The influence of services failure and service recovery on airline passengers' relationships with domestic airlines: an exploratory study

Abstract

Service failures and the subsequent service recovery efforts of an organisation can have a profound effect on customers’ satisfaction with an organisation as well as on the quality of the relationship with the organisation, despite other efforts by the organisation to build long-term relationships with its customers. Airlines in particular are faced with several challenges affecting their survival, and one such challenge is the fact that they are particularly susceptible to service failures. This study investigates the effect of service failures and an airline’s service recovery efforts on their customer relationships and future patronage of the airline. Data were collected from passengers flying with South African domestic passenger airlines departing from OR Tambo International Airport. The findings indicate that customer satisfaction with an airline’s service recovery efforts significantly influences their relationship with the airline as well as their future patronage of the airline. Dissatisfied respondents indicated that their relationship with the airline was weakened or broken and that they would fl y less frequently or never again with the airline following the service failure. Satisfied respondents’ relationships with the airline were unchanged or strengthened, and they flew with the airline all the time or as frequently as before the service failure