Evaluation of Airline Service Quality Based on Improved SERVQUAL Model

Abstract

Service quality evaluation provides guidance and impetus for the improvement of aviation service quality. This paper integrated four subsystems of SHELL model and five dimensions of traditional SERVQUAL scale. An airline service quality evaluation system based on the improved SERVQUAL model was established. Considering that the index evaluation is subjective and difficult to quantify, the possibility degree ranking was used to figure out the comprehensive weight of indexes. Finally, five Chinese carriers were empirically analyzed to verify the rationality and feasibility of the evaluation system. The results show that staff affects passenger satisfaction from many aspects, and that assurance, empathy and tangibility have great impacts on service quality. Carriers generally score low in flexibility of customer choice and attention to different people, which are key directions of airline service improvement. Based on above analysis, two suggestions are put forward: improving employees’ subjective initiative and meeting passengers’ diversified needs. The model can be applied to the service quality evaluation of other carriers.