Shu - Te University College of Management Graduate School of Finance

Shu - Te University
College of Management
Graduate School of Finance
Master
The Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-flight

Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction: A case study of
Vietnam Airlines
Student： Kim Thi Thu Huyen
Advisor: Dr. Pi-Yen Chen

Co-Advisor: Dr. Ho Thuy Ngoc
June, 2014
Shu-Te University
The Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-flight Service
Quality on Customer Satisfaction: A case study of Vietnam
Airlines
Student: Kim Thi Thu Huyen

Advisor: Dr. Pi-Yun Chen
Co-Advisor: Thesis Dr. Ho Thuy Ngoc
The Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-
flight Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction:
A case study of Vietnam Airlines
A Thesis
Submitted to
College of Management
Shu-Te University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Master of Business Administration
Majoring in Finance
Kim Thi Thu Huyen
June 2014
June 2014
Shu-Te University
The Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-flight Service
Quality on Customer Satisfaction: A case study of Vietnam
Airlines
Student：Kim Thi Thu Huyen Advisors： Dr. Pi-Yun Chen
Co-Advisor: Dr. Ho Thuy Ngoc
Abstract
The airlines service chain includes the following services:
- Ticket purchase
- Check-in service
- Airports service
- Boarding service
- In-flight service
- Arrival
- Post-arrival service
However, this research only analyze the influence of Ground service quality
(Check-in service, Airports service, Boarding service) and In-flight service quality
which are services directly related to flights on Vietnam Airlines’ customer satisfaction.
There are many kind of model which can be applied to study the relationship
between Service quality and customer satisfaction such as SERVQUAL Model
developed by Parasuraman (1985), SCSB model developed by Fornell (1992), the
ACSI model developed by Fornell (1996), ECSI model developed by Eklof (2000). The
researcher selected the American Customer Satisfaction Index – ACSI model for this
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research to analyze the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
and the level in model. The research method is quantitative with multivariate statistical
analysis steps such as: testing by Cronbach Alpha coefficient, regression analysis.
The online questionnaire was used for this research to collect the Vietnam
Airlines’ customer opinion about the Vietnam Airlines’ services. From the analyzing of
134 respondents, result of the research shown that service quality had different level of
impact on customer satisfaction at each step of service in which service quality has
extremely strong impact on customer satisfaction in term of Check-in service, Boarding
service and In-flight service. Service quality has weak impact on customer satisfaction
in Airport service due to this service not only offer by Vietnam Airlines but also offer
by the other company. Base on the result of the analysis, it can be concluded that the
service quality has important role for service provider such as Vietnam Airlines to
improve their competitiveness.
In addition, the research results also show some suggestion for improving the
Vietnam Airlines services as well as indicate the limitations of the research.
Keywords: Service quality, Customer Satisfaction, Customer complaint, Airline
service, ACSI model
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Acknowledgements
During the performance of this thesis, I have received much assistance from the
people who help me to complete the thesis. I could not finish this thesis without helping
form them, so I wanted to express my deep gratitude to those people.
First, I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the teachers of the
University SHU-TE and the Foreign Trade University Hanoi, Vietnam who taught me
and helped me throughout the course.
Next, I would like to express my special thanks to Dr. Pi Yun Chen from
University of SHU-TE and Dr. Ho Thuy Ngoc from Foreign Trade University Hanoi,
Vietnam who are my advisors and gave me guidance and useful feedback to complete
the thesis.
I would like to thank my MBAF4 classmates who shared document and help me
during the implementation of this research. I also thanks for my colleagues who work in
Vietnam Airlines especially the people working in Marketing Department and Planning
& Development Department. They help me to get the Vietnam Airlines service
information and delivering the questionnaire to the Vietnam Airlines’ Frequent Flyer
Program’ members.
I would like to thank my friend in Vietnam Airlines Informatics Department who
help me to collect and analyze the data of this thesis.
Finally, I really thank my family who gave me mobilization and encouraged me
during the learning process and the implementation of this thesis.
Thank you very much!
Kim Thi Thu Huyen (MBAF4 – SHU-TE University)
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Table of Contents
Abstract.............................................................................................................................i
Table of Contents............................................................................................................iv
List of Figures..................................................................................................................x
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................1
1.1. Research background............................................................................................1

1.1.1. Introduction to the context of the Aviation Industry in the world.................1
1.1.2. The context of the Aviation Industry in Viet Nam and Vietnam Airlines.....2
Table 1. Vietnam Airlines Fleet to 2018........................................................................3
1.1.3. The necessity of researching the influence of service quality on Vietnam

Airrlines’ customer satisfaction.........................................................................................3
1.2. Research motive....................................................................................................4
1.3. Research purposes................................................................................................5
1.4. Research questions................................................................................................6
1.5. Research procedure...............................................................................................6
2.1. Services in Airline Industry..................................................................................8
2.1.1. Services Chain in airlines industry.................................................................9
2.1.2. Airlines Service attributes............................................................................11
2.2. Service quality, Customer satisfaction...............................................................15
2.2.1. Service quality..............................................................................................15
2.2.2. Customer Satisfaction..................................................................................23
2.2.3. Relationship between Airline Service quality and Customer satisfaction...26
2.3. The evolution of satisfaction index model..........................................................27
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN...........................................................................32
3.1. Research model...................................................................................................32

3.1.1. Selected model.............................................................................................32
3.1.2. Reason to select the ACSI............................................................................34
3.2. Research hypotheses.......................................................................................34
3.3. Measurement of variables...................................................................................37
3.4. Data collection and analysis...............................................................................38
3.4.1. Research method..........................................................................................38
3.4.2. Questionnaire design....................................................................................39
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3.4.3. Sampling method and sample size...............................................................42
3.4.4. Data collection.............................................................................................43
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH RESULT..........................................................................44
4.1. Sample description..............................................................................................44

4.1.1. Highlights of Vietnam Airlines’ customers.................................................44
4.1.2. Demographic information............................................................................45
4.2. Reliability, hypothesis test and discussion.........................................................47
4.2.1. Check-in service (CI)...................................................................................47
Table 6. Data of regression PVCI from ECI, SQCI...................................................48
Table 7. Data of regression SCI from PVCI...............................................................49
Table 8. Data of regression CCI from SCI..................................................................50
Figure 15. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Check-in Service................52
4.2.2. Airports Service (AS)...................................................................................52

Table 10. Data of regression PVAS from EAS, SQAS...............................................53
Model Summary............................................................................................................53
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................53
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................53
Table 11. Data of regression SAS from PVAS............................................................54
Table 12. Data of regression CAS from SAS..............................................................54
4.2.3. Boarding Service (BS).................................................................................56

Table 14. Data of regression PVBS from EBS, SQBS................................................57
Model Summary............................................................................................................57
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................57
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................57
Table 15. Data of regression SBS from PVBS............................................................58
Table 16. Data of regression CBS from SBS...............................................................59
4.2.4. In-flight Service (IS)....................................................................................61

Table 47. Result of Reliability Test for Inflight service.............................................61
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Table 18. Data of regression PVIS from EIS, SQIS...................................................62
Model Summary............................................................................................................62
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................62
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................62
Table 19. Data of regression SIS from PVIS...............................................................63
Model Summary............................................................................................................63
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................63
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................63
Table 20. Data of regression CIS from SIS.................................................................63
4.2.5. Overall service.............................................................................................65

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION......................................................................................70
5.1. Findings and contribution...................................................................................71

5.1.1. Findings for Vietnam Airlines Services.......................................................71
5.1.2. Contribution.................................................................................................73
5.2. Implication..........................................................................................................74
5.2.1. Check-in service...........................................................................................75
5.2.2. Airport service..............................................................................................75
5.2.3. Boarding service..........................................................................................76
5.2.4. In- flight service...........................................................................................77
5.2.5. For Vietnam Airlines employees.................................................................77
5.3. The limitations of the research...........................................................................80
[1] Angelova, B., Measuring Customer Satisfaction with Service Quality Using
American Customer Satisfaction Model (ACSI Model), Full Professor at Ss Cyril and
Methodius University, Economic Institute, Prolet nr 1, Skopje- Macedonia..................82
[13]Lee, H.S. (2013) “Major Moderators Influencing the Relationships of Service
Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty” Asian Social Science; Vol.
9, No. 2; 2013 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of
Science and Education http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n2p1....................................83
APPENDIX 2: PASSENGER SURVEY (VIETNAMESE).......................................96
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vii
List of Tables
Abstract.............................................................................................................................i
List of Figures..................................................................................................................x
Model Summary............................................................................................................53
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................53
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................53
Model Summary............................................................................................................57
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................57
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................57

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Model Summary............................................................................................................62
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................62
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................62
Model Summary............................................................................................................63
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................63
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................63
ix
List of Figures
Abstract.............................................................................................................................i
List of Figures..................................................................................................................x
Model Summary............................................................................................................53
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................53
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................53
Model Summary............................................................................................................57
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................57
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................57
x
Model Summary............................................................................................................62
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................62
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................62
Model Summary............................................................................................................63
ANOVAa........................................................................................................................63
Coefficientsa...................................................................................................................63
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter will give the background of the research in which introduce the
Airline Industry, history of Vietnam Airlines, present the research motive, the research
purpose and research producer.
1.1. Research background
1.1.1. Introduction to the context of the Aviation Industry in the world
Airline industry is necessary for the world as without air transportation, such
industries as leisure and tourism would be affected and international business activities
would become much more difficult to conduct (Tiernan et al., 2008). It is one of the
biggest industries in the world, reaching turnover of 18$ billion in profits as of 2010
(IATA, 2011) and 501.2$ billion (Datamonitor, 2011) and hence providing
remarkable amount of work places as well as taxation revenues to governments.
There are two major issues affect the airlines profit (Kostama & Toivonen, 2012):
firstly, financial crisis and terrorism threat impact to the industry growth: 11.9%
industry growth in 2010 and 7.8% in 2011 (Datamonitor, 2011). While the expected
recovery is slow, Airlines Industry growth estimate to reach only 7.4% in 2015
(Datamonitor, 2011). Second, deregulation of airline industry in 1990s. It is allowed
low- cost carriers (LLCs) to join the Airline market with new business model. It atract
the customers away from traditional airlines. Deregulation introduces the new services
and more competition within the Airline industry, as well as provide customers more
chance to select their flight. In 2009, LLCs accounted for 32% of total market share in
Europe. In addition to existence of LLCs, airline industry has some thing change during
the last few years, such as provide e-tickets, introduction of self-service check-in
machine, etc. (IATA, 2011). In addition, according to Tiernan et al. (2008/1), the airline
industry has challenge to face with a competition from other modes of transportation,
such as high-speed trains.
Thus, the airlines attempted to cope with the challenges. They have searched for
the new generation aircraft, fuel savings equipment and modern furniture to provide
quality services, to attract customers market revenue distribution. Numerous older
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generation aircraft such as B747, B767, ATR72-200, B737-500, etc. gradually being
replaced by modern aircraft, new generation A380, B777, A321, B737-
600/700/800/900, ATR72-500/600, etc. To meet the trend of the market, the
manufacturer of the aircraft and are continuing to research the new generation aircraft
such as B787, A350, C series. In addition, the worldwide airlines should find the way to
improve their service quality.
1.1.2. The context of the Aviation Industry in Viet Nam and Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam is developing country in the South East of the Asia continent. The
population is approximately 89 million (2010) and the mainland territory is about 331
thousand square kilometre. With a huge number of inhabitants, Vietnam is a prospective
market with both consumer and business opportunities. Since Viet Nam joined World
Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, many foreign investor coming to Viet Nam to set
up their business in many different fields. Thus, Airline industry in Viet Nam has many
opportunities to grow. Evidence show that there are about 16 airlines choosing Viet
Nam as one of their destination in their routes (E-Guide, 2006).
Currently in Vietnam, there are 06 air transport business Jetstar Pacific Airlines,
VASCO, SFC (helicopter operator), VietJet Air, Air Mekong and Vietnam Airlines in
which Vietnam Airlines has the largest market share. The competition on domestic
market and international market is a challenge for Vietnam Airlines. To gain the high
market share, Vietnam Airlines is no way other than to continuously improve service
quality. Studying the services quality to find out the factors that need to be improved is
a survival matter to win the global competition (Vietnam Airlines Source). However,
improving the service quality is an extremely difficult task and expensive, and it
requires a deep understanding of the elements of services and solution to improve the
quality of each element to meet customer satisfaction lead to build up customer loyalty
for Vietnam Airlines.
History of Vietnam Airlines started from January 1956 as Civil Aviation
Administration of Vietnam was established by the Government, it marked the coming
out into society of the civil Aviation sector of Vietnam. At that time, the flight team was
very small, with only 5 paddle planes IL 14, AN 2, Aero 45, etc. The first domestic
flight was started in 9/1956.
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On 27/05/1995, Vietnam Airlines Company Limited was established based on
associating 20 enterprises operating the business of aviation service, taking Vietnam
Airlines as the core. In 2006, Vietnam Airlines officially became the member of
International Air Transport Association and affirmed the quality of service bearing its
international standard. On 10/6/2010, Vietnam Airlines officially became the 10th
member of SkyTeam, one of 03 global aviation alliances (Star Alliance, SkyTeam and
OneWorld). Currently, Vietnam Airlines has 22 subsidiaries and affiliates. Vietnam
Airlines has code share agreements with Skyteam member to connect flight to 1000
destinations over the world. To create the premise for the sustainable development in
the future, Vietnam Airlines implemented the development strategy of flight crew under
the direction of giving priority to selecting the plane types using advanced technology in
the civil aviation sector of the world such as Airbus A350XWB, Boeing 787-9.
Table 1. Vietnam Airlines Fleet to 2018

Item Aircraft type Aircraft quantity
1 F70 02
2 ATR72-500 16
3 A321 58
4 A330-200 10
5 B777-300 10
6 A350XWB-900 14 (Received in 2015-2018)
7 B787-9 19 (Received in 2015-2018)
(Vietnam Airlines Website at:

http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/vn/site/about_us)
1.1.3. The necessity of researching the influence of service quality on Vietnam
Airrlines’ customer satisfaction
Vietnam Airlines Company Limited (VNA) is one of the companies supplying
very important service in the economy of Vietnam. VNA is accounting for a main
position in supplying domestic transport service and it is urgently expanding its
operation to international airlines. Therefore, the competition on domestic and
international is a challenge for VNA. In order to win in this competition, VNA has to
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improve the service quality. The research of service quality to find out the factors of
quality can be improved better; it is a vital issue to win in the global competition.
However, the improvement of service quality is a very difficult and costly work, and to
implement this work, it requires having deep knowledge about the factors constituting
the service and measures on improving the quality of each of such factors in order to
meet the customer satisfaction, lead to the creation of customer loyalty for VNA.
Therefore, researching the influence of aviation service quality (ground and in-flight
services) on customer loyalty for VNA is very necessary, thereby; it is possible to
propose the solutions on improving the feeling of customers on service quality of each
factor as well as general quality to create regular customers for VNA.
1.2. Research motive
The world leading organization on evaluating the aviation firms - SKYTRAX
carries out the evaluation on service quality of aviation firms every year based on
satisfaction level of the customers. The evaluation is implemented for service fields
such as Airport Service, Onboard Service, Cabin Staff, for the customers of aviation
firms over 100 different countries through the questionnaire for exploring the ideas of
customers and it is implemented through the means such as direct interview to
customers, online survey, and delivery of questionnaire sheet to customers or through
travel agencies.
The most recently, it was in 2012, SKYTRAX evaluated that the service quality of
Vietnam Airlines had much improvement in comparison to 2011. However, in 2012 and
2013, Vietnam Airlines will still maintain at the level of 03 stars and cannot reach to the
level of 04 stars because many service aspects must be further improved (SKYSTRAX
2012).
According to the development plan of VNA from now to 2020, VNA is expected
to reach the level of 04 stars in 2015 and 05 stars in 2020. With the evaluation of
SKYTRAX, in order to reach the objective of increasing the level for its service, VNA
will need much improvement in term of service quality and in many service aspects
(Vietnam Airlines Sources).
In addition to basing on the annual evaluation of SKYTRAX to compare the
quality of VNA with other aviation firms in the region and in the world, VNA regularly
4
has surveys for exploring the ideas of customers about service quality of VNA, from
that point; it will evaluate the satisfaction level of customers to service quality of VNA.
According to the evaluation of passengers on the flights of VNA in fourth quarters in
2012, service quality of VNA was at good level. The customers complained much about
service quality of Vietnam Airlines such as meal on the plane, entertainment system,
seat, service attitude of staff, especially regular happening of delay or cancellation of
flight (Vietnam airlines quarterly survey report 2012).
On the other hand, on international airlines, VNA must regularly compete with
long-term and famous aviation firms: in the region, there are Singapore Airlines, Thai
Airways, and All Nipon Airways; in the world, there are British Airway, Lufthansa, Air
France… In Vietnamese market, at present, VNA must compete with many domestic
aviation firms such as Mekong Air, Jetstar Pacific, Vietjet Air. Hence, Vietnam Airlines
must improve the service quality to satisfy at the maximum level the demand of
customers and consolidating and improving the competitive capacity of VNA (Vietnam
Airlines Sources). If not improving the service quality, it also means that VNA will lose
gradually the market in not only international market but also in Vietnamese market.
From the past up to now, there were many researches in the field of aviation. For
example, the research on quality of aviation service such as Solution on expanding the
market of VNA by Tran Thi Phuong Hien, 2003; Improving the quality of passenger
service at Noibai Airport Services Joint-Stock Company by Le Duc Long, 2000;
Evaluation target and research on product quality of VNA by Nguyen Manh Quan,
2004. However, there is no research on influence of service quality on customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty. As a staff of VNA, in front of the competition of
VNA and with the aspiration of contributing a part into the development of VNA, I
would like to research this subject in order to find out essential solutions for promoting
the development of VNA in particular and aviation sector of Vietnam in general.
1.3. Research purposes
For VNA, a company specializing in service business, the issue of improving the
service quality to satisfy at the maximum the demand of customers is vital one.
As being stated above: (i) Service quality of VNA according to SKYTRAX is
only at the level of 03 stars, there is no clear improvement (ii) passengers complain very
5
much about service quality of VNA (iii) the competition in the international and
domestic markets is increasingly violent; therefore, it is necessary to increase the
satisfaction of customer to service quality in order to improve the competitive capacity;
that is driving force for implementation of this research. Besides, the implementation of
this research subject helps us:
1. Understand clearly the nature of aviation service quality, influence of aviation
service quality on customer satisfaction. Understand clearly what the customers need
and how to make the customers be willing to further use the service of VNA or
introduce to friends and relatives for using the service of VNA.
2. Understand clearly the feature of each service type in the aviation service series
and require the quality corresponding to each service type; have thorough grasp of
actual situation of aviation service quality, from that point, determine which service
aspect needs maintaining the quality and which service aspect needs improving.
3. As understanding clearly the nature of factors at sections 1, 2, it is necessary to
find suitable solution to not only overcome the weaknesses, unsuitability of each service
factor but also improve the service quality, increase the customer satisfaction, from that
point, increase the customer loyalty to VNA.
4. From that point, withdrawing the suitable competition strategy for VNA in each
period to increase the market share of VNA in Vietnam, in the the region and in the
world.
1.4. Research questions
This research to be done to find out the factors impacting on the customer
satisfaction for Vietnam airlines in field of Ground Service and In-flight service. The
affected level of each factor impact on customer satisfaction. Especially, the research
focuses on defining the influence of Ground service quality and In-flight service quality
on Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction. Thus, the research questions are:
1. Which factor affect Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction?
2. How is affecting level of each factor on customer satisfaction?
3. How does the service quality affect customer satisfaction?
1.5. Research procedure
To implement this research, it is necessary to implement 07 steps:
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Step 1: This is the first and very important step. In this step, it is necessary to put
forth the following questions and answer such questions:
- What issue do we intend to research?
- The necessity of researching such issue.
- Why such issue must be researched and what is the purpose of researching that
issue?
Step 2: After determining the research object, we will have to collect the report,
document, previous research subjects relating to the issues which we intend to research,
previous research models which were applied for the fields similar to this subject. There
are evaluations on suitability or unsuitability or previous researches if they are applied
to this research subject.
Step 3: Step 2 is the premise for step 3. From the evaluations of step 2, the
researcher will have to select the most suitable model to his research subject, state the
reason why the researcher selects this model. It is necessary to give out the hypothesis
about relationship among the variables, build the questionnaire to carry out the survey
on the basis of measurement scale of each variable.
Step 4: Carry out information collection. The information collection can be
implemented through website, email or giving directly the questionnaire to subjects to
be surveyed, explored the information. The questionnaire must be clear, the questions
must be concentrated, not too long. For the surveys having foreign factor, the
questionnaire must have both Vietnamese and English. After finishing the survey, carry
out the data collection for implementing the analysis.
Step 5: After having the data, we must carry out the data update accurately to the
computer and use software programs for data analysis. The data must be analyzed
according to each measurement scale corresponding to each variable in order to see the
influence level to each other among the variables.
Step 6: We will have evaluations on influence to each other among the variables
on the basis of the result of data analysis at step 5 in order to see whether the hypothesis
at step 3 are true or false.
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Step 7: From the issues discovered at step 6, we will give out the conclusions,
contribution recommendations to the research subject and state the limitations of the
process of implementing the subject research.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Plenty of researches carry out for services, service quality and customer
satisfaction. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the literature in this field.
Firstly, service in airlines industry is discussed to introduce the airlines service
attribute and details relevant to airline business are added. Next, the service quality,
customer satisfaction in airline industry is reviewed. Discussion on customer
satisfaction and expectations adds to understanding of importance of customer
satisfaction and explains service elements. Finally, customer satisfaction model is
introduced. Especially, it will describe the details of ACSI model.
2.1. Services in Airline Industry
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2.1.1. Services Chain in airlines industry
Gliatis and Minis (2007) define that a service is a series of processes; and each
of those processes creates a different value for a service. Each value of service
depends on service attributes (characteristics). Similarly, Chen and Chang (2005) say
that airline service as a chain of services; each service is made of a sequence of
processes. A service process is divided into ground and in- flight services (sub-
processes). Chen and Chang (2005) also suppose that both have to be evaluated
individually, a customer is not very likely to create the difference between them.
Thus, t his r e s e a r c h describe the service process from a customer’s perspective, a
process that coverts inputs to outputs through service process when customer use
air transportation. Service process include of sub-processes, each of sub-processes
creating towards a service in question. Thus, conclusion can be made as Figure 1.
Figure 1. Service process model

Gronroos (1982) and Parasumaran et al. (1985) suggest that the customer enter
into a service process with certain expectations, made by word of mouth prior
marketing campaigns or experiences etc. The expected service has an impact on the
service process itself as well as the output of the process, i.e. perceived service.
Perceived service quality is different between expected and perceived services as
Parasumaran’s (1985) gap model.
Kelley (2012) suggests the service process is based on the airline passenger
lifecycle, which consists of five steps as Figure 2 below.
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Figure 2. Airline passenger lifecycle
(Kelley, 2012)
The airline passenger lifecycle evaluate the opportunities for value creation.
The author assumes that an airline has an opportunity to c r e a t e value for the
customer between each stage of lifecycle. Nevertheless, Carlzon (1989) assumes that
the cycle seems rather generalized and misses such value creation aspects like
interaction with airline staff.
The service process includes process and attributes which define what important
service delivery of the step is. Similarly to Kelley’s (2012) lifecycle model, the
process model is evaluating what are the customer expectations of the service
process, and where the value is generated. Johnson et al. (1995) suppose that such
approach is helpful for realizing areas of service should be improved.
The service process (Figure 3) was redesigned based on the performance of
booking process and Finnair flights AY0715 / AY0718 (Helsinki-Prague-
Helsinki) in April 2012 a n d m a k e discussions with ta r get group members
and their perception. Decision rela tin g to the trip even it is part of the entire
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perception. However, it has nothing to do with actual services that the customer faces,
thus it is not taking into account.
Figure 3. Service process

Chang and Yeh (2002) state that way to measure service quality is to define a
number of service attributes. Hence, service process is divided into 07 steps,
each step represents a point where a customer may experience different types of
services. E ach step shall be appointed as service quality attributes (Chang & Yeh,
2002; Gilbert & Wong, 2003; Park et al., 2004; Chen & Chang, 2005). Service
process can be found from Figure 3.
2.1.2. Airlines Service attributes
(1) Ticket purchase
Nowadays m o s t o f tickets purchasing a r e through travel agencies or online.
Nevertheless, call centers still exist, and it is available for customer to ask for
information and purchase the ticket there. It can be assumed that the ticket purchasing
might happen at the check-in counter without direct contact with the airline before.
Carlzon (1987) states the key aspect of service experience, called ‘moment of truth’
was the customer firstly contact with the company’s front line employees (or, more
precisely, first 15 seconds of it) – in case of ticket purchase, it was a booking on the
phone. The online booking process became much easier: t h e information is
available 24/7 and the customer freely select between various offers, flight schedule
and different prices etc. Hence, now it becomes more difficult for an airline to
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compete with the others due to it is so easy to compare with various offers.
Ticket purchase include several steps: searching for information, ticket selection
and booking process. Currently a number of intermediaries are available to provide a
source of information for travelers, such as www.cheapoair.com , www.ebookers.fi
www.shermanstravel.com, etc. Some of websites not only provide the
information but also provide the direct ticket purchasing while the others only
provide information and ticket purchasing happens on other websites ore
airline own home pages. The following attributes are for ticket purchasing process:
* Easily available information on ticket prices, flight schedule etc.
* Ease, accuracy and speed of booking.
(2) Check-in
Check-in services have started as over the counter through face-to-face
interaction in last decade. Nowadays, the developing of technology allow passenger
to make some thing online. Regular check-in is still available in smaller airports,
leisure destinations. In addition, there are other options such as check-in online, via
check-in machines at the airport or via text message. For example, Finnair has phased
out regular check-in completely on economy seat and leisure flights (HS.fi, February
2012). According to Chang & Yang (2008), such changes in infrastructure affect
service quality perceptions as well as change expectations of service performance.
Some Airlines applied simple ways to make the check-in for their
customers. Austrian Airlines provides its customer and Star Alliances’ customers
with the chance to check-in at city center. Passengers can check-in, drop their luggage
and take a speed train to the airport at Vienna City Terminal, it take only in 16
minutes (Austrian.com, 2012).
The check-in attributes are as follow:
* Ease, accuracy and speed of check-in.
* More than one check-in counter are available
* The Airline staffs are courteous and helpful in case of using regular check-
in or have trouble with check-in machine.
(3) Airport Services
Airport infrastructure affects customer perception of service quality (Rendeiro
12
& Cejas, 2006). Airport services are services occurred after check-in and finish at
the boarding. Airport services consist security check, duty free shopping, restaurant
services etc. and may include the services such as currency exchange kiosks, tourist
information, transportation to nearby hotels etc. Also, provide the internet access to
inform the delays, cancel or potential queues can be done to the customers.
Normally, passengers do not spend much time at the airport, however
passengers might have to spend several hours at the airport in case of transit for
international flights. In such event, variou range of services shall be required by
passengers, and, in addition to such basic things as toilets, shops, cafeterias, restaurant
travelers may need places to take a short nap, kid place, wifi, place for using their
computer, telephone charging equipment event might need showers, etc. Actually,
international airports with lots of flights have much more services compare to smaller
local airports.
As discussed in section 2.1.1 above, airports tend to get more innovation of
services such as picture gallery, book shops, spa in Helsinki-Vantaa airport
(discontinued due to unprofitable) etc. The value added by such services is an
interesting topic to discuss, however, it is not taken into account of this research.
Hence, the most important attributes for airport services process as follow:
* The airport has all necessary facilities and is clean and up-to-date.
* The airline has comfortable waiting lounges.
* Airport staff is courteous and helpful.
(4) Boarding services
Gilbert and Wong (2003); Tiernan et al. (2008) suppose that on-time service is
one of the most important airlines service quality aspects, the key for success here
is on-time departure/arrival. Carlzon (1987) suggests passengers evaluate the
punctuality not only by on-time arriving, but also by on-time departure. Hence, it
can be said that on-time leaving and on-time arriving is a key factor of airlines service
quality (Gilbert & Wong, 2003). As commonly known, in many cases delays/cancel
beyond the direct control of an airline (e.g. bad weather, strike…). In addition,
Boarding service consist the services such as the facilities to access the plane, the
special services for people who flight with kid, services for old people. Thus, t he
13
attributes of Boarding service are as follows:
* Clearly Announcement for Boarding service
* Convenient facilities to access plane
* The flight departs at a time it promises.
* In case of delay, airline immediately makes an statement and provides all
necessary information (time of waiting, possibility to receive food vouchers,
accommodation or replaced flight or refund).
(5) Onboard Services
Recently, services onboard have developed. Introduction of in-flight shopping and
developing technology that led to interact video and audio entertainment system. For
example, KLM offers various kinds of entertainment opportunities such as language
courses, music, TV programs, books, games on its international flights (KLM.com,
2012/1). In short haul flights, entertainment possibilities are usually limited and some
airlines provide such as own magazines, free newspapers, online shopping etc. In addition,
the airlines can provide the wifi access possibilities during the flight, various option of
meal. Thus, on board services consist of the following attributes:
* The aircraft has clean and comfortable facilities and seats.
* The airline has various choices of in-flight entertainment
facilities/programs.
* The airline offers onboard shopping with wide selection of products.
* The airline offers fresh and various options of food and beverages.
* The airline employees are courteous and helpful during the flight.
(6) Arrival
As mentioned above in Boarding service process, on-time arrival is a key factor of
customer’s perception of good service quality. The questions at the Boarding service
process are covering the importance of arrival.
(7) Post-arrival Services
Westwood et al. (2000) state, another factor at arrival stage is post-arrival services
such as assistance upon arrival, lost & found luggage services etc. Gilbert and Wong
( 2003) state, the key component here is lost and found luggage (delayed, damage or
missing). Nevertheless, it is noted that often airlines outsource their luggage handing
14
to third party supplier (may be local airport services, or by a company p r o v i d e t h e
s er v i c e on leasing base) and thus are not directly provided by the airlines itself. T he
baggage service can be impacted by a various factors such as peak day times, holiday
seasons etc. However, from point of view of the customer, they still think that those
services served by the Airlines, and thus it is necessary for the airlines to make sure
that the service is good on this stage too. The attributes of Post-arrival services are:
* The airline has other related partners to provide services such as travel
insurance, hotel, car rentals where you can earn extra miles or get discounts.
* Promptness and accuracy of baggage delivery
There are 07 services which generated to the Airlines Industry Services,
include:
* Ticket purchase
* Check-in service
* Airports service
* Boarding service
* In-flight service
* Arrival
* Post-arrival service
This research only takes into account the services which directly affect to the
customer from check-in to the customer on the flight. Hereby, a service process is
divided into ground services (check in service, airport service, boardin g
service) and in- flight services. Chen and Chang (2005) suppose that both have to be
evaluated separately, a customer is not very likely to differentiate between them.
2.2. Service quality, Customer satisfaction
2.2.1. Service quality
(1) Definition of service quality
Service quality can be defined only by customers and that it occurs when a service
organization provides service that satisfies the customer’s needs (Metters et al., 2003).
Thus, simply speaking, service quality is defined as the satisfaction of customer
expectations. However, service quality is a complex construct which has multi-
dimensions or multi-facet characteristics. To verify the dimensions of service quality, a
15
considerable number of researches have been reported during the last twenty-five years
(Lee, 2010a). Specifically, Gronroos’s (1984) two-dimensional model can be described
as follows: 1) technical quality is “what a customer receives,” and 2) functional quality
is “how a service is provided or delivered.”
On the other hand, some researches conducted by Parasuraman et al. (1985) in
several industry to develop and define SERVQUAL, a multiple-item instrument to
quantify customers’ assessment of a company’s service quality. Their scale involved
expectations-perceptions gap scores along five dimensions: reliability, responsiveness,
assurance, empathy, and tangibles (Metters et al., 2003).
Three years later, Parasuraman and his colleagues (1988) defined perceived
service quality as “the consumer’s judgment about the superiority or excellence of a
product,” and confirmed the five-dimension model.
Nevertheless, Cronin and Taylor (1992) and Teas (1993) argued that perceived
service quality is superior to the “perceptions-minus-expectations” measures. According
to Parasuraman et al. (1988), Bolton and Drew (1991), Cronin and Taylor (1992) and
Lee 92010a), service quality can be described as a form of attitude that is related but not
equivalent to satisfaction, which results from the comparison of expectations with
performance.
Service quality has become a important factor for companies to make difference
their products and services with other competitors. Many researchers suggest that
customers evaluate service quality by making comparison what the customer feel for
product/service the sellers offered and compare it against the seller's actual service
performance (Gronroos, 1982).
(2) Measuring Service Quality
Edvardsson (1992) states that quality is a driving force for customer
satisfaction, improved competitiveness and profitability. As for service quality, e.g.
American Marketing Organization defines it in two ways: first, high quality service is
a providing of service that meets and exceeds the expectations of the customers;
second, it is an area of study that describes and defines how services are provided to
satisfy the service recipient.
Parasumaran et al. (1985) suggest service quality is defined by the customer
16
evaluation of service outcome and service process as well as a comparison of
customer expectations with service performance. Hence, service quality can be said
as the fulfillment between current service level and customer expectations.
Park et al. (2004) define service quality as a consumer’s overall impression of
efficiency of an organization and its services. Thus, customer satisfaction is a change
made based on a specific service. Chen & Chang (2005) suppose that service quality is
a process, and in case of airline industry, the authors classified Airlines services into
ground s er v i c es and in-flight services and assume that passengers’ perception
are different for each of the processes.
Measuring service quality has proven to be challenging for both the
researchers and companies due to its characteristics (Parasumaran et al., 1985;
Johnson et al., 1995; Tiernan et al., 2008). Johnson et al. (1995) suggested that
service quality cannot be only measured by considering s e r v i c e p r o c e s s but a l s o
has to evaluate outcomes of service process, e.g. Customer-employee interaction
and employee t r a i n i n g . Hence, measuring all aspects of service is i m p o r t a n t to
understand the service quality.
Developed by Parasumaran et al. in 1985, SERVQUAL is the most famous
service quality model. The researchers say that quality is a comparison
between expectations and performance, i.e. How well the service is delivered
matches customers’ expectations. Gronroos (1982) also made same statement. The
SERVQUAL-model measures difference between what customers expect from the
service and how customer perceives it. Parasumaran et al. (1985) identifies five gaps:
* Gap 1: consumer expectation – management perception gap,
* Gap 2: management perception – service quality specifications gap,
* Gap 3: service quality specifications – service delivery gap,
* Gap 4: service delivery – external communications gap,
* Gap 5: expected service – perceived service gap.
Service quality, according to this model, depends on the size of Gap 5
(expected service – perceived service gap), which in its turn depends on previous four
gaps, i.e.
Gap5 = f(Gap1, Gap2, Gap3, Gap4).
17
Parasumaran et al. (1985) identifies ten key determinants of service quality to
measure perceived service, which impact both expected and perceived services, and
through those, affect to perceived service quality (Figure 4). Expected service is also
impacted by personal needs, word of mouth as well as experience.
Figure 4. Determinants of perceived service quality

(Parasumaran et al., 1985)
After that, Gronroos presented another service quality model in 1982. He stated
two types of service quality: technical and functional. Technical quality is what a
customer is receiving from a service. He realized that the customer is interested not
only in the result of service process, but also in a process itself. Thus, functional
quality is the way in which the service is delivered. In addition, there is image quality,
i.e. corporate image. Both functional and technical quality aspects generate image
quality. Beside, the factors such as ideology, marketing activities as well as word-of-
mouth impact on image quality. These types of service quality are identified b y
Lehtinen and Lehtinen (1982). Based on these, Gronroos (1982) presents the
following model (Figure 5).
18
Figure 5. Perceived service quality model
(Gronroos, 1982)
In the model, Gronroos (1982) defines perceived service quality of a service
as the outcome of an evaluation process, where the consumer compares his/her
expectations with the service he/she perceives he/she has received. Moreover, in his
later study Gronroos (1993) defines that measuring customer experiences provides
close approximation of service quality.
Johnson et al. (1995) carry out another study for measuring service quality. A
measure of overall service quality should include judgments of all components of service:
inputs, processes and outputs (Figure 6), all of which play essential roles in a company’s
operations. Hence, in addition to outputs, a company’s inputs and processes affect a
customer.
19
Figure 6. Systems approach to service quality
(Johnson et al., 1995)
According to Johnson et al. (1995), service quality relies on quality of each
three dimensions: quality of inputs, quality of processes and quality of outputs.
Input quality refers to e.g. equipment that is waiting areas are clean and
comfortable, e q u i p m e n t i s up-to-date, s e r v i c e p rovider’s employee has
knowledge and skills. Next, process quality is a quality of interaction between
provider and customer. Often, customers are directly impacted by service
production process; thus, availability, accessibility and service provider’s willingness
to assist are parts of process quality. Output quality refers to the result of service
provision and includes both tangible and intangible benefits; it means changes in the
customer’s mental/ physical state or a change in something that the customer
possesses. Johnson et al. (1995) tests systems and concluded that the customer
evaluate quality by considering mu ltip le aspects of output, process and input, with
input almost insignificant and output being most important. Process was important in
transportation industry.
The perception of service quality much more depends on the expectations of
using the services. There are several models on service quality; subjectivity is the
bottom dimension of service quality. Although the some above models can offer
structure to the concept of service quality by dividing it into components and
identifying the gaps between how the service is perceived by the provider and the
customer, however the models do not provide clear guidance how to mea sure the
20
service quality. Chang and Yeh (2002) suggest, service quality might be measured
by identifying a number of attributes to measure expected and perceived service
separately and defi n i n g the gap between them.
(3) Service Quality in Airline Industry
Distributing high service quality by clearly understanding customer
expectations is a key for Airlines to succeed and survive in very com p e titive
environment (Gilbert & Wong, 2003; Chen & Chang, 2005). High level of service
quality is vital to acquire and retain loyal customers (Chang & Yeh, 2002).
H o w e v e r , service quality in airline industry is publicly discussed and o f t e n
criticized. The on-time arrival rates dropped remarkable and the rate of damage
baggage reached 6.5 per 1000 passengers in 2006 (Tiernan et al., 2008/1) in US. In
EU, several measures have been m a d e to innovate service quality and deregulation
of airlines industry gave EU passengers more power in case of delayed or cancelled
flights to get compensation for failure of an airline to provide the service. Since then,
there is increasing the number of complaints as the customers have more right over
their own flight experience (Tiernan et al., 2008/1).
Deregulation of the Airline industry in Europe in 1990s and in US in the end
of 1970s has changed the customers’ point of view on service quality. In previous
period, service quality were some variable such as flight frequency, load factors,
and aircraft type (Tiernan et al., 2008/1). T oday, service quality has shifted
towards customer satisfaction and loyalty, which results to i m p r o v e competitive
capability. As service quality is more visible, passengers may use it as a basis for
evaluating the overall quality of an airline (Rhoades & Waguespack, 1999).
Carlzon (1987) suggests the only true assets of the airlines are their customers.
Jon Carlzon, former CEO of SAS, who led the company from near bankruptcy to
profitable and successful customer-oriented carrier within just two years, says the
customer orientation is key factor and it is a prerequisite for business profitability and
development. Carlzon calls ‘moment of truth’ (i.e. a first contact between airline
and a customer, remote or personal, which c r ea t e t h e impression of customer
w i t h the airline) that lead customer satisfaction as well as customer loyalty.
Moreover, he states that the service quality greatly r e l i e s on the first encounter,
21
and highlights create and shape the customer experience and perception with front
line employees. A grees with Carlzon, Babbar and Koufteros (2008) states that the
most visible service for customer is the c o n t a c t t o p r o v i d e r ’ s employees.
Zomerdijk and Vries (2007) define customer contact is a direct communication
between a customer and a service provider and has an opportunity for interaction that
takes place at a same time. The researchers identify a number of important service
quality attributes in airline industry that impact customer’s perception of a service
distribute and thus generate the image of a Airlines. The attributes are summarized in
Table 2 below.
Table 1. Service quality aspects in airline industry (multiple sources)
Airline Service quality aspects Researcher(s)

Interaction with contact employees/ First customer Carlzon (1987); Bitner,
contact Booms & Tetreault
(1990)
Airlines reliability (safety) Fick & Ritchie (1991)
Courtesy, willingness to correct errors, friendliness, task Mersha & Adlakha
proficiency, tolerance (1992)
Price, timelines, check-in process, on-board services, Gourdin (1998); Elliot &
food quality, seat comfort, baggage transportation & Roach (1993)
safety type
Aircraft Truitt & Haynes (1994)
Seat comfort, courtesy of staff, safety Tsaur, Chang & Yen
(2002)
Airport location and access, frequency and timings, Shaw (2007)
punctuality, seat accessibility/ticket flexibility, airport
services, in –flight services, frequent flyer benefits
Employee’s service, schedule, frequent flyer program, Liou & Tzeng (2007)
safety & reliability, on board service, on time performance
Flight schedule, total fare, flexibility, frequent flyer Teichert et al. (2008)
program, punctuality, catering, ground services
Level of concern and civility, individual attention, listening Babbar & Koufteros
and understanding, cheerfulness, courtesy, friendliness (2008)
Mishandled baggage, overbooking, on-time performance, Tiernan et al. (2008/2)
customer complaints
Price, Airline brand, sleep comfort Boetsch et al. (2011)
Based on the above table, service quality attributes can be roughly divided
22
into performance-related attributes (such as punctuality and safety), service-related
attributes (on board service, courtesy of staff, baggage transportation) and basic
product attributes (seat comfort, flight schedule etc.). Parasumaran et al. (1991)
suggest, continuously providing consistent, reliable and fair services is a key to
achieve customer loyalty.
2.2.2. Customer Satisfaction
(1) Definition of Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction can be identified as the customer's evaluation of a
product service in terms of whether that product or service has met the customer's
expectations and demand (Valarie et al., 2006). Satisfaction can be associated with the
feel of pleasure, feeling of fulfillment, ambivalence and relief with a mix of negative
and positive experience.
Customer satisfaction can be defined using the transaction specific perspective or
cumulative perspective. The transaction specific perspective indicates that customer
satisfaction is evaluated based on the recent purchase experiences (Boulding et al.,
1993). The cumulative perspective is overall evaluations. This indicates that evaluations
of customer satisfaction should be based on all the purchase experiences of the
customer, disregarding any specific purchase experience (Johnson & Fornell, 1991).
Parasuraman et al. (1988) argued that the cumulative perspective is more capable of
evaluating the service performance of firms and more effective in predicting consumers’
post-purchase behavior (Wang et al., 2004). Among the studies of customer satisfaction
in the information industry, Lin and Wang (2006) revealed that customer satisfaction of
mobile commerce is consumer’s total response to the purchase experiences in a mobile
commerce environment. Therefore, in this study, customer satisfaction is defined as the
total consumption perception of consumers when using mobile value-added services.
(2) Component of Customer satisfaction
Extensive studies on customer satisfaction have led to the development of which
explain the components of customer satisfaction. Some authors perceived satisfaction as
an overall component while others conceptualize satisfaction as a product of customer’s
comparison of the perceived performance of the service with some cognitive or
affective standards such as desire, expectation, perceived value or perceived service
23
quality (Oliver, 1980; Parasuraman, et at., 1985; Kolter, Wong, Saunders, & Armstrong,
2005; Kotler & Keller, 2006). These components are conceptualized and displayed in
Figure 7 below.
Desire
Expectatio
n Cognitive
or affective
standard
Perceived
Value
Overall
customer
satisfaction
Perceived
Service
quality Perceived
Performance of
Service quality
Figure 7. Components of Customer satisfaction

However, for this research the components of satisfaction measured are
satisfaction with the services offer by Airlines. These are interpersonal satisfaction,
satisfied with price, staff performance, ground services, in flight services and overall
satisfaction among air travellers. These components are considered important in this
research as each of them is empirically validated to have a significant impact on
customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1980; 1993; Parasuraman et at., 1988; Khalifa & Liu,
2002)
(3) Managing Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
The important aspect of customer satisfaction is to know customer expectations.
Thus, Parasumaran et al. (1991) states that all the customers expect is the basic
service that provider promise to deliver, i.e. Fundamental service. For example,
hotel visitors expect a clean and secure room and polite staff. Airline customers want
24
to travel to their destination immediately and safely. Price often shows customer
expectations, customer want more and better services if they pay more than average
price, so the authors discuss, the price should equal to the level of service that is
provided.
Hereby, it can be argued that when such carriers like Ryanair and Finnair
provide the same service (air transportation) and the same service outcome is
expected (a customer reaches final destination), the process of distributing a service
is completely discrepancy. Ryanair charges low price but provides only the
limitation of services, balancing the expectations with the price (low cost carrier).
Whereas, Finnair offers higher price with more and better services (as a full-network
carrier). Perception of service quality in those airlines will be different as well as the
customer expectations and satisfaction will be different. The dual nature of service
quality can affect its understanding and management.
Another way to manage service quality and customer satisfaction is to find out
where customer satisfaction is. Silvestro & Johnston (1990) identified the following
service quality factors:
* Hygiene factors, or dissatisfier (what is expected by customer, but will
not be a source of satisfaction, e.g. clean service facilities)
* Enhancing factors, or satisfiers – (factors that leads to customer satisfaction
but failure to deliver does not cause dissatisfaction)
* Dual threshold factors (if such factors are failed to deliver, will cause
customer dissatisfaction. However, if delivered above the specific level will cause
satisfaction)
Cadotte and Turgeon (1988) also added neutral factors, factors that are less
impact to changes in performance, i.e. have no influence on service quality perception.
Gummesson (1991) also adds the love factor that he assumed to be n e g l e c t from
previous service quality research. It consists of t h e g e n u i n e e m p a t h y with
customer, w i l l i n g n e s s t o serve t h e c u s t o m e r and caring p e r s o n a l i t y .
Jones and Sasser (1995) state that only full customer satisfaction lead to customer
loyalty as well as secure long-term profitability. Especially it is essential on markets
with intense competition. However, there is a difference between true long-term
25
loyalty and false loyalty. T he carrier keeps the customer happy not only by
fr eq u en t flyer miles program, but a l s o by providing high services consistently,
the loyalty is true, and customer will stay with the carrier. While, f alse loyalty is
adjusted by factors such as governmental regulations on competition, proprietary
technology, high switching costs or loyalty promotion programs such as frequent
flyer programs. When the customer definitely satisfies with the service, they remain
loyal. Thus, the customer may not remain loyal and switch to another carrier, in
case loyalty is false. It is i m p o r t a n t for a company to define their s target
customers, and deliver exactly the service that corresponds to their needs. Heskett et
al. (1994) define the same. According to them, profit and growth are created by
customer loyalty and loyalty in its turn is driven by customer satisfaction.
Understanding customer satisfaction is necessary for any company in any
industry to develop and gain profitable. However, Carlzon (1987) defines customers
are carriers’ true assets in airline industry. Hence understanding and managing
satisfaction through service quality is very important, and requires larger attention
from carriers in completive environment nowadays.
2.2.3. Relationship between Airline Service quality and Customer satisfaction
Service quality and Customer Satisfaction have been linked together as shown by
many previous studies (Smith & Houston 1983, Kotler 1988; Kaspar & Lemmink, 1988,
Lewis & Klein 1986, Bolton & Drew, 1991). These research showed that overall
customer satisfaction with a service could be positive and substantial when the service
quality is high this means the deliver of service is perceived as equal to or better than
expected service. (Nguyen, 1991) states a strong relationship between satisfaction and
perceived service quality.
Satisfaction with low quality can exist whenever a person’s expectation in a given
situation is low and performance is adequate to the task. According to Oliver (1993),
dissatisfaction with high quality can ensure when some elements of service delivery are
not up to personal standards (i.e. when a person’s expectation are higher than those
normally used to evaluate quality are).
On the other hand, literature shows that performance of the service is seen to be
better predictor of overall service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1991; Babakus & Boller
26
1992) and performance alone explain most of the variation in satisfaction (Churchill &
Surprenant, 1982; Bolfing & Woodruf, 1988, Tse & Wilton, 1988; Swan, 1989). Teas
(1993) suggests, performance is defined as the degree to which products possess certain
desired characteristics or deliver certain benefits.
Cronin and Taylor’s (1992), Teas (1993) state that the direction of causality
between service quality and customer satisfaction is an important unresolved issue.
Cronin and Taylor report that service quality leads to customer satisfaction and not vice
versa. Nevertheless, there is a lack of consensus in the literature among researchers
about causality between the two constructs. Many service quality researcher report that
customer satisfaction leads to service quality, while customer satisfaction researcher
have an opposite causal direction between two constructs. Teas (1994) argues these
conflicting perspectives may be due to the global or overall attitude focus in most
service quality research in contrary to the transaction focus in most customer
satisfaction research.
2.3. The evolution of satisfaction index model
In this research, some satisfaction index model were introduced and discussed
with the purpose to find out the satisfaction index model which is suitable for Vietnam
Airlines in analyzing the influence of Vietnam Airlines’ service quality on Vietnam
Airlines’ customer satisfaction. The following are satisfaction index model, which are
studies in previous researches.
Established in 1989, the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer (SCSB) was
the first national customer satisfaction index for domestically purchased and consumed
products and services (Fornell, 1992). It has researched with 130 companies from 32 of
Sweden’s biggest industries. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) was
introduced in the fall of 1994 and included approximately 200 companies from 34
industries (Fornell et al., 1996). The Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer was
introduced in 1996 and, as of 1999 (Andreassen & Lervik, 1999; Andreassen &
Lindestad, 1998a), reports results for 42 companies in 12 different industries (both
business-to-consumer and business-to- business). The most recent development among
27
indices is European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) researched in four industries
and 11 countries in the EU (Eklof, 2000).
In reviewing the national indices, we focus on the ACSI model specification. This
model is an evolution of the original Swedish model, has been adopted on a smaller
scale in New Zealand and Taiwan (Fornell et al., 1996) and Austria (Hackl, Scharitzer,
& Zuba, 1996), and is the basis for the models being used in Norway and the EU.
Therefore, a critical evaluation of the model is important to develop the best possible
model specification.
It should be noted that satisfaction as an overall evaluation of the consumption
experience resolves certain modeling issues. De Ruyter et al. (1996) consider that while
some studies find satisfaction to drives a general perception of quality, the others find
that perceptions of quality drive satisfaction. Nevertheless, if satisfaction is an overall
evaluation of performance, more quality received is necessarily as an antecedent to
satisfaction (Johnson et al., 1995). All of the models illustrated and proposed herein,
see quality as a driver of satisfaction.
Reviewing satisfaction as a cumulative construct also indicates how measures
expectancy-disconfirmation. As Oliver (1980) assumes, disconfirmation is a logical
antecedent to satisfaction when modeling a given transaction. Contrarily, expectancy-
disconfirmation is one of some possible benchmarks that customers may judge this
overall perception when operationalizing a customer’s evaluation of their experience to
date. Comparisons are also taken, e.g. category norms, competing products, and
personal values, all of them should reflect cumulative satisfaction as a latent construct
(Johnson & Fornell, 1991). The solution within the national models is to evaluate
satisfaction using three survey measures: overall satisfaction, expectancy-
disconfirmation, and performance compare with an ideal service.
2.3.1. The original SCSB
The original SCSB - Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer model (Fornell,
1992), shown in Figure 8, contains two primary factors of satisfaction: customer
expectations regarding the performance and perceptions of a customer’s performance
experience. Thus, perceived performance is relevant to perceived value, or the
perceived service quality is relative to the price or prices paid. Emery (1969) defines
28
quality per dollar or value is a common denominator that consumers use to compare
brands and categories. The basic forecast is that as perceived value increases, the
satisfaction increases.
Cusotmer
Peceived Complaints
Performance
(Value)
Customer
Satisfaction
(SCSB)
Cusotmer
Customer Loyalty
Expectations
Figure 8. SCSB model

(Fornell, 1992)
The other factor of satisfaction is how well the customer expected the service or
product to deliver. Customer expectations are defined as that which a customer forecast
(“will” expectations) rather than a normal standard or benchmark (“should”
expectations; Boulding, Kalra, Staelin, & Zeithaml, 1993).
Oliver (1980) suggests, these expectations are positively affect on customer
satisfaction due to they serve as cognitive factors in the evaluation process. While
perceived performance reach more recent experience, customer expectations reach a
customer’s prior consumption experience with a company’s products or services as well
as marketing and word-of-mouth information. Because expectations predict a firm’s
ability to provide future performance, it is stated to have a positive effect on satisfaction
in the SCSB model (Fornell, 1992). Finally, expectations should be positively related to
perceived value.
The consequences of satisfaction in the original SCSB model are derived from
Hirschman’s (1970) exit-voice theory. The theory describes situations when customer
dissatisfied with the products or services of the company. The company realizes its
failure to meet customer satisfaction via two feedback mechanisms, exit and voice. The
customer either switch or stops buying from the company, or make their complaint of
dissatisfaction to the company in an effort to receive good re-action from company.
29
Accordingly, satisfaction increases lead to complaint decrease and keep the loyal
customer. Bloemer and Kasper (1995) state that an increase in satisfaction should in-
crease customer loyalty, which is a customer’s intention to repurchase a particular
product or service from provider. Due to the loyalty’s value as a stand for actual
customer retention and subsequent profitability, loyalty is the dependent variable in the
model.
The original SCSB shows a relationship from complaint behavior to customer
loyalty. However, no prediction is made relating to this relationship, the direction and
size of this relationship provides some diagnostic information as to the efficacy of a
company’s customer service and complaint handling systems (Fornell, 1992). When the
relationship is negative, customers shall make the complaint to the company. When the
relationship is positive, a company may be switch from complaining customers into
loyal customers.
2.3.2. The ACSI
The ACSI - American Customer Satisfaction Index model, developed in 1994 and
showed in Figure 9, develop from the original SCSB model specification (details of the
ACSI survey and model see Fornell et al., 1996). The report result for approximate 200
firms in the survey based on a random sample of approximately 250 of the company’s
customers. A total of 15 survey questions are used to generate the six constructs in the
model. The survey questions are all rated on 1 to 10-point scales with the exception of
price tolerance and complaint behavior. In every survey, the measurement variables are
specified as reflective indicators of the latent constructs in the model.
Customer Customer
Expectatio Complaint
n
Perceived Customer
Value Satisfactio
n (ACSI)
Perceived Customer
Service Loyalty
Quality
Figure 9. The ACSI
30
(Fornell et al., 1996)
The main differences between the the ACSI model and original SCSB model is
the addition of a perceived service quality component, as different from perceived
value. Asking customers to rate customization, reliability quality and overall quality
allows the ACSI model to show a perceived service quality construct is different with
perceived value. In 1996, the ACSI survey and model were expanded to generate two
types of perceived service quality: service quality and product quality. This change was
taken only for manufacturing durables as they contain both a product and a service
component. The survey questions are used separately for both the product and service
aspects to measure perceived service quality (customization, reliability, and overall
quality).
The ACSI model anticipates that as both perceived service quality and perceived
value increase, customer satisfaction should increase. In addition, expected reliability
and expected customization were also used to measure customer expectations through
three survey measures (expected customization, overall expectations and expected
reliability). The inclusion of both perceived value and perceived service quality into the
ACSI model provides important diagnostic information (Fornell et al., 1996). Price is a
more important component of satisfaction due to the impact of value increases relative
to quality.
There are two measures of customer loyalty in the ACSI model. The first measure
is constructed from two survey ratings: the degree to which a company could offer its
price(s) as a percentage before the customer would definitely not purchase from that
company again in the future (the customer has indicated that they likely to repurchase),
and the degree to which a company would have to lower its price(s) as a percentage
before the customer would definitely purchase again from the firm in the future (the
customer has indicated that they unlikely to repurchase). The second is a rating of
repurchase likehood.
2.3.3. The ECSI
The ECSI - European Customer Satisfaction Index showed another variation on
the ACSI model (Eklof, 2000). The customer expectations, perceived service quality,
perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. The product quality and
31
service quality are sub-component of ACSI, while they are standard component in the
ECSI. The measures of customer loyalty are also different. In ECSI model, the loyalty
is measured include likelihood of recommending the company or brand, likelihood of
retention and whether the amount of customers are likely to purchase will increase.
There are two more fundamental differences between the ECSI and ACSI model.
First, in keeping with the original NCSB, the ECSI model incorporates company image
as a latent variable. Company image is specified to have direct impact on customer
expectations, satisfaction and loyalty. Second, the ECSI model does not include the
complaint behavior as a consequence of satisfaction.
Image
Expectations
Perceived Customer
Value Satisfactio Loyalty
n
Pereceived
Quality-Product
Perceived
quality-Services
Figure 10. The ECSI (Eklof, 2000)
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN

This chapter provides research model – ACSI model, the reason why to choose
the ACSI model. Next, it describes the Hypothesis, research method – Quantitative
method. Finally introduce the way of data collection and how the data shall be
analyzed.
3.1. Research model
3.1.1. Selected model
Researched model shall be ACSI model. According to ACSI model, to fully study
the interactions between these factors are complex issues so to simplify matters and to
relevant with the level of this research, the researcher would like to focus on studying of
the direct impact of customer expectation, perceived service quality to perceived value,
32
the impact of perceived value to customer satisfaction and the impact of customer
satisfaction to customer complaints. Thus, the research will only discuss the part of
ACSI, in another word, this research dispenses on last factor (customer loyalty). The
revised ACSI model for this research is as Figure 11.
Customer
Expectatio
n
Perceive Customer Customer
d Value Satisfactio Complain
n t
Perceived
Service
Quality
Figure 11. Research model - ACSI

Customer expectation (CE)
Expectation is the results of prior experience with the company’s products (Ali
et al., 2007), it represents both prior consumption experience, which includes
some non-experiential information, and a forecast of the company’s ability to deliver
quality in the future (ACSI Methodology 2008). Knowing what the customer expects
is the first and possible most critical step in the whole service, because being wrong
with what customer expectation is, may cause lose the customers or expending money
and time that do not count to the customers (Le Xue & Chun Yang, 2008).
Perceived Service quality (PQ)
Perceived Service quality reflects from customers’ experience of the quality
of services. It evaluates customization, w h i c h is the degree to meets the
customer’s personal needs, and reliability, which is the frequency of given
products, or services go wrong. Quality is the most critical factor, if customers realize
the product or service is worth, even the price is a little bit high, the customers still
would like to purchase and come back. The ACSI model represent two types of
perceived quality: produce quality and service quality.
Perceived Value (PV)
Perceived value is the price paid which related to the level of product quality.
33
Fonell et al (1996) argue that as the impact of value increased relation to quality,
price is a more important determinant of satisfaction (Michael et al., 2000).
Customer complaints
Customer satisfaction may have two impacts, one is positive, another one is
negative. Customer complaints are measured as a percentage of respondents who
indicate they have complained to a company directly about the product or
service (ACSI Methodology, 2008).
3.1.2. Reason to select the ACSI
This researcher chooses this method because:
ACSI as an advanced tool can optimize the customer satisfaction and drive
customer loyalty and thereby gaining profitability. It can be said that ACSI is more
advanced than SCSB and both of them were developed by Claes Fornell.
ACSI is more general than ECSI due to it make the analysis for both result of
customer satisfaction (customer complaint and customer loyalty).
Companies can use ACSI as a tool to analyze customer expectation, perceived
quality of service or product and level of customers' complaint; through which the
company managers could know how to improve their company's current condition
by allocation scarce resources to maximize the strength of their customer
relationships (Le Xue & Chun Yang, 2008). Thus, researcher would like to use the
ACSI to measure the influence of service quality on customer satisfaction, customer
company with Vietnam Airlines in order to contribute the appropriate solution for
Vietnam Airlines.
3.2. Research hypotheses
Customer
Expectatio
n
H1
Perceive Customer Custome
d Value Satisfactio r
n Complai
H3 H4 nt
Perceive
d
Service
Quality
34
H2
Research model - ACSI

To study the impact between above construct, the researcher gives out the
Hypotheses as follow:
Customer expectation measures the customer's anticipation of the quality of a
company's products or services. Expectations represent both prior consumption
experience, which includes some no experiential information like advertising and word-
of-mouth, and a forecast of the company's ability to deliver quality in the future. The
ACSI model predicts that the customer expectation increased will cause perceived
value and service quality increase. For Vietnam Airlines, when buying the service of
Vietnam Airlines, the customer always expects that service quality must be at the
acceptable level, corresponding to the cost which the customer spends, even the quality
must be high while the cost must be low and when Vietnam Airlines meets the
expectation of customer, this things means that customer is satisfied and vice versa,
therefore the Hypothesis 1 is as follow:
H1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer’s
Perceived value.
Perceived service quality is the served market's evaluation of recent consumption
experience, and is expected to have a direct and positive effect on overall customer
satisfaction. In the research of the relationships between perceived service quality and
customer’s perceived value in conventional retailing and online shopping, most of the
empirical studies have pointed out that service quality will positively inﬂuence
perceived value (Bauer et al., 2006; Brady, Robertson, & Cronin, 2001; Cronin et
al., 1997, 2000). Among the studies of the telecom industry, Wang et al. (2004) and
Turel and Serenko (2006), respectively, investigated the mobile services in China and
Canada and found out that service quality is positively related to perceived value. The
researcher thinks that this shall be true with Vietnam Airlines. Thus, Hypothesis 2 is
proposed as follows:
H2: Perceived Service Quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value
35
Perceived value: In the research of the relationships between perceived value
and customer satisfaction, empirical studies of the conventional retailers discovered
that perceived value positively inﬂuences customer satisfaction in most cases (Cronin
et al., 2000; Eggert & Ulaga, 2002). A similar conclusion was also proposed in the
studies of online shopping websites and e-commerce (Hsu, 2006; Yang & Peterson,
2004). In the aspect of the telecom industry, Wang et al. (2004) (focusing the telecom
industry in China), Tung (2004) (SMS service in Singapore), Lin and Wang (2006)
(mobile commerce in Taiwan), and Turel and Serenko (2006) (mobile services in
Canada) all revealed that perceived value is positively related to customer satisfaction.
It shall be the same with Vietnam Airlines then Hypothesis 3 is proposed as follows:
H3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer
satisfaction.
Customer complaints are measured as a percentage of respondents who indicate
they have made complaint to a company about service or a product within a specific
time. As Hirschman (1970) stated in his exit- voice theory, the immediate consequences
of increased customer satisfaction are increased customer loyalty and decreased
customer complaints.
If customers are dissatisfied, they make their complaints in an effort to receive
retribution or may switch to the other company. In another word, an increase in overall
customer satisfaction should decrease the incidence of complaints. Increased overall
customer satisfaction should increase customer loyalty (Reichheld & Sasser, 1990).
Thus, satisfaction has a negative relationship with customer complaints, as the more
satisfied the customers, the less likely they are to complain. It can be applied the same
with Vietnam Airlines. Thus, the Hypothesis 4 is proposed as follow:
H4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint
The aim of this research study the influence of Ground Service Quality (check-in
service, airport service, boarding service) and In-flight Service Quality on Customer
Satisfaction. It means that the research shall study 04 services mentioned above and one
more is about the overall service. The researcher shall use 05 ACSI model to evaluate
the Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-flight Service Quality on Customer
36
Satisfaction. Each service applies the same ACSI model with 05 constructs: Customer
Expectation, Perceived Service Quality, Perceived Value, Customer Satisfaction and
Customer Complaint. The above hypotheses are the same for all said service.
3.3. Measurement of variables
According to selected ACSI model in section 3.1, there are five constructs:
Customer expectation, Perceived Service Quality, Perceived Value, Customer
satisfaction and Customer Complaint. Each construct measured by some measurements
which derived from some sources showed in the Table 3 below.
Table 2. ACSI construct, measurement, questions

Variables Measurement Statement Sources
I Expect Vietnam Le Xue, Chun

Overall expectation of Yang (2008)
Airlines' Services
quality (pre-purchase)
Quality are good
I expect Vietnam
Expectation regarding
Airlines Services meet
Customer customization (pre-
the passenger
Expectations purchase)
requirements
I expect Vietnam
Expectation regarding
Airlines Services are
reliability (pre-
usually as good as they
purchase)
promise
Deng, Yeh,
Overall evaluation of Vietnam Airlines' Sungc (2013)
quality experience with offering is customized
service (post-purchase) to meet customer needs
Perceived Evaluation of
Vietnam Airlines'
Service customization
offering is same as it's
Quality experience (post-
promise
purchase)
Evaluation of reliability My overall perception
experience (post of service quality is
purchase) satisfactory
37
Deng, Yeh,
Vietnam Airlines has
Rating of price given Sungc (2013)
good price under given
quality
quality
Perceived
Value
Rating of quality given Vietnam Airlines has
price - given the quality good quality under
received given price
Overall satisfaction - Deng, Yeh,

I feel satisfactory of Sungc (2013)
considering all
Vietnam Airlines
customer’s experiences
overall performance
to date
Confirmation of
Customer expectations Vietnam Airlines
Satisfaction (considering all of Performance has met
(ACSI) customer’s your expectation)
expectations)
The satisfaction level of
Comparison to ideal Vietnam Airlines is
quite close to your ideal
Airlines
I had complained about Deng, Yeh,
the customer Vietnam Airlines Sungc (2013)
Customer complained to the Services by either
Complaints company within formal or informal way
specified time period
3.4. Data collection and analysis

3.4.1. Research method
Quantitative research was used as research method , and questionnaires were
used to perform the research with the purpose of finding out the influence of Ground
Service quality and In-Flight Service quality on Vietnam Airlines’ customer
satisfaction.
Quantitative research concentrates on evaluation of the relationship between an
independent variable and a dependent variable. Hopkins (1998) define variables are
things such as treatment, time, size and performance are measured on samples of
subjects of animals, cells, human or tissue.
The reason for choosing quantitative research approach was to meet the purpose
38
of examining how an independent variable affects a dependent variable. In this
thesis, an independent variable was Vietnam Airlines’ service quality and a dependent
variable was Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction. This research is performed with
research method as questionnaires, which were designed with samples of 250
subjects. Each subject represented one customer who would be invited to give his or
her comments about Vietnam Airlines.
Questionnaires are designed in many various purposes which a researcher aims to
study. In case of asking a great number of different people with the same
questions, questionnaire is the proper method for researchers to reach the goal of
the questions and interpret the results.
The research method is a online survey. The survey was designed on Google form
(https://docs.google.com) and performed via email. Online questionnaires were
considered as an appropriate way for collecting Vietnam Airlines customers’ opinions.
Google was utilized to make Vietnam Airlines online questionnaires. Then, internet
system was used for delivering the questionnaires to a target group of customer. The
target group was Vietnam Airlines customers who are the member of Vietnam Airlines’
Frequent Flyer Program. Online questionnaires were chosen because they meet the
expectations of saving the cost of research and the limitation of time. The questionnaires
were determined to carry out in 08 days (23 April to 30 April 2014) with the goal of
gathering 250 respondents’ answers (Ngo, 2011).
3.4.2. Questionnaire design
Based on the variable and measurement above, the researcher generates
questionnaires for Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction survey. Some the theories of
questionnaire were reviewed to prepare for the basic knowledge. Besides, many
existent questionnaire samples of airline surveys in the articles as well as the Vietnam
Airlines questionnaire were also used to make the questionnaires for more
professional. These sources for questionnaire references are displayed in the
reference list.
The steps to form questionnaires for Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction
survey are as following:
(1) Define which information is needed for structuring question content
39
To specify the desired information, which was aimed to achieve from
Vi et n a m Ai rl i n es respondents in order to generate the questions, the researcher
review some article, previous thesis to define the information needed and creates the
question content:
Vietnam Airlines’ customers profile such as kind of passenger, times of
passenger flight with Vietnam Airlines during last 12 months, the route which
passenger flight with …etc. This information was reference from Airlines passenger
Survey in some articles and Thesis in Airlines industry (Vietnam Airlines passenger
survey form).
Customer evaluation on Vietnam Airlines Ground Service (check in service,
airport service, and boarding service) and Vietnam Airlines inflight service: This
information based on the constrruct of selected ACSI model (in section 3.1) such as
customer expectation, perceived service quality, perceived valued, customer satisfaction
and customer complaint. Each Vietnam Airlines’ service such as check in, airport
service, boarding service and in-flight service shall include all mentioned constructs
above with the evaluation of Vietnam Airlines’s customers. The information in this
paragraph was reviewed from some articles which using ACSI model (Le Xue and
Chun Yang, 2008; Denga, Yehb, & Sungc, 2013). Questions for this part are based on
the variable and measurement showed in table 3 above. Demographic information such
as gender, age, nationality, reason for travel, occupation. These information was
reviewed from some Thesis relating to the airline industry and Vietnam Airline
passenger survey form to withdraw the concerned information (Vietnam Airlines
passenger survey form; Ngo, 2011; Tolpa, 2012).
(2) Choose a question type and method of administration
There are 02 question types which consist of fixed-alternative and structured. The
fixed-alternative question is designed as multiple-choice answers, the content of which
is defined by researchers. This type is useful and convenient for few and clear-cut
replies such as age, gender, customer profile, etc. The structured question is designed as
Likert with 05 scale from “1” to “5” where “1” Strong Disagree, "2" Disagree, "3" No
Comment, "4" Agree, "5" Strongly Agree. This type use for evaluating of customer’s
attitude
40
According to theory for administrative method (QuickMBA, 1999-2010),
questionnaires are normally performed in different ways such as via personal,
telephone interview, a mail questionnaire, or the web. For Vietnam Airlines survey,
questionnaire s w e re designed a s online questionnaires which would be presented
on Google.
(3) Determine the form of response
The form of response will be set differently according to the purpose of each part
in accordance with question content (QuickMBA, 1999-2010). In case of Vietnam
Airlines customer satisfaction survey, the questionnaire shall have total of 70
questions and was divided into four parts:
Part 1: Creating questions to get the general information which passengers
have experienced with Vietnam Airlines services such as kind of passenger, route flight
that customer often flight with, the number of times they flew with Vietnam Airlines
during 12 last months ….. There are total 06 questions. These questionnaires were set as
fixed-alternative which allowed selecting only one answer in multiple answers.
Part 2: Creating group of questions. Each group inquire respondents for each
term of Vietnam Airlines’ services (Check-in service, Airport service, Boarding
service and In-flight service):
Check-in service: including the questions for customer expectation, perceived
service quality, perceived valued, customer satisfaction and customer complaint.
Similarity, Airport Service, Boarding Service and In-flight service shall include
the question for customer expectation, perceived service quality, perceived valued,
customer satisfaction and customer complaint.
In this part, there are 04 kinds of services (Check-in service, Airport service,
Boarding service and In-flight service). Each service shall include 12 questions
(Customer expectation: 03 questions, Perceived Service Quality: 03 questions, Perceive
value: 02 questions, Customer satisfaction 03 questions and Customer complaint: 01
question). Total questions for this part are 48. The answers for these questions were
therefore set in the same way as Likert with 05 scale from “1” to “5” where “1” Strong
Disagree, "2" Disagree, "3" No Comment, "4" Agree, "5" Strongly Agree.
41
Part 3: Creating the questions to evaluate the overall of Vietnam Airlines' Service
Quality. There are 12 questions in which Customer expectation: 03 questions, Perceived
Service Quality: 03 questions, Perceive value: 02 questions, Customer satisfaction 03
questions and Customer complaint: 01 question. The answers for these questions were
therefore set in the same way of part 2 with Likert of 05 scale from “1” to “5” where
“1” Strong Disagree, "2" Disagree, "3" No Comment, "4" Agree, "5" Strongly Agree.
Part 4: Questions in this part are set for getting the background information of
respondents such as gender, age group, nationality their travel purpose, occupation.
There are 04 questions in this part. These questionnaires were set as fixed-alternative,
which allowed selecting only one answer in multiple answers.
The questions should be arranged logically to meet the purpose of the research
and make it easy for the respondents to understand the situation.
The form of the questionnaires for Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction survey
was determined to set as online questionnaires by using Google docs. The website
provided the layout standard, which suits requirements for professional questionnaires.
Therefore, the task in this case was just to learn how to use Google docs to establish this
online questionnaire.
The languages of questionnaires are set in two languages, English and
Vietnamese. The Vietnamese question version gives Vietnamese respondents an
advantage to understand and answer the questions. The English question version is
needed for foreigner respondent and for analyzing results.
3.4.3. Sampling method and sample size
Sampling method: is important for the market research process. The entire
customer is a significantly large amount that is impossible to access for most
surveys. Sampling method helps to select a target group of members among the entire
customer.
Simple random sampling was used for this research. A c c o r d i n g t o Birchall
(2005-2011), simple random sampling method allows choosing single members
randomly from a list of the customer who has a similar opportunity of selection.
This method is suitable with the requirement of collecting Vietnam Airlines
customers. It is almost impossible to collect all Vietnam Airlines customers because
42
Vietnam Airlines held a great number of customers in Viet Nam and over the
world. Therefore, random sampling method was necessary to select a small group
from the list of customer who are member of Vietnam Airlines Frequent Flyer
Program (Ngo, 2011).
To get the list of customer, the researcher contact to the Planning and Developing
Department of Vietnam Airlines and send them web link of questionnaire for review in
advance. Talking to them the purpose of research, the requirement for the selected
customer and ask them to send out the web link of the questionnaire to the customers.
The questionnaire was sent to both Vietnamese and Foreigner customer. However, the
Vietnamese were majority.
Sample size: the survey was randomly determined to collect 25 0 people from
the list of Vietnam Airlines’ customers who are the member Frequent Flyer Program.
3.4.4. Data collection
Data collection of this research is primary data. “Primary data is data originated
by the researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the research problem”
(Malhotra & Birks, 2007) This data provide actual and useful information which
assist to point out the problems of Vietnam Airlines customer dissatisfactions and
establish better strategies for Vietnam Airlines.
The primary data was collected by gathering questionnaires online. The
total number of respondents collected only 134/250. The answers were automatically
sent back to the Google account which was created and managed by the
researcher. The SPSS software was used to analyze the results (Ngo, 2011)
43
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH RESULT
The purpose of this chapter is to present analysis of data collected and testing of
the hypotheses outline in chapter 3 (section 3.2). In this research, a number of
relationship between service quality and both customer satisfaction and complaint were
examined.
4.1. Sample description
4.1.1. Highlights of Vietnam Airlines’ customers
The data provided by the survey respondents was used to develop descriptive
information of passenger. As discussed in section 3.4, the questionnaire was sent via
email to 250 customers subject to Frequent Flyer Program. A total of 134 questionnaire
were returned giving a response rate of 54%. Among 134 responses to the survey, 61
(46%) were Silver card passenger, 43 (32%) were Titan card passenger, 16 (12%) were
Gold card passenger and the remainder 14 (10%) is Platinum card passenger.
The major reason customer choose Vietnam Airlines is service quality (29%),
next is suitable flight schedule (27%), followed are better connectivity to various
destination (22%), ticket price (14%), Brand image (7%), finally is other (01%).
The flight frequency of passenger mostly concentrates on more than 20 times/year
(40%). This is the reasonable representation of flight frequency due to the subjects of
this research are member of Frequent Flyer Program.
The major routes which passenger selected are both (domestic route and
international route) and mark up 41%.
The economy class were mostly choosen by passenger (51%). The business class
and premium economy class are the same with 25% of each. The total percentage is
101%. Thus, there is a lightly error in the number due to one passenger may mark for 02
kind of seat at the same time for this question. However, the researcher realize that it is
not impact on the data of analysis. Thus, it was used for analysis in the next section.
The last information of customer profile is the way of ticket purchasing. The
useful way which passenger mostly selected is by Vietnam Airlines Website (32%),
next is Vietnam Airlines ticketing office (31%), followed is Vietnam Airlines agent
(23%), and finally is by telephone (13). The total percentage is 99%. There is a lightly
44
error in the number due to a passenger may not miss this question. However, the
researcher realizes that it is not impact on the data of analysis. Thus, it was used for
analysis in the next section. The data of highlights of Vietnam Airlines’ customer
demonstrated in table 4 below:
Table 3. Respondents’ highlight
Factor Category Frequency Percentage
Silver card
61 46%
passenger
Titan card
Kind of passenger 43 32%
passenger
card
Gold card passenger 16 12%
Platinum card
14 10%
passenger
Times of flight =< 10 51 38%
during last 12 11-20 30 22%
months >20 53 40%
Domestic Route 45 34%
Flight route
International Route 34 25%
Both 55 41%
Business Class 33 25%
Premium Economy
Seat class 33 25%
Class
Economy Class 68 51%
Vietnam Airlines
43 32%
Website
By telephone 18 13%
The way of
Vietnam Airlines
ticketing purchase 42 31%
Ticketing Office
Vietnam Airlines
31 23%
Agent
Ticket Price 30 14%
Service Quality 62 29%
Suitable flight
57 27%
schedule
Reason to choose
Better Connectivity
Vietnam Airlines
to various 47 22%
destinations
Brand Image 15 7%
Others 3 1%
4.1.2. Demographic information
(1) Gender
45
Figure 12 represents gender distribution for the whole sample. The data indicates
the total number of males and females recruited in this research. There are 134
respondent in which Male is 68 (51%) and the female is 65 (49%)and 01 respondent
have no information of gender. As can be seen, there are more male than female who
flight with Vietnam Airlines
Figure 12. Gender data

(2) Age group
Figure 13 describes age group for the whole sample. The sample concentrate on
the age group of 23 to 45 with the total number of 94 (70%) which is under the working
age while the other is lower (<23 is only 4% and >45 is 25%). This could mean ease of
access to these age groups and would cause the result to be more applicable towards
those age group.
Figure 13. Age group

(3) Occupation
Figure 14 demonstrates the occupation status distribution for the whole sample.
The samples concentrate on officer respondents, which could make the result more
46
applicable towards the officer sample. The officer is 71 (53%), senior officer is 38
(28%), other is 18 (13%) and the retire/housework is only 7 (5%).
Figure 14. Occupation data

(4) Nationality
The date demonstrates a distribution of the whole sample according to nationality.
There are a number of nationalities such as Vietnamese, Hong
Kong, French, Australian, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese and Singapore. Most of them
are Vietnamese.
4.2. Reliability, hypothesis test and discussion
This part tested, analyzed and discussed about 05 airlines services including
check-in service, airport service, boarding service, in-flight service and overall service.
This research used SPSS software is a major tool to analyse the collected data. In
the analysis, the corrected item- total correlation must be greater than 0.5, Cronbach’
Alpha if item deleted must be larger than 0.5, Cronbach’ Alpha based on standardized
items must be greater than 0.7 (Hair et al., 1995).
4.2.1. Check-in service (CI)

(1) Reliability test
47
See the table 5 below, Check-in service (CI) was measured by 04 constructs
Customer expectation (E), Perceived Service Quality (SQ), Perceived Value (PV) and
Customer satisfaction (S). Each construct measured by some items accordingly such as
Customer Expectation measured by 03 items (ECI1 to ECI3); Perceived Service Quality
measured by 03 items (SQCI1 to SQCI3); Perceived Value measured by 02 items
(PVCI1 and PVCI2) and Customer satisfaction measured by 03 items (SCI1 to SCI3).
Table 5. Result of Reliability Test for Check-in service
Construct Item Corrected Item- Cronbach’ Cronbach’ Alpha
Total Alpha if item based on
Correlation deleted standardized items
Customer ECI1 .640 .605 .754
Expectation (E) ECI2 .559 .693
ECI3 .545 .707
Perceive Service SQCI1 .780 .787 .869
Quality (SQ) SQCI2 .766 .797
SQCI3 .700 .858
Perceived PVCI1 .826 .743 .867
Valued (PV) PVCI2 .620 .925
Customer SCI1 .700 .812 .854
Satisfaction (S) SCI2 .768 .754
SCI3 .705 .813
An inspection of the corrected item-to-total correlation of items measuring Check-
in service showed that all items were satisfied and the Cronbach’ Alpha (if item deleted)
of all items are greater than 0.5. There is no deleted item for all constructs. In addition,
it also shows that all variable within this factor tend to have a high coefficient of item to
total correlation (Corrected Item-Total Correlation of all items are larger than 0.5).
Moreover, all the Cronbach’ Alpha based on standardized items for 04 construct are
larger than 0.7. Thus, it can be concluded that results of all criteria are acceptable for
analyzing of the construct.
(2) Regression Analysis
<1> ECI, SQCI and PVCI relationship
Table 6. Data of regression PVCI from ECI, SQCI
Model Summary ANOVAa Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
R Adj. R Sig. B Beta
Square Square
48
(Constant) .855 .000
.585 .582 .000b Eci .236 .250 .000
SQci .743 .765 .000
The result of regression PVCI from ECI and SQCI represents as follow:
The result indicates that the PVCI is dependent variable and two independent
variables are ECI and SQCI.
R-square is used to measures the proportion of variable explained by the
regression model. Table 6 show that R Square is 0.585 and it means that the 02
independent variables (ECI & SQCI) explain 58.5% of the variation in PVCI.
Sig of two variables (ECI & SQCI) are all <0.05, it is acceptable and it also
illustrates that the increase or decrease of Coefficient of each independent variable
impacts on dependent variable (PVCI).
In table 6, the β illustrated the degree of impact of each independent variable on
dependent variable. In which, SQCI (β = 0.765) has more impact on PVCI while the
ECI (β = 0.250) has less impact on PVCI. Both of them have positive impact on PVCI.
The result affirms hypotheses of HCI1 and HCI2 as follow:
HCI1: ECI has positive impact on PVCI.
HCI2: SQCI has positive impact on PVCI.
The regression formulation as follow:
PVCI= 0.855 + 0.236ECI + 0.743SQCI
<2> SCI and PVCI relationship
Table 7. Data of regression SCI from PVCI

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .553 .002
.702 .700
PVci .868 .838 .000
The result of regression SCI from PVCI represents as follow:

The result indicates that the SCI is dependent variable and PVCI is independent
variables.
49
regression model. Table 7 show that R Square is 0.702 and it means that the
independent variables PVCI explain 70.2% of the variation in SCI.
Sig of PVCI variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable (SCI).
In table 7, the β illustrated the degree of impact of independent variable on
dependent variable. In which, PVCI (β = 0.838) has positive impact on SCI.
The result affirms hypothesis of HCI3 is that PVCI has positive impact on SCI.
SCI= 0.553 + 0.868PVCI
<3> CCI and SCI relationship
Table 8. Data of regression CCI from SCI

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .751 .003
.453 .449
Sci -.791 -.673 .000
The result of regression CCI from SCI represents as follow:

The result indicates that the CCI is dependent variable and SCI is independent
variables.
independent variables SCI explain 45.3% of the variation in CCI.
Sig of SCI variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase or
decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable (CCI).
dependent variable. In which, SCI (β = -0.673) has negative impact on CCI.
The result affirms hypothesis of HCI4 is that SCI has negative impact on CCI.
CCI= 0.751 - 0.791SCI
(3) Hypothesis test and discussion
50
The coefficient value of each factor are ECI = 0.236, SQCI=0.743, PVCI=0.868,
SCI=-0.791. It can be said that:
Firstly, ECI and SQCI have positive impact on PVCI, SQCI (SQCI=0.743) have
stronger impact on PVCI than ECI (ECI = 0.236). Perceived value in check-in service
depend on the value of service that it is worth to use. Stronger impact of SQCI means
whereas customer get the better service quality, feeling of Perceived value is good. In
case of Vietnam Airlines’ Check-in Service, Customer perception is relatively high.
They feel the value of service that Vietnam Airline provided seems to be equal to the
quality they received. Less impact of ECI on PVCI means customer still expect the
service is good and performance as the company promises even the value is equal to the
quality. In this research, customer still expect Vietnam Airlines’ check-in service is as
good as Vietnam Airlines promises even Perceive value good.
Secondly, PVCI have positive impact on S. This means the Perceived valued
(PVCI =0.868) is good, it led to the customer satisfaction. In case of Vietnam Airlines’
Check-in Service, customer satisfied with Vietnam Airlines Service on both value and
quality Vietnam Airlines given.
Finally, SCI have negative impact on CCI. Although, customers are satisfied with
Vietnam Airlines, they still must complaint to the company. For Vietnam Airlines’s
check-in service, customer made complaint to Vietnam Airlines with high level (S=-
0.791).
The regression result of all factor showed that the hypotheses stated in section 3.2
are true:
HCI1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer’s
Perceived Value in term of check – in service
HCI2: Perceived Service quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value in term of check-in service
HCI3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’s Customer
satisfaction in term of check-in service
HCI4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint in term of check-in service
51
Customer
Expectatio
n
0.23
6
0.86 n -0.79 t
8
Perceived 0.74
service
quality
Figure 15. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Check-in Service

4.2.2. Airports Service (AS)
Table 9. Result of Reliability Test for Airport service
Construct Item Corrected Cronbach’ Cronbach’ Alpha
Item-Total Alpha if based on
Correlation item deleted standardized items
Customer EAS1 .644 .547 .736
Expectation (E) EAS2 .525 .682
EAS3 .505 .706
Perceive Service SQAS1 .730 .698 .821
Quality (SQ) SQAS2 .651 .777
SQAS3 .645 .781
Perceived PVAS1 .766 .784 .863
Valued (PV) PVAS2 .753 .797
Customer SAS1 .714 .715 .822
Satisfaction (S) SAS2 .656 .773
SAS3 .658 .772
See the table 9 above, Airport Service (AS) was also measured by 04 constructs
Customer Expectation measured by 03 items (EAS1 to EAS3); Perceived Service
Quality measured by 03 items (SQAS1 to SQAS3); Perceived Value measured by 02
items (PVAS1 and PVAS2) and Customer satisfaction measured by 03 items (SAS1 to
52
SAS3). The Cronbach’ Alpha (if item deleted) of all items are greater than 0.5. There is
no deleted item for all constructs. In addition, Corrected Item-Total Correlation of all
items are larger than 0.5, it shows that all variable within this factor tend to have a high
coefficient of item to total correlation. In addition, all the Cronbach’ Alpha based on
standardized items for 04 construct are larger than 0.7. Thus, the conclusion is that all
items are reliable and it can be used for analyzing of the construct.
<1> PVAS, EAS and SQAS relationship
Table 10. Data of regression PVAS from EAS, SQAS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .676 .004
.507 .500 Eas .441 .419 .000
SQas .364 .359 .000
The result of regression PVAS from EAS and SQAS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the PVAS is dependent variable and two independent
variables are EAS and SQAS.
independent variables (EAS and SQAS) explain 50.7% of the variation in PVAS.
Sig of two variables (EAS & SQAS) are all <0.05, it is acceptable and it also
impacts on dependent variable (PVAS).
dependent variable. In which, SQAS (β = 0.359) has less impact on PVAS while the
EAS (β = 0.419) has more impact on PVAS. Both of them have positive impact on
PVAS.
The result affirms hypotheses of HAS1 and HAS2 as follow:
HAS1: EAS has positive impact on PVAS.
53
HAS2: SQAS has positive impact on PVAS
PVAS= 0.676 + 0.441EAS + 0.364SQAS
<2> SAS and PVAS relationship
Table 11. Data of regression SAS from PVAS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .423 .001
.703 .702
PVas .859 .825 .000
The result of regression SAS from PVAS represents as follow:

The result indicates that the SAS is dependent variable and PVAS is independent
variables.
independent variables PVAS explain 70.3% of the variation in SAS.
Sig of PVAS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable
(SAS).
In table 11 the β illustrated the degree of impact of independent variable on
dependent variable. In which, PVAS (β = 0.825) has positive impact on SAS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HAS3 is that PVAS has positive impact on SAS.
SAS= 0.423 + 0.859PVAS
<3> CAS and SAS relationship
Table 12. Data of regression CAS from SAS

Square Square
54
.000b (Constant) .863 .001
.471 .467
Sas -.770 -.687 .000
The result of regression CAS from SAS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the CAS is dependent variable and SAS is independent
variables.
independent variables SAS explain 47.1% of the variation in CAS.
Sig of SAS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable CAS).
dependent variable. In which, SAS (β = -687) has negative impact on CAS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HAS4 is that SAS has negative impact on CAS.
CAS= 0.863 - 0.770SAS
The coefficient value of each factor are EAS = 0.441, SQAS=0.364,
PVAS=0.859, SAS=-0.770. It can be said that:
Firstly, EAS and SQAS have positive impact on PVAS. However, these are
extremely weak impact. SQAS (SQAS=0.364) have weaker impact on PVAS than EAS
(EAS = 0.441). Perceived value in Airport service depend on the value of service that it
is worth to use. Stronger impact of EAS on PVAS means service value received by
customer are equal to the customer expectation. In case of Vietnam Airlines, Customer
perceived that value of Vietnam Airlines’ Airport service met the customer expectation.
Less impact of SQAS means value of service met the customer expectation even the
SQAS quite not good.
Secondly, PVAS have positive impact on SAS. This means the Perceived valued
(PVAS =0.859) is extremely strong impact. In case of Vietnam Airlines’ Airport
Service, customer satisfied with Vietnam Airlines Airport Service on both value and
quality Vietnam Airlines given.
55
Finally, SAS have negative impact on CAS. Thus, Customer satisfied with
Vietnam Airlines, they still must complaint to the company. For Vietnam Airlines’s
Airport service, customer made complaint to Vietnam Airlines with rather high level
(SAS=-0.770).
are true:
HAS1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value in term of Airport Service
HAS2: Perceived Service quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value in term of Airport service
HAS3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
satisfaction in term of Airport-in service
HAS4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint in term of Airport service
Customer
Expectatio
n
0.44
1
0.85 n -0.77 t
9
Perceived 0.36
service 4
quality
Figure 16. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Airport Service
4.2.3. Boarding Service (BS)

(1) Reliability Analysis
Table 13. Result of Reliability Test for Boarding service
Total Correlation Alpha if item based on
deleted standardized items
Customer EBS1 .631 .577 .737
56
Expectation (E) EBS2 .516 .710
EBS3 .546 .668
Perceive Service SQBS1 .641 .823 .835
Quality (SQ) SQBS2 .721 .746
SQBS3 .728 .739
Perceived PVBS1 .715 .834 .864
Valued (PV) PVBS2 .776 .777
Customer SBS1 .733 .767 .874
Satisfaction (S) SBS2 .755 .758
SBS3 .658 .838
See the table 13 above, Boarding service (BS) was measured by 04 constructs
Customer Expectation measured by 03 items (EBS1 to EBS3); Perceived Service
Quality measured by 03 items (SQBS1 to SQBS3); Perceived Value measured by 02
items (PVBS1 and PVBS2) and Customer satisfaction measured by 03 items (SBS1 to
SBS3). The Cronbach’ Alpha (if item deleted) of all items are greater than 0.5. There is
no deleted item for all constructs. All the Cronbach’ Alpha based on standardized items
for 04 construct are larger than 0.7. It can be said that all item are acceptable for
analyzing of the construct.
<1> EBS, SQBS and PVBS relationship
Table 14. Data of regression PVBS from EBS, SQBS

R Adjusted Sig. B Beta
Square R
Square
.000b (Constant) .504 .036
.576 .573 Ebs .308 .450 .000
SQbs .902 .759 .000
The result of regression PVBS from EBS and SQBS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the PVBS is dependent variable and two independent
57
variables are EBS and SQBS.
independent variables (EBS and SQBS) explain 57.6% of the variation in PVBS.
Sig of two variables (EBS & SQBS) are all <0.05, it is acceptable and it also
impacts on dependent variable (PVBS).
dependent variable. In which, SQBS (β = 0.759) has more impact on PVBS while the
EBS (β = 0.450) has less impact on PVBS. Both of them have positive impact on PVBS.
The result affirms hypotheses of HBS1 and HBS2 as follow:
HBS1: EBS has positive impact on PVBS.
HBS2: SQBS has positive impact on PVBS.
PVBS= 0.504 + 0.308EBS + 0.902SQBS
<2> SBS and PVBS relationship
The result of regression SBS from PVBS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the SBS is dependent variable and PVBS is independent
variables.
Table 15. Data of regression SBS from PVBS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .869 .000
.671 .668
PVbs .737 .819 .000

independent variables PVBS explain 67.1% of the variation in SBS.
Sig of PVBS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable (SBS).
58
dependent variable. In which, PVBS (β = 0.819) has positive impact on SBS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HBS3 is that PVBS has positive impact on SBS.
SBS= 0.869 + 0.737PVBS
<3> CBS and SBS relationship
Table 16. Data of regression CBS from SBS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) 1.015 .000
.399 .395
Sbs -.729 -.632 .000
The result of regression CBS from SBS represents as follow:

The result indicates that the CBS is dependent variable and SBS is independent
variables.
independent variables SBS explain 39.9% of the variation in CBS.
Sig of SBS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable
(CBS).
dependent variable. In which, SBS (β = -0.632) has negative impact on CBS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HBS4 is that SBS has negative impact on CBS.
CBS= 1.015 - 0.729SBS
The coefficient value of each factor are EBS = 0.308, SQBS=0.902, PVBS=0.737,
SBS=-0.729. It can be said that:
59
Firstly, EBS and SQBS have positive impact on PVBS, SQBS (SQBS=0.902)
have stronger impact on PVBS than EBS (EBS = 0.308). Strong impact of SQBS means
higher Perceived Service Quality led higher Perceive Value. Especially, in case of
Vietnam Airline, SQ is extremely strong impact on PV in term of Boarding service
(SQBS=0.902) While, Customer expectation have extremely weak impact on Perceive
value. The coefficient value of EBS is only 0.308. Customer had the good Perceived
value in term of Vietnam Airlines Boarding service even it quite not meet their
expectation.
Secondly, PVBS have positive impact on SBS. In this case of Vietnam Airlines,
coefficient of PVBS is 0.737. It is quite high and has the meaning that PVBS is good, it
led to the customer satisfaction.
Finally, SBS have negative impact on CBS. The coefficient of SBS is -0729. In
case of Vietnam Airlines. This factor is rather high. Thus, higher customer satisfaction
lower customer complain.
The regression result of all factors showed that the hypotheses stated in section
3.2 are true:
HBS1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer’s
Perceived Value in term of Boarding service
HBS2: Perceived Service quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value in term of Boarding service
HBS3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
satisfaction in term of Boarding service
HBS4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint in term of Boarding service
Customer
Expectatio
n
0.30
8
0.73 n (ACSI) -0.72 t
7
Perceived 0.90
service 2
quality
60
Figure 15. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Boarding Service
4.2.4. In-flight Service (IS)
Table 47. Result of Reliability Test for Inflight service

Customer EIS1 .649 .559 .738
Expectation (E) EIS2 .506 .727
EIS3 .545 .647
Perceive Service SQIS1 .657 .826 .842
Quality (SQ) SQIS2 .762 .725
SQIS3 .706 .783
Perceived PVIS1 .737 .792 .856
Valued (PV) PVIS2 .775 .755
Customer SIS1 .701 .756 .831
Satisfaction (S) SIS2 .719 .738
SIS3 .653 .802
In-flight service (IS) was measured by 04 constructs Customer expectation (E),

Perceived Service Quality (SQ), Perceived Value (PV) and Customer satisfaction (S).
Each construct measured by some items accordingly such as Customer Expectation
measured by 03 items (EIS1 to EIS3); Perceived Service Quality measured by 03 items
(SQIS1 to SQIS3); Perceived Value measured by 02 items (PVIS1 and PVIS2) and
Customer satisfaction measured by 03 items (SIS1 to SIS3). An inspection of the item-
to-total correlation of items measuring In-flight service showed that all items were
satisfied and the Cronbach’s Alpha (if item deleted) of all items are greater than 0.5 .
There is no deleted item for all constructs. In addition, Corrected Item-Total Correlation
of all items are larger than 0.5, it shows that all variable within this factor tend to have a
high coefficient of item to total correlation. Further more, the Cronbach’ Alpha based
on standardized items for 04 construct are larger than 0.7. Thus, it results of all criteria
are acceptable for analyzing of the construct. The result was shown in Table 17 above.
61
<1> EIS, SQIS and PVIS relationship
Table 18. Data of regression PVIS from EIS, SQIS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) .567 .010
.617 .615 Eis .632 .534 .000
SQis .888 .786 .000
The result of regression PVIS from EIS and SQIS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the PVIS is dependent variable and two independent
variables are EIS and SQIS.
independent variables (EIS and SQIS) explain 61.7% of the variation in PVIS.
Sig of two variables (EIS & SQIS) are all <0.05, it is acceptable and it also
impacts on dependent variable (PVIS).
dependent variable. In which, SQIS (β = 0.786) has more impact on PVIS while the EIS
(β = 0.534) has less impact on PVIS. Both of them have positive impact on PVIS.
The result affirms hypotheses of HIS1 and HIS2 as follow:
HIS1: EIS has positive impact on PVIS.
HIS2: SQIS has positive impact on PVIS.
PVIS= 0.567 + 0.632EIS + 0.888SQIS
<2> SIS and PVIS relationship
62
Table 19. Data of regression SIS from PVIS

Square Square
.000b (Constant) 1.032 .000
.610 .607
PVis .703 .781 .000
The result of regression SIS from PVIS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the SIS is dependent variable and PVIS is independent
variables.
independent variables PVIS explain 61% of the variation in SIS.
Sig of PVIS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase
or decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable (SIS).
In table 19, the β illustrated the degree of impact of independent variable on dependent
variable. In which, PVIS (β = 0.781) has positive impact on SIS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HIS3 is that PVIS has positive impact on SIS.
SIS= 1.032 + 0.703PVIS
<3> CIS and SIS relationship
Table 20. Data of regression CIS from SIS

Square Square
.000b .
(Constant) .616
.498 .494 -.705 021.
Sis -.819
000
The result of regression CIS from SIS represents as follow:
The result indicates that the CIS is dependent variable and SIS is independent
63
variables.
independent variables SIS explain 49.8% of the variation in CIS.
Sig of SIS variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase or
decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable (CIS).
dependent variable. In which, SIS (β = -0.705) has negative impact on CIS.
The result affirms hypothesis of HIS4 is that SIS has negative impact on CIS. The
regression formulation as follow:
CIS= 0.616 - 0.819SIS
The coefficient value of each factor are EIS = 0.632, SQIS=0.888, PVIS=0.703,
SIS=-0.819. It can be said that:
Firstly, EIS and SQIS have positive impact on PVIS, SQIS (SQIS=0.888) have
stronger impact on PVIS than EIS (EIS = 0.632). Both of two these factors have
extremely strong impact on PVIS. This means that service quality of Vietnam Airlines
In-flight service met customer’s expectation and their service provided as good as
Vietnam Airlines promise.
Secondly, PVIS have positive impact on SIS. The coefficient of Perceived valued
is 0.703. This number is high. The value of service is good, it led to the customer
satisfaction. The customer satisfied with Vietnam Airlines In-flight Service on both
value and quality Vietnam Airlines given.
Finally, SIS have negative impact on CIS. The coefficient value of SIS is -0819. It
represents that customer made complaint to Vietnam Airlines In-flight service with high
level.
are true:
HIS1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer’s
Perceived Value in term of In-flight service
64
HIS2: Perceived Service quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value in term of In-flight service
HIS3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
satisfaction in term of In-flight service
HIS4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint in term of In-flight service
Customer
Expectatio
n
0.632

0.703 n (ACSI) -0.81 t
Perceived 0.888
service 57
quality
Figure 18. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Inflight Service

4.2.5. Overall service
Table 21. Result of Reliability Test for Overall Service
Customer E1 .627 .531 .724
Expectation (E) E2 .484 .704
E3 .518 .657
Perceive Service SQ1 .726 .831 .867
Quality (SQ) SQ2 .784 .777
SQ3 .729 .828
Perceived PV1 .776 .760 .858
Valued (PV) PV2 .679 .850
Customer S1 .665 .803 .835
Satisfaction (S) S2 .742 .725
S3 .683 .784
The result in Table 21 shown that Vietnam Airlines’ Overall service was
measured by 04 constructs Customer expectation (E), Perceived Service Quality (SQ),
65
Perceived Value (PV) and Customer satisfaction (S). Each construct measured by some
items accordingly such as Customer Expectation measured by 03 items (E1 to E3);
Perceived Service Quality measured by 03 items (SQ1 to SQ3); Perceived Value
measured by 02 items (PV1 and PV2) and Customer satisfaction measured by 03 items
(S1 to S3). Cronbach’ Alpha (if item deleted) of all items are greater than 0.5. There is
no deleted item for all constructs. The Cronbach’ Alpha based on standardized items for
04 construct are larger than 0.7. The conclusion is that all items are reliable and it can
be used for analyzing of construct.
<1> E, SQ and PV relationship
Table 22. Data of regression PV from E, SQ
Square Square
.635 .632 .000b E .712 .359 .000
SQ .857 .797 .000
The result of regression PV from E and SQ represents as follow:

The result indicates that the PV is dependent variable and two independent
variables are E and SQ.
regression model. Table 22 show that R Square is 0.635 and it means that 02
independent variables (E and SQ) explain 63.5% of the variation in PV.
Sig of two variables (E & SQ) are all <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates
that the increase or decrease of Coefficient of each independent variable impacts on
dependent variable (Perceive value).
dependent variable. In which, SQ (β = 0.797) has more impact on PV while the E (β =
0.359) has less impact on PV. Both of them have positive impact on PV.
The result affirms hypotheses of H1 and H2 as follow:
H1: E has possitive impact on PV.
66
H2: SQ has possitive impact on PV.
PV= 0.624 + 0.712E + 0.857SQ
<2> S and PV relationship
Table 23. Data of regression S from PV
Square Square
.653 .651 .000b
PV .798 .808 .000
The result of regression S from PV represents as follow:

The result indicates that the S is dependent variable and PV is independent
variables.
regression model. Table 23 show that R Square is 0.653 and it means that independent
variable PV explain 65.3% of the variation in S.
Sig of PV variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the icrease or
decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable
(Customer satisfaction).
In table 23, the β illustrated the degree of impact of indepent variable on
dependent variable. In which, PV (β = 0.808) has positive impact on S.
The result affirms hypothesis of H3 is that Perceived Value has postitive impact
on Customer satisfaction. The regression formulation as follow:
S= 0.697 + 0.798PV
<3> C and S relationship
Table 24. Data of regression C from S
Square Square
.437 .432 .000b (Constant) .900 .001
67
S -.760 -.661 .000
The result of regression C from S represents as follow:

The result indicates that the C is dependent variable and S is independent
variables.
regression model. Table 24 show that R Square is 0.437 and it means that independent
variable S explain 43.7% of the variation in C.
Sig of S variable <0.05, it is acceptable and it also illustrates that the increase or
decrease of Coefficient of independent variable impacts on dependent variable
(Customer Complaint).
dependent variable. In which, S (β = -0.661) has negative impact on C.
The result affirms hypothesis of H4 is that Customer Satisfaction has negative impact
on Customer Complaint. The regression formulation as follow:
C= 0.900 - 0.760S
The coefficient value of each factor are E = 0.712, SQ=0.857, PV=0.798, S=-
0.760. It can be said that:
Firstly, E and SQ have positive impact on PV, SQ (SQ=0.857) have stronger
impact on PV than E (E = 0.712). Perceived value denpend on the price that it is worth
to pay. Stronger impact of SQ means whereas customer get the better service quality,
feeling of Perceived value is good. In case of Vietnam Airlines’ Overall Service,
Vietnam Airlines’s customers in this research are mostly officers. They feel the
Vietnam Airlines service is good. They are willing to pay the higher price in order to
obtain the better service quality. Less impact of E on PV means customer still expect
the service is good and performance as the company promises while the feeling of
Perceive value is good. In this research, customer still expect Vietnam Airlines’ overall
service is more better even price is so high.
Secondly, PV have positive impact on S. This means the Perceived valued
(PV=0.798) is good, it led to the customer satisfaction. In case of Vietnam Airlines,
68
customer satisfied with Vietnam Airlines Service on both side price and quality
Vietnam Airlines given.
Finally, S have negative impact on C. Although, Customer satisfied with Vietnam
Airlines. However, They still must complaint to the company. For Vietnam Airlines
service, customer made complaint to Vietnam Airlines with high level (S=-0.760).
are true:
H1: Customer expectation has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’ customer’s
Perceived Value
H2: Perceived Service quality has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’
customer’s Perceived Value
H3: Perceived value has positive impact on Vietnam Airlines’s Customer
satisfaction
H4: Customer satisfaction has negative impact on Vietnam Airlines’ Customer
complaint
Customer
Expectatio
n
0.71
2
d Value Satisfacti Complain
0.79 -0.76 t
on
8
Perceive 0.85
d service 7
quality
Figure 16. Result of ACSI in case of overall service
69
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION
The idea for starting of this research is to study the influence of Ground Service
Quality and In-flight service quality on Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction. To
improving the capability of competiveness is an important issue, so it is require
Vietnam Airlines to know why Vietnam Airlines’ customers complained about its
services. Thus, this research aimed to point out the factor which most impact on
Vietnam Airlines customer Satisfaction and to provide recommendation for Vietnam
Airlines to improve its customer satisfactions. The entire studies of this research
gave an answer for 03 questions which provided at the beginning of this research
(section 1.4):
1. Which factor impact on Vietnam Airlines customer satisfaction?
2. How is affected level of each factor on customer satisfaction?
3. How does the service quality affect customer satisfaction?
The research was based on American Customer Satisfaction Index – ACSI model
which represented the satisfaction with the services that the customer uses when flying.
The ACSI model represented the evaluation of customer at each step of services (check-
in service, airport services, boarding service and inflight service). Each step had
corresponding service quality attributes.
The theoretical review defined that customer satisfaction relies on the service
quality and a number of researchers developed models to provide construct
measurement for customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction could be measured by
perceived service quality and perceived valued. Service quality and customer
satisfaction in the case industry has been a subject for many discussions and argument,
as it is a key factor for customer loyalty and profitability. It is essential for Airlines to
improve service, understanding of customer expectations and try to cut cost.
The actual results pointed out the importance of high perceived service quality
and perceived value toward customer satisfaction in Check-in service, Airport service,
Boarding service and In-flight service. Moreover, the research shown that the customer
willing to pay a higher price to get better service.
Online questionnaire was selected as the appropriate methods for this research due
to it met the requirement of collecting Vietnam Airlines customers’ opinions about
70
Vietnam Airlines services. Many questionnaire samples of airline services on the
internet sources were reviewed to see how airline surveys were designed before making
questions. The survey was issued with 70 questions focusing on inquiring
Vietnam Airlines’ respondents for Ground service and In-flight service.
SPSS program was used to analyze the results base on data collecting from the
survey.
Some customer satisfaction theories stated that an increased number of customers
exit decrease led decreased amount of profitability. In addition, the company cannot
survive for a long time without customers. The suggestions were considered carefully to
give for Vietnam Airlines. The suggestions concentrated on the most common problems
which have caused customer exit. They included strategies for each service process,
customer service improvement and continuous training periods for employees.
Nowadays, marketplace is extremely competitiveness; this research could be a
reminder for the airline to consider about its service failures. Moreover, customer
satisfaction theories and the suggestions in this research were aimed to suggest the
airline to fulfill the holes of its services.
In conclusion, this research gave the opportunity for the researcher to deeply
understand about airlines service theories service quality, customer satisfaction. Further
more after the research, the researcher can improve many skills such as reading, writing
and being more professional to manage a big job as a project or research or to use
internet for searching sources. These skills are very necessary for any one in a real job
(Ngo, 2011).
5.1. Findings and contribution
5.1.1. Findings for Vietnam Airlines Services

In general, customer satisfaction with overall of Vietnam Airlines service largely
depend on Perceived Valued. Perceive value also largely depend on Perceived Service
Quality. Thus, it can be said that customer satifaction impacted by perceived service
quality. To improve the customer satisfaction, Vietnam Airlines should improve the
service quality.
71
In addition, all the result of each service have the same negative impact between
customer satisfaction and customer complain. It can be said that higher customer
satisfaction led lower complaint.
Here are some findings were found after research in each field of services.
(1) Finding for Check-in service:
The result represent that two factor customer expectation and perceived service
quality have positive impact on Perceive Value. In which, perceived service quality
have stronger impact on perceived Value (ECI=0.236 and SQCI=0.743). Perceived
value has positive impact on customer satisfaction. It can be concluded that perceived
service quality has impact on customer satisfaction.
The result shows that customer expectation (ECI=0.236) has weak impact on perceived
value while level of impact from perceived service quality is rather high. Thus, to meet
the customer satisfaction, Vietnam Airlines should improve the Service quality in
check-in service.
(2) Finding for Airports Service
The result represents that two factor customer expectation and perceived service
quality have positive impact on Perceive Value. Perceived value has positive impact on
customer satisfaction. Hence, customer expectation and perceived service quality have
an impact on customer satisfaction.
However, impacted level of customer expectation and perceived service quality is
relatively weak (EAS=0.441 and SQAS=0.364). It can be realized that customer
satisfaction has not affected by customer expectation and perceived service quality. It is
mostly impacted by perceived value. This means that customer satisfy with service they
received compare to the price they paid.
(3) Finding for Boarding Service
The result shows that two factor customer expectation and perceived service
However, perceived service quality has strong impact on perceive value
(SQBS=0.902) while customer expectation (EBS=0.308) has weak impact on perceive
72
value. It can be said that, customer satisfaction extremely affected by perceived service
quality. Thus, the exclusive solution is that improving the service quality to ensure the
customer satisfaction.
(4) Finding for In-flight Service
The result illustrates that two factor customer expectation and perceived service
In this service, perceived service quality and customer expectation both have
strong impact on perceive value (EIS=0.632 and SQIS=0.888. Thus, it can be said that
customer satisfaction is affected by both customer expectation and perceived service
quality. In which, perceived service quality has more impact on customer satisfaction.
As same as the boarding service, the In-flight service quality should be improved to
secure the customer satisfaction.
5.1.2. Contribution
(1) Theoretical contribution
This research discusses the relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction in airline industry, basing on a customer’s point of view. The research
describes steps of airlines service from ticket purchase to the end of the trip. However,
the research focus on analyzing each step from service quality perspective in term of
Ground service (check-in service, airport service, boarding service) and In-flight service
as well as provide attributes that help to measure customer satisfaction.
Overall, service quality and customer satisfaction have received a lot of discussion
from researchers. The literature on the topic provides numerous views, however, only
the most appropriate ones were used in this research. Such models as SCSB model
(Fornell, 1992), The ACSI model (Fornell et al., 1996), The ECSI model (Eklof, 2000)
contributed to the discussion as well as to finalize the customer satisfaction model. The
researchers agreed that the services quality are difficult to evaluate or define due to
their intangible nature . Nevertheless, the conclusion was made that it can be measured
through the means of service quality attributes (Chang & Yeh, 2002).
73
Due to industry characteristics, services remain a core factor of customer
satisfaction and Airlines have tried to deliver high service experience while
keeping the costs low. Various researches on giving out what is important for customers
and how do they perceive the service quality e.g. Chang and Yeh (2002), Gilbert and
Wong (2003), Park et al. (2004) and Chen and Chang (2005).
(2) Practical contribution
The research introduced a numerous view on service quality and customer
satisfaction, which can be used as for further investigation. The customer satisfaction
index model provides information of the individual customer satisfaction components
and the correlation between them. The customer satisfaction index model can be used
for generating customer satisfaction questionnaire surveys in the airline industry.
This study provides some findings for each group of service (Check-in service,
Airport service, Boarding service and In-flight service).
For Check in service, Boarding service, In-flight service, the service quality has
strong impact on perceive value and customer satisfaction. The researcher provide some
suggestion on these services to improve the service quality in order to ensure the
customer satisfaction
For Airport service, the research result shows that service quality has weak impact
on customer satisfaction due to this service is a group of service such as shopping,
restaurant, tourist etc. which provided not only by the Vietnam Airlines but also by the
other company. The airlines cannot control these services.
5.2. Implication
Competition in the aviation market is becoming increasingly fierce. Vietnam
Airlines is facing competition not only in domestic market but also in the international
aviation market. Besides the entering into market of Low Cost Carrier makes customers
more selection and creating more competition for Vietnam Airlines.
With the goal of becoming Airlines 04 stars in 2015 and 05 stars 2020 and
increase competitiveness , Vietnam Airlines find the solution to improve the quality of
service at each stage in their service chain.
The results of this research shows that in every stage of services, service quality
plays an important role with customer satisfaction. However, the extent of its influence
74
is different for each stage of service. Through the research, the researcher found that
customer service quality and human factors, which are issues, need to be considered.
Customer service aims to bring customers back to a business or to maintain relationship
between the business and its customers. Customer service creates the chances of brief
personal encounter between a passenger and the service. Today, customer service is
considered as a competitive tooling for businesses to reduce the number of their
competitors. Businesses can utilize several of way such us such as discounts, adjust
prices or provide the gifts, however if the businesses do not try to make the customer
satisfaction and create loyal customers, it would be difficult for them to be profitable in
long-term. (Ward, 2011)
Customer service depends very much on the human factor especially for Vietnam
Airlines who is one of the service provider. In some case, the human factor is even
more important. Through this study, the researcher wants to offer some suggestions for
Vietnam Airlines to enhance the quality of customer service at each stage of service that
Vietnam Airlines provides and suggestions for enhancing the skills of Vietnam Airlines
employees.
5.2.1. Check-in service
The research results show that service quality has a major influence on customer
satisfaction. To meet customer satisfaction, check-in services need to improve more.
As discussed in section 2.1.3, the check-in attributes consist of the following:
* Ease, accuracy and speed of check-in.
* More than one check-in counter are available
* The Airline employees are courteous and helpful in case of using traditional
check-in or have trouble with check-in machine.
Based on the check-in service attributes, it is necessary for Vietnam Airlines to
have more check-in counter, push up speed of check-in thus passengers spend a little of
time for check-in and have time for a rest before the flight. Beside the employee attitude
should be improve which shall be discussed in section 5.2.5 below.
5.2.2. Airport service
The research results show that service quality affects but not many on customer
satisfaction due to the service at the airport not only offered by Vietnam Airlines but
75
also provided by the other companies. However, due to the quality of service still affect
customer satisfaction so Vietnam Airlines still need to improve the services they
provided. It is necessary for giving passengers assistances such as giving the direction
for passengers during the transit/connecting flight, providing he variety of shopping,
essential services during delays or cancel, baggage delivery and baggage claim. It takes
lots of time for passengers to find their luggage at airports without any help from
airlines. Airlines should have a service to assist passengers to look for their baggage as
quick as possible, or to solve in case of damage baggage or lost baggage.
Delays and cancels: Passengers always feel unhappy when their flights are
delayed and cancelled. Vietnam Airlines should organize employees to assist
passengers during delay time or cancel such as giving notice the passenger the
delay/cancel information immediately, providing compensation, providing free of
accommodations and meal, transportation from airport to hotel, providing the other
flights instead or reimbursement.
Transit or connecting flight, customer services are considerably needed to giving
the assistance to passengers such as giving them guidance to check-in gates or instruct
them to do the check-in.
Shopping at the airport: Vietnam Airlines should have some various kinds of
products and service at the airport, thus passenger has multiple choices for shopping
during awaiting of the flight
5.2.3. Boarding service
For boarding service, research results show that service quality has a great
influence to the perceived value and customer satisfaction. For this type of service needs
to further improve the quality of services.
As discussed in section 2.1.3, attribute of Boarding services as follow:
* Clearly Announcement for Boarding service
* Convenient facilities to access plane
* The flight departs at a time it promises.
* In case of delay, airline immediately makes an announcement and provides
all necessary information (length of waiting, possibility to receive food vouchers,
accommodation or rebook a flight or refund).
76
Looking at Boarding services attributes, It is easily found that the information
related to the flight must be provided promptly. Also extremely important factor for a
flight that flight must be departs on time. Therefore, for this type of service, Vietnam
Airlines to be very focused on ensuring flight schedule.
5.2.4. In- flight service
The research results shows that the quality of in-flight services have a relatively
large impact to customer satisfaction.
In-flight service include guidance passengers to the right seats, serving meals,
handling passengers requests, instructing to use the entertainment equipment, recording
safety and updating information during flight (weather, temperature or height, and
whenever flight through bad weather). The passengers feel comfortable with the way
employees express their professional themselves during the flight. Furthermore,
Vietnam Airlines should have special assistance for situations such as for elderly or
disabled people or parents fight with small children, (American Airlines, 2010).
Vietnam Airlines need to pay attention to providing a various choice of food, drink and
newspapers as well as the In-flight entertainment.
5.2.5. For Vietnam Airlines employees
As stated above, the human factor is very important for a company that provides
services such as Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam Airlines employees need to make a good
impression with customers in order them feeling confident, satisfied and wish to
continue using the services of Vietnam Airlines. To build a team of professional staff,
Vietnam Airlines to pay attention to the following issues
(1) Communication skills
Communication skills help Vietnam Airlines employees communicate with its
customers. In other words, these skills lead to the number of customer satisfactions
because the customers feel pleasure with Vietnam Airlines employees during
conversations in professional way. For training employee communication skills,
Vietnam Airlines should give the teaching of the efficient seven C’s of communication
because they have a strong influence on the conversation, which Vietnam Airlines
employees convey to customers. The seven C’s of communication skills include
77
courtesy, clarity, conciseness, concreteness, correctness, consideration, and
completeness (Sen, 2007)
Courtesy is an respect and care expression for customers. In order to be courteous
in communication, employees should be sincere, avoid anger or superior ecstasy of
happiness, abstain from preaching, and use positive words as well as ignore negative
and discriminative ones (Sen, 2007)
Clarity requires employees to select simple, correct and familiar words as
well as short sentences when communicating with customers to avoid any conflicts
with customers. Clarity is useful for Vietnam Airlines employees to introduce ticket
conditions and add-ons services to customers, as well as update information during
flights and record safety (Sen, 2007).
Conciseness implies to provide for speakers or writers to eliminate all redundant
words. Vietnam Airlines employees should provide the short and clearly message or
notice to customer. Sen (2007) suggests time is one of the most valid things for
business, so conciseness is really an essential skill in communication.
Concreteness aims to utilize, names, figures, examples and vivid nouns for
information more precisely or expressing the ideas. This skill gives customer easily to
understand and remember. Concreteness is one of necessary communication skills for
Vietnam Airlines employees in explaining about Vietnam Airlines delay compensations.
(Sen, 2007)
Correctness aims to using the appropriate tone for giving notice. Conveying
information with the correct tone contributes to the success of communication. Thus,
Vietnam Airlines employees need to learn this factor to make clearer statement to their
customer. (Sen, 2007)
Consideration presents employees’ attitudes of how they communicate with
customer. Consideration is another essential skill which Vietnam Airlines employees
should use when responding passengers’ requests, questions or complaints. (Sen, 2007)
Completeness is how distinct the target information is announced to receivers.
(Sen, 2007)
With the efficient use of the seven C’s in communication, Vietnam Airlines
employees are able to avoid passengers’ dissatisfactions.
78
(2) Ability to solve problems
Besides using the seven C’s in communication, problem solving skill is also
considered as a significantly necessary factor for Vietnam Airlines employees. Six
following steps are aimed to give good suggestions for Vietnam Airlines employees to
manage solve problems in any cases.
* Do not say “I apologize’’ or ‘’ I am sorry’’ before pointing out the reasons of
problems. Ludwig (2010) stated that any phrases of apologies should not be said before
identifying problems.
* Identify problems are an apparent issue to figure out the reason customer
dissatisfaction.
Thus, clearly defining problems is helpful to do before choosing an appropriate
solution to solve them. (Ludwig, 2010)
* Selecting a prompt solution for the problem is a considerable step after defining
its reason. Providing a solution for customers is better than doing nothing. (Ludwig,
2010)
* Being confident is key factor in customer services as well as in service failure
recovery. Confidence is also useful in identifying problems and selecting a suitable
solution to resolve. According to Ludwig (2010), using positive body language to talk
about the problem without showing any frustration is better than to follow a rigid policy
strictly to solve the problem.
* Escalating the problem is essential when selecting solution to solve the problem.
It means that employees should realize the level of the problem. Recovering failures in
customer services is commonly successful when an employee is powerful to tell
customers about the reasons causing problems.
* The follow up service is also important after the problems have been resolved.
The purpose is to give a clear explanation and a promise that the problem will not occur
in the future. (Ludwig, 2010)
The six mentioned steps are a good way for Vietnam Airlines employees to use
when any problems occur. These steps are very necessary for Vietnam Airlines
employees when they face any disadvantageous or uncomfortable situations.
(3) Ability to use computers
79
Continuous computer training courses should be provided to employees, not
only in basic computer skills such as word processing or desktop publishing, but also in
different areas such as spreadsheet, database and information evaluation. Database and
spreadsheet training is aimed to teach employees how to search a dataset for specific
information, to use information from an existing database, to create or to copy formulas,
etc. (Computer skills checklist, 2011)
Provide train the skills of using online research, and managing social, legal and
ethical issues.
Thus, Vietnam Airlines should select the appropriate skill among different skills
of using computer in accordance with the positions of each employee individually.
In conclusion, the purpose of providing the suggestions is to help Vietnam
Airlines to improve service quality and its customer satisfaction. I hope that these
suggestions of each stage of services (check-in service, airport service, boarding service
and in-flight service) shall be good references for Vietnam Airlines to reduce the
number of customer dissatisfaction.
5.3. The limitations of the research
Normally anything has two sides, their weaknesses and strengths, and this
research was too. Although the research on influence of Ground Service Quality and
In-flight Service Quality on Vietnam Airlines Customer Satisfaction was considered
carefully to select appropriate methods, but there were some limitations. The goal was
to get 250 people. However, only 134 respondents were collected from the survey, The
number of respondents might not be enough for representing the Vietnam Airlines’
customers. Analysis and conclusion are based on the data collected from this sample,
thus is not possible to generalize the finding. However, it is possible to give the
recommendation to the management of Vietnam Airlines as well as for further research.
The limitations were caused by the following reasons which happened during the survey
performance:
* The target of survey was to archive 250 respondents. Actually, the respondents
are only 134 due to the people who were delivered questionnaires are Vietnam Airlines
Frequent Flyer Program. They are mostly employed and they are very busy. Thus, they
80
are not willingness to response for the survey. This caused the disadvantage for the goal
of gathering 250 people.
* The time for delivering and filling the questionnaires was also a reason to
reduce the amount of respondents because it was only within eight days from 23 April
2014 to 30 April 2014.
* There are some limitations with online questionnaires. The issue was that the
questionnaire were delivered online which was as a web-link. Thus, customers were
sometimes considered as spam of virus when seeing a web-link. They will ignore it.
This issue led to the restricted number of respondents.
* The questionnaire is very long and produces not exactly responses from some
respondents.
* The questions are in general, the customer might not be response for a specific
attributes of services e.g. check in service, it should be more detail questions for speed
of check-in, Vietnam Airlines’ employee attitude at check-in counter etc.
* Website sometimes had an error and some respondents might could not access
the website. This mistake also reduced the number of respondents.
* Language is another limitation of this research. An error of translation could be
made when translating of the questionnaire into Vietnamese language. Some questions
might not carry exactly the same meaning between English and Vietnamese. Therefore,
respondents might misunderstand question in survey and thus produce invalid answers.
81
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Appendices
APPENDIX 1: PASSENGER SURVEY (ENGLISH)
Part 1: General information which passengers have experienced with Vietnam Airlines
services
*Compulsory
1. Which kind of passenger are you? *
Silver card passenger
Titan card passenger
Golden card passenger
Platinum card passenger
2. How many times have you flied with Vietnam Airlines during last 12
months? *
01 - 05
06 - 10
11-20
More than 20
3. Which route do you often fly *
Domestic Route
International Route
Both
4. Which seat class do you often use? *
Business Class
Premium Economy Class
Economy Class
5. What is your most common way to search for and buy your flight
tickets? *
Vietnam Airlines Website
By telephone
Vietnam Airlines Ticketing Office
Vietnam Airlines Agent
6.What is the reason you choose Vietnam Airlines? *
Ticket Price
Service Quality
Suitable flight schedule
Better Connectivity to various destinations
Brand Image
Others
Part 2: Evaluation of Vietnam Airlines Services: Ground services (check in
service, services at the airport, boarding service) and In-flight services.
Please kindly share with us your rating about service when you experienced with
Vietnam Airlines. To do this, please use a scale from “1” to “5” where “1”
Strongly Disagree, "2" Disagrre, "3" No Comment, "4" Agree, "5" Strongly
Agree.
7. Check in service
7.1 Customer Expectation
7.1.1 I Expect Vietnam Airlines' Check in Service Quality are good *

1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree

7.1.2 I expect Vietnam Airlines' Check in Service meet the passenger
requirements *
1 2 3 4 5

7.1.3 I expect Vietnam Airlines Check in Service are usually as good as they
promise *
1 2 3 4 5

7.2 Perceived Service Quality
7.2.1 Vietnam Airlines' offering is customized to meet customer needs in

term of Check in Service *
1 2 3 4 5

7.2.2 Vietnam Airlines' offering is same as it's promise in term of Check in
Service *
1 2 3 4 5
7.2.3 My overall perception of check in service quality is satisfactory *
1 2 3 4 5

7.3 Perceived Value
7.3.1 Vietnam Airlines has provided good value under its given quality in
term of check in service *
1 2 3 4 5

7.3.2 Vietnam Airlines has provided good quality under its given value in
term of check in service *
1 2 3 4 5

7.4 Customer Satisfaction
7.4.1 I feel satisfactory of Vietnam Airlines toward their check in service *

1 2 3 4 5

7.4.2 Vietnam Airlines' check in service has met your expectation *
1 2 3 4 5

7.4.3 The satisfaction level of Vietnam Airlines' check in service is quite
close to your ideal Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

7.5 Customer Complaint
7.5.1 I had complained about Vietnam Airlines' Check in Service by either

formal or informal way *
1 2 3 4 5
8. Service at the Airport
8.1.1 I Expect Vietnam Airlines' Service Quality at the airport are good *
1 2 3 4 5

8.1.2 I expect Vietnam Airlines' Service at the airport meet the passenger
requirements *
1 2 3 4 5

8.1.3 I expect Vietnam Airlines' Service at the airport are usually as good as
they promise *
1 2 3 4 5


term of services at the airport *
1 2 3 4 5

8.2.2 Vietnam Airlines' offering is same as it's promise in term of services at
the airport *
1 2 3 4 5

8.2.3 My overall perception of service quality at the airport is satisfactory *
1 2 3 4 5

8.3 Perceived Value
term of service at the airport *
1 2 3 4 5

term of service at the airport *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4.1 I feel satisfactory of Vietnam Airlines toward their service at the

airport *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4.2 Vietnam Airlines' service at the airport has met your expectation *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4.3 The satisfaction level of Vietnam Airlines' service at the airport is
quite close to your ideal Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

8.5.1 I had complained about Vietnam Airlines' Service at the airport by

either formal or informal way *
1 2 3 4 5

9. Boarding service
9.1.1 I Expect Vietnam Airlines' Boarding Service Quality are good *

1 2 3 4 5

9.1.2 I expect Vietnam Airlines' Boarding Service meet the passenger
requirements *
1 2 3 4 5

9.1.3 I expect Vietnam Airlines' Boarding Service are usually as good as
they promise *
1 2 3 4 5


term of Boarding service *
1 2 3 4 5

9.2.2 Vietnam Airlines' offering is same as it's promise in term of Boarding
service *
1 2 3 4 5

9.2.3 My overall perception of boarding service quality is satisfactory *
1 2 3 4 5

9.3 Perceived Value
1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

9.4.1 I feel satisfactory of Vietnam Airlines toward their boarding service *
1 2 3 4 5

9.4.2 Vietnam Airlines's Boarding service has met your expectation *
1 2 3 4 5

9.4.3 The satisfaction level of Vietnam Airlines's Boarding service is quite
1 2 3 4 5

9.5.1 I had complained about Vietnam Airlines' Boarding Services by either

1 2 3 4 5

10. In-flight service
10.1.1 I Expect Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Service Quality are good *

1 2 3 4 5

10.1.2 I expect Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Service meet the passenger
requirements *
1 2 3 4 5

10.1.3 I expect Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Service are usually as good as
they promise *
1 2 3 4 5


term of In-flight Service *
1 2 3 4 5

10.2.2 Vietnam Airlines' offering is same as it's promise in term of In-flight
Service *
1 2 3 4 5

10.2.3 My overall perception of In-flight service quality is satisfactory *
1 2 3 4 5

10.3 Perceived Value
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

10.4.1 I feel satisfactory of Vietnam Airlines toward their In-flight Service *

1 2 3 4 5

10.4.2 Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Service has met your expectation *
1 2 3 4 5

10.4.3 The satisfaction level of Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Service is quite
1 2 3 4 5

10.5.1 I had complained about Vietnam Airlines' In-flight Services by either

1 2 3 4 5

Part 3: Evaluation of overall of Vietnam Airlines' Service Quality
Please kindly share with us your rating about service quality when you
experienced with Vietnam Airlines. To do this, please use a scale from “1” to
“5” where “1” Strongly Disagree, "2" Disagrre, "3" No Comment, "4" Agree,
"5" Strongly Agree.
11. Customer Expectation
11.1 I Expect Vietnam Airlines' Services Quality are good *

1 2 3 4 5

11.2. I expect Vietnam Airlines Services meet the passenger requirements *
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Diagree Strongly Agree

11.3. I expect Vietnam Airlines Services are usually as good as they
promise *
1 2 3 4 5

12. Perceived Service Quality
12.1 Vietnam Airlines' offering is customized to meet customer needs *

1 2 3 4 5

12.2 Vietnam Airlines' offering is same as it's promise *
1 2 3 4 5

12.3 My overall perception of service quality is satisfactory *
1 2 3 4 5

13. Perceived Value
13.1 Vietnam Airlines has good price under given quality *

1 2 3 4 5

13.2 Vietnam Airlines has good quality under given price *
1 2 3 4 5

14. Customer Satisfaction
14.1 I feel satisfactory of Vietnam Airlines overall performance *

1 2 3 4 5

14.2 Vietnam Airlines Performance has met your expectation) *
1 2 3 4 5

14.3 The satisfaction level of Vietnam Airlines is quite close to your ideal
Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

15. Customer Complaint
15.1 I had complained about Vietnam Airlines Services by either formal or

informal way *
1 2 3 4 5
Part 4: Personnal information
16. Gender *
Male
Female
17. Age *
Under 23
23-35
36-45
Above 45
18. Nationality *
19. Current Occupation *

Officier
Senior officier
Retirer/housework
Other
Thank for your co-operation
APPENDIX 2: PASSENGER SURVEY (VIETNAMESE)
Phiếu thăm dò ý kiến khách hàng
Phần 1: Thông tin chung của khách hàng khi sử dụng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines
*Bắt buộc
1. Bạn thuộc khách hàng hạng nào? *
Khách hàng hạng Bạc
Khách hàng hạng Titan
Khách hàng hạng Vàng
Khách hàng hạng bạch kim
2. Bạn đã bay của Vietnam Airlines bao nhiêu lần trong 12 tháng gần
đây? *
01 - 05
06 - 10
11 - 20
nhiều hơn 20 lần
3. Bạn thường bay tuyến nào? *
Tuyến bay nội đia
Tuyến bay quốc tế
Cả hai
4. Bạn thường sử dụng hạng ghế nào? *
Ghế hạng thương gia (C)
Ghế hạng delux (Y delux)
Ghế hạng thường (Y)
5. Bạn thường mua vé bằng cách nào? *
Qua trang Web của Vietnam Airlines
Bằng điện thoại
Phòng vé của Vietnam Airlines
Đại lý của Vietnam Airlines
6.Lý do bạn lựa chọn bay của Vietnam Airlines *
Giá cả
Chất lượng dịch vụ
Lịch bay phù hợp
Nối chuyến thuận tiện
Thương hiệu
Lý do khác
Phần 2 Đánh giá về chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines gồm Dịch vụ
mặt đất (dịch vụ check in, dịch vụ tại sân bay, dịch vụ boarding) và dịch vụ
trên không (dịch vụ trong chuyến bay).
Bạn hãy cho ý kiến về chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines theo 05 mức
trong đó mức 1 là hoàn toàn không đồng ý, mức 2 là không đồng ý, mức 3
không có ý kiến, mức 4 là đồng ý và mức 5 là hoàn toàn đồng ý
7. Dịch vụ Check in
7.1 Đánh giá về mong muốn của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ check in
7.1.1 Tôi mong rằng chất lượng dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines sẽ
tốt *
1 2 3 4 5
Hoàn toàn không đồng ý Hoàn toàn đồng ý

7.1.2 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines sẽ đáp ứng yêu
cầu của khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

7.1.3 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines sẽ thường xuyên
tốt như họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5

7.2 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ check in
7.2.1 Dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng được yêu cầu của
khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

7.2.2 Dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines đã đúng với những gì họ cam
kết *
1 2 3 4 5

7.2.3 Cảm nhận chung là hài lòng với chất lượng dịch vụ check in *
1 2 3 4 5

7.3 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về mặt giá trị của dịch vụ check in
7.3.1 Giá trị dịch vụ check in mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương xứng
với chất lượng dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

7.3.2 Chất lượng dịch vụ check in mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương
xứng với giá trị dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

7.4 Đánh giá về mức độ hài lòng của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ check in
7.4.1 Tôi thấy hài lòng với dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

7.4.2 Dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng mong đợi của bạn *
1 2 3 4 5

7.4.3 Dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines giống với dịch vụ của một
Hãng hàng không lý tưởng *
1 2 3 4 5
Hoàn toàn không đồng ý Strongly Agree

7.5 Đánh giá về khiếu nại của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ check in
7.5.1 Tôi đã từng khiếu nại về dịch vụ check in của Vietnam Airlines bằng
đường chính thức hoặc không chính thức *
1 2 3 4 5

8. Dịch vụ tại sân bay
8.1 Đánh giá về mong muốn của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ tại sân bay
8.1.1 Tôi mong rằng chất lượng dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines sẽ
tốt *
1 2 3 4 5

8.1.2 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines sẽ đáp ứng
yêu cầu của khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

8.1.3 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines sẽ thường
xuyên tốt như họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5

8.2 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ tại sân bay
8.2.1 Dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng được yêu cầu
của khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

8.2.2 Dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đúng với những gì họ cam
kết *
1 2 3 4 5

8.2.3 Cảm nhận chung là hài lòng với chất lượng dịch vụ tại sân bay *
1 2 3 4 5

8.3 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về mặt giá trị của dịch vụ tại sân
bay
8.3.1 Giá trị dịch vụ tại sân bay mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương
xứng với chất lượng dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5
8.3.2 Chất lượng dịch vụ tại sân bay mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp
tương xứng với giá trị dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4 Đánh giá về mức độ hài lòng của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ tại sân bay
8.4.1 Tôi thấy hài lòng với dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4.2 Dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng mong đợi của
bạn *
1 2 3 4 5

8.4.3 Dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines giống với dịch vụ của một
1 2 3 4 5

8.5 Đánh giá về khiếu nại của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ tại sân bay
8.5.1 Tôi đã từng khiếu nại về dịch vụ tại sân bay của Vietnam Airlines
bằng đường chính thức hoặc không chính thức *
1 2 3 4 5

9. Dịch vụ Boarding
9.1 Đánh giá về mong muốn của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ Boarding
9.1.1 Tôi mong rằng chất lượng dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines sẽ
tốt *
1 2 3 4 5

9.1.2 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines sẽ đáp ứng yêu
1 2 3 4 5

9.1.3 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines sẽ thường
xuyên tốt như họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5

9.2 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ Boarding
9.2.1 Dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng được yêu cầu của
khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

9.2.2 Dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines đã đúng với những gì họ cam
kết *
1 2 3 4 5

9.2.3 Cảm nhận chung là hài lòng với chất lượng dịch vụ Boarding *
1 2 3 4 5

9.3 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về mặt giá trị của dịch vụ Boarding
9.3.1 Giá trị dịch vụ Boarding mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương
xứng với chất lượng dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

9.3.2 Chất lượng dịch vụ Boarding mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương
xứng với giá trị dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

9.4 Đánh giá về mức độ hài lòng của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ Boarding
9.4.1 Tôi thấy hài lòng với dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

9.4.2 Dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng mong đợi của
bạn *
1 2 3 4 5

9.4.3 Dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines giống với dịch vụ của một
1 2 3 4 5

9.5 Đánh giá về khiếu nại của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ Boarding
9.5.1 Tôi đã từng khiếu nại về dịch vụ Boarding của Vietnam Airlines bằng
đường chính thức hoặc không chính thức *
1 2 3 4 5

10. Dịch vụ trên không (dịch vụ trong chuyến bay)
10.1 Đánh giá về mong muốn của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ trong chuyến
bay
10.1.1 Tôi mong rằng chất lượng dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam
Airlines sẽ tốt *
1 2 3 4 5

10.1.2 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines sẽ đáp
ứng yêu cầu của khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5
Hoàn toàn không đồng ý Hoàn toàn đống ý

10.1.3 Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines sẽ
thường xuyên tốt như họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5
10.2 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ trong
chuyến bay
10.2.1 Dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng được yêu
1 2 3 4 5

10.2.2 Dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đúng với những gì
họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5

10.2.3 Cảm nhận chung là hài lòng với chất lượng dịch vụ trong chuyến
bay *
1 2 3 4 5

10.3 Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về mặt giá trị của dịch vụ trong
chuyến bay
10.3.1 Giá trị dịch vụ trong chuyến bay mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp
tương xứng với chất lượng dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

10.3.2 Chất lượng dịch vụ trong chuyến bay mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung
cấp tương xứng với giá trị dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

10.4 Đánh giá về mức độ hài lòng của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ trong
chuyến bay
10.4.1 Tôi thấy hài lòng với dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam
Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5
10.4.2 Dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng mong đợi
của bạn *
1 2 3 4 5

10.4.3 Dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam Airlines giống với dịch vụ của
một Hãng hàng không lý tưởng *
1 2 3 4 5

10.5 Đánh giá về khiếu nại của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ trong chuyến
bay
10.5.1 Tôi đã từng khiếu nại về dịch vụ trong chuyến bay của Vietnam
Airlines bằng đường chính thức hoặc không chính thức *
1 2 3 4 5
Hòan toàn không đồng ý Hoàn toàn đồng ý

Phần 3: Đánh giá tổng thể về chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines
Bạn hãy cho ý kiến về chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines theo 05 mức
trong đó mức 1 là hoàn toàn không đồng ý, mức 2 là không đồng ý, mức 3
không có ý kiến, mức 4 là đồng ý và mức 5 là hoàn toàn đồng ý
11.Đánh giá về mong muốn của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ của Vietnam
Airlines
11.1 Tôi mong rằng chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines sẽ tốt *
1 2 3 4 5

11.2. Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines sẽ đáp ứng yêu cầu của
khách hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

11.3. Tôi mong rằng dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines sẽ thường xuyên tốt như
họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5
12. Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam
Airlines
12.1 Dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng được yêu cầu của khách
hàng *
1 2 3 4 5

12.2 Dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines đã đúng với những gì họ cam kết *
1 2 3 4 5

12.3 Cảm nhận chung là hài lòng với chất lượng dịch vụ của Vietnam
Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

13. Đánh giá cảm nhận của khách hàng về mặt giá trị của dịch vụ của
Vietnam Airlines
13.1 Giá trị dịch vụ mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương xứng với chất
lượng dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

13.2 Chất lượng dịch vụ mà Vietnam Airlines đã cung cấp tương xứng với
giá trị dịch vụ *
1 2 3 4 5

14. Đánh giá về mức độ hài lòng của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ của
Vietnam Airlines
14.1 Tôi thấy hài lòng với dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines *
1 2 3 4 5

14.2 Dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines đã đáp ứng mong đợi của bạn *
1 2 3 4 5

14.3 Dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines giống với dịch vụ của một Hãng hàng
không lý tưởng *
1 2 3 4 5

15. Đánh giá về khiếu nại của khách hàng đối với dịch vụ của Vietnam
Airlines
15.1 Tôi đã từng khiếu nại về dịch vụ của Vietnam Airlines bằng đường
chính thức hoặc không chính thức *
1 2 3 4 5

Phần 4: Thông tin về bản thân bạn
16. Giới tính *

Nam
Nữ
17. Độ tuổi *
Dưới 23
23-35
36-45
Trên 45
18. Quốc tịch *
19. Công việc hiện tại *

Nhân viên văn phòng
Nhân viên quản lý cấp cao
Người hưu trí/Nội trợ
Nghề nghiệp khác
Xin chân thành cảm ơn

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Shu - Te University

The Influence of Ground Service Quality and In-flight

Student： Kim Thi Thu Huyen

Advisor: Dr. Pi-Yen Chen

Student: Kim Thi Thu Huyen

The airlines service chain includes the following services:

between Service quality and customer satisfaction such as SERVQUAL Model

developed by Parasuraman (1985), SCSB model developed by Fornell (1992), the

extremely strong impact on customer satisfaction in term of Check-in service, Boarding

improve their competitiveness.

Vietnam Airlines services as well as indicate the limitations of the research.

Keywords: Service quality, Customer Satisfaction, Customer complaint, Airline

service, ACSI model

form them, so I wanted to express my deep gratitude to those people.

and helped me throughout the course.

I would like to thank my friend in Vietnam Airlines Informatics Department who

help me to collect and analyze the data of this thesis.

Finally, I really thank my family who gave me mobilization and encouraged me

during the learning process and the implementation of this thesis.

Thank you very much!

Kim Thi Thu Huyen (MBAF4 – SHU-TE University)

1.1. Research background............................................................................................1

1.1.3. The necessity of researching the influence of service quality on Vietnam

3.1. Research model...................................................................................................32

4.1. Sample description..............................................................................................44

Table 7. Data of regression SCI from PVCI...............................................................49

Table 8. Data of regression CCI from SCI..................................................................50

Figure 15. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Check-in Service................52

4.2.2. Airports Service (AS)...................................................................................52

Table 11. Data of regression SAS from PVAS............................................................54

Table 12. Data of regression CAS from SAS..............................................................54

4.2.3. Boarding Service (BS).................................................................................56

Table 15. Data of regression SBS from PVBS............................................................58

Table 16. Data of regression CBS from SBS...............................................................59

4.2.4. In-flight Service (IS)....................................................................................61

Table 19. Data of regression SIS from PVIS...............................................................63

Table 20. Data of regression CIS from SIS.................................................................63

4.2.5. Overall service.............................................................................................65

5.1. Findings and contribution...................................................................................71

9, No. 2; 2013 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of

Science and Education http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n2p1....................................83

APPENDIX 2: PASSENGER SURVEY (VIETNAMESE).......................................96

Table 1. Vietnam Airlines Fleet to 2018........................................................................3

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN...........................................................................32

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH RESULT..........................................................................44

Table 6. Data of regression PVCI from ECI, SQCI...................................................48

Table 7. Data of regression SCI from PVCI...............................................................49

Table 8. Data of regression CCI from SCI..................................................................50

Figure 15. Result of ACSI in case of Vietnam Airlines Check-in Service................52

Table 10. Data of regression PVAS from EAS, SQAS...............................................53

Table 11. Data of regression SAS from PVAS............................................................54

Table 12. Data of regression CAS from SAS..............................................................54

Table 14. Data of regression PVBS from EBS, SQBS................................................57

Table 15. Data of regression SBS from PVBS............................................................58

Table 16. Data of regression CBS from SBS...............................................................59

Table 47. Result of Reliability Test for Inflight service.............................................61

Table 18. Data of regression PVIS from EIS, SQIS...................................................62

Table 19. Data of regression SIS from PVIS...............................................................63

Table 20. Data of regression CIS from SIS.................................................................63

[13]Lee, H.S. (2013) “Major Moderators Influencing the Relationships of Service

9, No. 2; 2013 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of

Science and Education http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n2p1....................................83

APPENDIX 2: PASSENGER SURVEY (VIETNAMESE).......................................96