Passengers’ perceptions of Chinese airlines’ service quality: A mixed methods analysis of user-generated content

Abstract

This study examined passengers’ perceptions of the main Chinese airlines’ service quality based on user-generated content (i.e., quantitative ratings and narratives shared online), as well as investigating whether market segmentation can be based on traveler type. Text reviews and the associated ratings of service attributes, overall satisfaction, and intention to recommend were gathered from the Skytrax website for four top Chinese airlines. The research relied on mixed methods, namely, econometric modeling (i.e., multiple and logistic regression) and mixed context analysis. The most influential variable in terms of explaining overall satisfaction and intent to recommend is value for money. Different traveler types are homogeneous in their ratings of the most important attributes, but market segmentation can be based on other variables. The content analysis revealed seven main themes: recommendation, core service, seat comfort, food and beverages, ground service, value for money, and in-flight entertainment. The results contribute to the literature by clarifying service quality attributes’ impacts on intention to recommend and overall satisfaction among different traveler types. Analysis of specific user-generated content segments also provided a deeper understanding of the key concepts passengers use to describe their experiences and of differences according to airline reviewers’ origin (i.e., Western and Eastern).