How to Achieve Passenger Satisfaction in the Airport? Findings from Regression Analysis and Necessary Condition Analysis Approaches through Online Airport Reviews

Abstract

Delivering high-quality service to passengers can be critical for an airport’s survival, competitiveness, profitability, and long-term growth in a highly competitive environment. The present study aims to examine the relationship between airport service attributes and passenger satisfaction. To this end, we conducted multi-method research consisting of symmetric (multiple regression analysis—MRA) and asymmetric (necessary condition analysis—NCA) approaches. The research data consists of 1463 valid online reviews (n = 1463) of the top 50 busiest airports in Europe retrieved from Skytrax. The MRA was employed to examine the net effect of the eight airport service attributes on passenger satisfaction, while the NCA was used to explore the necessary conditions and level of necessity to achieve passenger satisfaction. Using MRA, the findings reveal that airport staff is the most influential predictor of passenger satisfaction, whereas airport shopping and airport Wi-Fi connectivity do not have a significant effect on passenger satisfaction. Moreover, the NCA results found that six of the eight conditions are necessary to achieve passenger satisfaction at the airport. To complement and comprehend the findings, this study also sheds light on the antecedents underlying airport passenger satisfaction in the post-COVID-19 era using NCA.