Airline Service Quality: A Variance Assessment Method Based on Complaint Statistics

Abstract

Airline service quality is an important criterion for determining the service level of airlines. Reference was made in this segment based on two-factor theory. The optimal scale analysis method was used to identify the association characteristics between all domestic and international airline complaints and the time factor, followed by the construction of an airline service quality measurement (ASQM) model based on the Civil Aviation Passenger Service Evaluation (CAPSE) index. The ASQM model was used to measure the service quality of 26 full-service airlines and six low-cost service airlines in China. The study found that: the time distribution of airline complaints is uneven, but shows a relative concentration of annual, seasonal, quarterly and monthly, with the peak of complaints in August each year; there is a high correlation between all airline complaint type variables and time variables, but there are dif-ferences in the focus of complaints at different times: summer and autumn not only have a high volume of airline complaints, but also have complex complaint types. The quality of all services provided by China’s full-service airlines is better than that of low-cost service airlines. In general, the quality of service of “in-flight service and ground service” was more stable, while the quality of service of “ticketing service” decreased significantly. The service quality of “flight service” is difficult to maintain. This paper proposes an objective analysis method to evaluate airline service quality by using airline complaint statistics, and provides solutions and suggestions for airlines to improve their overall service quality.