has certain representativeness and scientificity. Social implications The research on the service quality of intercity rail transit in the Pearl River Delta is of great significance in improving its service quality, enhancing passenger experience, promoting sustainable improvement of intercity rail transit, promoting regional economic development and meeting the needs of urban agglomeration development. Originality/value Firstly, this study provides a new perspective on the quality of rail transit services from a quantitative rather than a qualitative perspective. Secondly, this study enriches and broadens the research topics related to rail transit, exploring the service quality of rail transit from an intercity perspective. Thirdly, our research aims to promote original methods and empirical contributions. Specifically, this study expands the relevant theories of service quality and establishes a comprehensive research framework for evaluating the service quality of intercity rail transit.