A Study of Airlines’ Online Reservation Services on the Internet

Abstract

This article reports on a study about examining airlines’ Web-based online reservation services. Thirty airlines from three regions (North America, Europe and Middle East, and Asia and Australia) were assessed to determine whether there were any significant differences between the three regions, in terms of the Web site attributes and services provided to travelers. In this research, the attributes selected for examination included (1) components of online reservation services, (2) provision of extra benefits, (3) factors affecting reservation time, and (4) provision of additional services/facilities. Empirical results indicated that some airlines did not provide all components in the chosen attributes and that airlines in these three regions differed significantly in certain dimensions of the chosen attributes. In particular, airlines in North America were found to have the most comprehensive Web-based reservation services.