published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Since the end of World War II, the service sector has expanded to encompass over 80% of the economy of most developed nations. This places an immense importance on the ability to accurately measure service outputs. However, the most precise method of measuring these outputs is still unclear. This thesis examines Service Quality as a measurement of service outputs, and tests this within an industry-specific context: the low-cost sector of the UK airline industry. This is an industry that has been facing serious challenges since market liberalisation began in 1976. This thesis recognises that offering superior quality may allow airlines to gain a competitive advantage; despite this, there is still no preferred method of measuring Service Quality in this specific context. This PhD therefore examines three methods of Service Quality measurement in the context of the low-cost sector of the UK airline industry: a qualitative method (content analysis), a quantitative survey approach (HiQUAL) and an indexing approach (ALSI). The first study provides an in-depth analysis of the determinants of airline quality through a content analysis study. The second study uses a neglected measurement of Service Quality (HiQUAL) to take a quantitative measurement of Service Quality in the low-cost airline industry. The third study uses measurement (ALSI), an indexing approach, to provide an indication of airline quality. The results of this PhD define the determinants of Service Quality in the low-cost airline industry and confirm the hierarchical nature of Service Quality. This PhD also develops a novel objective metric that represents a shift in ontology from subjective to objective measurements of Service Quality.

Air transport is of critical importance to move passengers and cargo from one place to another on a global scale. Subsistence, sustenance, growth and profitability of the air transport industry are dependent on the demand for transport from passengers and cargo as the main sources of revenue of the airline industry. The forces of globalization and liberalization, coupled with the very rapid development of low-cost operators, have tempered the growth and profitability of the aviation industry whilst, at the same time, greatly increasing the consumer (passenger and air freight user) advantages in terms of expanding the gamut of their choices, better quality and lower prices. The ever-expanding markets in the Asia and Pacific region hold great promise for a rapid growth of the aviation industry in years to come. / Currently, the international civil aviation community is faced with many challenges evolving from globalization, liberalization of economic regulations, privatization of airlines and airports, commercialization of government services providers, increasing environmental controls, and the emerge of new technologies. To deal effectively with these challenges and issues will require a high level of cooperation among civil aviation authorities, airlines, airports, and providers of air services and products. Airlines under the new free trade regimes have been exposed to many changes and although GATS has an important role to play in this important field, the convergence of economic, safety, security and environmental issues makes a strong case for keeping regulation in these critical issues under the ICAO aviation umbrella. / As air transport experiences structural, policy and regulatory environment changes, in the era of free trade it would be interesting to critically examine the impact of the aforementioned changes on the rights and protection of passengers. In this relation, it becomes very important to review the international, regional, and national efforts which have been made to enhance consumer protection and also have an important bearing on the rights of airline passengers. The thesis also addresses some emerging, non-traditional consumer protection issues, such as health, racial discrimination and the rights of disabled passengers. / In view of the above, the well-developed consumer protection regimes in the United States and the European Union (EU) would be examined in depth and the results of its analysis would be used to develop a suitable model airline passenger protection in the rapidly expending economies of the Asia and Pacific Region.

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