1.
Park Thaichon
– S P Jain School of Global Management, Sydney, Australia
2.
Divya Poddar
– S P Jain School of Global Management, Sydney, Australia
3.
Abijhan Balaraj
– S P Jain School of Global Management, Sydney, Australia
4.
Ashwin Jaiswal
– S P Jain School of Global Management, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
This research aimed to understand customers purchase intention and switching intention in the airline industry. 17 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out. The customers were categorized into two groups: business and leisure travelers. The main factors playing an important part in purchase and repurchase decisions were loyalty programs, frequency of flights, safety, baggage handling, customer service, timeliness, and price. It was found that timeliness primarily affected business travelers purchase decision. In contrast, leisure travelers considered price as the key determinant of their airline choice. Airlines can utilize these findings to design effective customer retention strategies to increase their profitability.
Keywords Customer Purchase Intention, Customer Switching Intention, Customer Service, Business Traveler, Leisure Traveler, Airline Industry, Australia
