How high can you fly? Lcc passenger dissatisfaction

Abstract

The Low-cost carriers (LCCs) have become the most preferred and the most important air transportation mode in Asia. However, investigation of this phenomenon in the Asian context is very limited. A better understanding of the LCC phenomenon, specifically LCC passenger dissatisfaction, could help LCC business practitioners improve their service quality and more importantly, maintain their future business profitability and sustainability. In total, 238 LCC passenger reviews on the well-known travel website TripAdvisor were content analysed and validated by QDA Miner software from Provalis, with results showing that LCC passenger dissatisfaction was mainly generated by flight delay, ground staff attitude, luggage, seat comfort and followed by check-in counter, airline ground announcements, food others, airline responses, additional/personal costs and cleanliness. This study, therefore, aims to examine and discuss the important factors of LCC passenger dissatisfaction. Limitations of this study, future research directions and implications for Asian LCC business practitioners are also presented.