CHAPTER-1

CHAPTER-1

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The research carried out during the project had many objectives related to the service

quality of the Indian airline industry. Some of the objectives of the research carried out

are listed below:

• To study the concept of service quality and dimensions governing service quality.

• To study the service quality of different service providers in the Indian aviation

industry.

• To measure the service quality with the help of the service quality dimensions for

the service providers.

• To compare the service quality of different service providers with Kingfisher

airlines and to find the airline service provider with the best service quality.

• To understand the knowledge gap or the gap between the management’s perception

about the customer expectations and the customer expectations.

• To measure the knowledge gap for the service providers of the Indian aviation

industry.

1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology gives an idea about the type of research design, the

sampling techniques, the process of data collection and the instrument used for data

collection. Let us try to understand all the portions in detail.

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1.3 RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design in this project was descriptive research design. A descriptive

research design describes marketing characteristics or functions. Also it is qualitative in

nature. The project carried out involves measuring service quality with the help of service

quality dimensions which are the attributes for that service provider or the brand. Hence

the project includes describing marketing characteristics or functions and thus it is a

descriptive research design.

1.4 DATA COLLECTION

The data collection in this project was through both the primary and secondary

sources. The primary sources include the customers of the service provider who

provided the primary data. Textbooks, journals, internet websites and other magazines

provided the secondary data for the project. Hence both primary and secondary data were

collected during the project.

1.5 QUESTIONNAIRE

The instrument used for the collection of the primary data was a structured

questionnaire. The questionnaire is to be filled up by the customers of an airline service

provider. The questionnaire will have closed ended questions or multiple choice

questions.

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1.6 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE AND SAMPLE SIZE

The sampling technique used in this project was a non-probability sampling. A non-

probability sampling relies on the personal judgment of the researcher rather than chance

to select samples. The sampling technique in a non-probability sampling was that of a

convenience sampling. Convenience sampling attempts to obtain a sample of convenient

samples. The selection of the samples is left primarily to the interviewer. Often the

respondents are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.

The sample size was kept 200 for the project purpose.

1.7 LIMITATIONS

The limitations of the research carried out for the project are as follows:

• Only 4 service providers are taken into consideration while studying the service

quality of the service providers and measuring and comparing them. Hence the

whole industry was not covered.

• Moreover only domestic airline services are taken into consideration because of the

constraint of time and accessibility.

• Sample size was 200. Hence it cannot be generalized to a larger population.

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CHAPTER-2

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SERVICES

2.1 WHAT IS A SERVICE?

In economics and marketing, service is the non-material equivalent of a good. It is

claimed to be a process that creates benefits by facilitating a change in customers, a

change in their physical possessions, or a change in their intangible assets. Service

provision has been defined as an economic activity that does not result in ownership, and

this is what differentiates it from providing physical goods.

Service has certain characteristics which differentiates it from products or goods. The

features or characteristics of services are as follows:

Intangibility - Services are intangible in nature and this is the basic feature or

characteristic of a service that differentiates it from the products or physical goods. For

example, a student renders educational services cannot see or feel the knowledge

provided by the instructor or the teacher.

Simultaneity - Services are simultaneously produced and consumed. The production

of the service and the consumption of the service take place at the same time. Hence the

services have a characteristic of simultaneity.

Perishability - Services are also perishable in nature which means that if not sold

then cannot be regained. Hence services cannot be stored. In case of an airplane seats not

taken up would remain empty during the entire flight. The service capacity of this flight

has perished and cannot be recouped. Services cannot be returned or resold.

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Inseparability - The services cannot be separated from the people providing the

services. The service can never be separated from the service provider. Hence services

also have the characteristics of inseparability.

Hence these are the characteristics of services. There are many types of services

available. The services can be classified on a particular appropriate basis. Let us try to

classify the service on the basis of industry and target effects.

Heterogeneity - Services are heterogeneous because a service is modified for each

client or each situation. The service delivered can never be the same if delivered again.

Hence mass production of services is difficult. Both inputs and outputs to the processes

involved providing services are highly variable, as are the relationships between these

processes, making it difficult to maintain consistent quality.

Labour intensive - Services are labour intensive. Services usually involve

considerable human activity, rather than a precisely determined process. Human resource

management is important. The human factor is often the key success factor in service

industries.

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2.2 TYPES OF SERVICES

There are many types of services and to understand them better, they need to be

classified. The services are broadly classified on the following basis:

CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES BY TARGET EFFECTS

• Services aimed at physical care such as health care, beauty salons, gymnasiums

and restaurants

• Services for intangible assets such as banking, legal consultation, accounting,

brokering, insurance and securities services.

• Services aimed at the mind of the customer such as education, broadcasting,

information, entertainment and amusement.

• Services aimed at physical possessions and tangible assets such as transport,

repair and maintenance, cleaning and janitorial, laundry, gardening and veterinary

services.

CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES BY INDUSTRY

Services can be classified on the basis of the industry as shown in the table below:

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2.3 TANGIBILITY SPECTRUM

The dichotomy between physical goods and intangible services should not be given

too much credence. These are not discrete categories.

Most business theorists see a continuum with pure service on one terminal point and

pure commodity good on the other terminal point. This continuum is known as a

tangibility spectrum.

For example, a restaurant provides a physical good (the food), but also provides

services in the form of ambience, the setting and clearing of the table, etc. And although

some utilities actually deliver physical goods — like water utilities which actually deliver

water — utilities are usually treated as services. Hence there is a pure service and there is

a pure product on the other side of the tangibility spectrum.

Figure 2.3 shows a tangibility spectrum. In the table we can see that salt is a pure

product whereas teaching is a pure service. The fast food outlets can be considered as a

combination of services and products as food provided is tangible and service provided in

terms of hospitality and service delivery is intangible.

The airline services are not pure services and not pure products. Airline services are

somewhere in the middle of the tangibility spectrum as shown in the figure by fast food

outlets.

From this we can also conclude that services are different from the products and

hence the marketing of services is also different from that of products. Let's try to

understand the marketing mix for services which is different from the traditional

marketing mix of products.

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2.4 EXPANDED MARKETING MIX

All elements within the control of the firm that communicate the firm's capabilities

and image to customers or that influence customer satisfaction with the firm's products

are as follows:

1. Product

2. Price

3. Place

4. Promotion

The above given marketing is given for products and is also known as 4 P's of

marketing. In case of services the marketing mix is extended. Services have 7 P's of

marketing as follows:

1. Product

2. Price

3. Place

4. Promotion

5. People

6. Physical evidence

7. Process

The additional P's of marketing for services have an important role to play. Each of

them has high level of significance in case of services. Lets us try to understand the

expanded marketing mix of services one after the other in detail with suitable examples.

PEOPLE – The frontline or service-provider employee plays a key role in the services

delivery process since it is this category of employee that executes the service promise to

the customer. The important points about people are as follows:

• People are the visible face of the service provider. They are the only ones who are

seen and heard by the service recipient. For example, the receptionist at the tax

office receives the returns at the counters. We are not allowed to go in any further

or meet with the taxation officers.

• In many cases, they are the only link between the service provider and the customer.

• As frontline employees, who are in touch with the customers, they carry out the

function of marketing of the service to the current and potential customers.

• Customer satisfaction can be brought about these employees. Therefore, their

satisfaction and motivation are of crucial interest to the service provider.

• Only the employee’s promise enables the service provider to make the marketing

promise to the customer. More importantly, the employees deliver this service

promise to the customers. Thus, they are the crucial element around which the

entire performance of the service provider revolves.

Hence from this we can say that the service provider employee is the kingpin in the

services delivery. They are also known as internal customers. If a service organization

takes good care of internal customers then only they can ultimately satisfy the external

customers. Hence we need to pay greater importance to their psychological and mental

make up rather than mere qualifications.

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PHYSICAL EVIDENCE – the physical evidence of a service comes in different forms

and guises. These include the physical aspects of the location of the service delivery such

as the design, functionality, and aesthetics of the place. The air flow, décor, temperature,

etc. create the right atmosphere for the service delivery. The dress, uniform, appearance,

and facial expressions of the frontline employees form a crucial part of this physical

evidence.

DIFFERENT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IN DIFFERENT SERVICE SETTINGS

There are essentially three types of encounters between the customer and the service

provider. These are:

• The remote encounter: This type of encounter does not bring the two parties face

to face but they may be in touch through letter, e-mail, mail order, delivery

machines such as ATM, etc. Railway reservations through Internet, theatre

booking, enquiries, etc. are some examples of this type of encounters.

• The indirect personal encounter: This type of encounter occurs on telephone, on

Internet, etc. The two parties are not in face to face contact but have some means

of instantaneous communication. The examples are after sales service phone

numbers and helplines for credit cards and bank accounts.

• The direct personal encounter: This is the most common encounter for the

services provision. The customer is in face to face contact with the service

provider. The appearances of the employees, uniforms, settings, etc. all contribute

to the perception of the service quality.

Internal and external environment and tangible elements together constitute the

physical evidence of a service.

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PROCESS – This means procedures, mechanism and flow of activities by which a

service is acquired. Process decisions radically affect how a service is delivered to

customers.

For example, at a restaurant the process involves certain steps as following:

1. Providing information with the help of a menu

2. Consulting

3. Order taking

4. Delivering the service as per the order

5. Billing

6. Payment

This is a basic and simple process at a restaurant. There can be many such processes

for different services. A process if changed can change the service delivery and hence can

also change the service quality perceived by the customers. Hence process is supposed to

be designed properly. It is also a very important mix of marketing in services.

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CHAPTER 3

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SERVICE QUALITY

3.1 CONCEPT

Quality is defined as "Degree to which a set of inherent characteristic fulfils

requirements" by ISO 9000.

Quality is also defined as “Fitness for use” by Joseph M. Juran. Fitness in this

definition is defined by the customer.

Quality can also be defined in simple words as “Conformance to Requirements” as

defined by Philip B. Crosby. The difficulty with this is that the requirements may not

fully represent what the customer wants; Crosby treats this as a separate problem.

Quality has particular parameters or dimensions of measurement. The quality of a

product can be measured on the basis of certain parameters or dimensions as follows:

1. Performance

2. Features

3. Reliability

4. Conformance

5. Durability

6. Serviceability

7. Aesthetics

8. Perceived Image, reputation, brand name, etc.

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The dimensions of service quality are different from that of product quality. The

determinants of service quality are as follows:

1. Reliability

2. Assurance

3. Tangibles

4. Empathy

5. Responsiveness

Initially there were 10 dimensions of service quality which were then reduced to only

5 dimensions later. Assurance is a combination of competence, courtesy, credibility and

security. Empathy is a replacement of access, communication and understanding the

customer. Hence the previous model of 10 dimensions is reduced to model of 5

dimensions.

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3.2 SERVICE QUALTIY DIMENSIONS

The service quality dimensions are already listed earlier and now let us try to

understand each and every dimension in detail.

RELIABILITY – DELIVERING ON PROMISES

Reliability is the ability to perform the promised services dependably and accurately.

Normally this may be turned as “No excuses” service delivery. In its broadest sense,

reliability means that the company delivers on its promises – promises about delivery,

service provision, problem resolution and pricing. One company that effectively

communicates and delivers on the reliability dimension is Federal Express (FedEx).

Federal Express a courier service organization has positioned itself as a reliable

organization in terms of handling and delivering the packages.

All firms need to be aware of customer expectations of reliability. Firms that do not

provide the core service that customers think they are buying fail their customers in the

most direct way.

ASSURANCE – INSPIRING TRUST AND CONFIDENCE

Assurance is defined as employees’ knowledge and courtesy and the ability of the

firm and its employees to inspire or convey trust and confidence. This dimension is likely

to be particularly important for services that the customer perceives as involving high risk

and/or about which they feel uncertain about their ability to evaluate outcomes, for

example, banking, insurance, and brokerage, medical and legal service.

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Airlines also need to provide an assurance to the customers as flying is considered as

a high risk as compared to railways or road transport. Also ships and cruises have to

provide an assurance to the customers.

TANGIBILITY – REPRESENTING THE SERVICE PHYSICALLY

Tangibles are defined as the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel,

and communication materials. All of these provide physical representations or images of

the service that customers, particularly new customers, will use to evaluate quality. While

tangibles are often used by service companies to enhance their image, provide continuity,

and signal quality to customers, most companies combine tangibles with another

dimension to create a service quality strategy for the firm.

EMPATHY – TREATING CUSTOMERS AS INDIVIDUALS

Empathy is defined as the caring, individualized attention the firm provides its

customers. Empathy means treating the customers as individuals. The essence of empathy

is conveying, through personalized or customized services, that customers are unique and

special. Customers want to feel understood by and important to firms that provide service

to them. Building relationships is the key factor and helps in building the service quality.

RESPONSIVENESS – BEING WILLING TO HELP

Responsiveness is the willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. This

dimension emphasizes attentiveness and promptness in dealing with customer requests,

questions, complaints and problems. Responsiveness is communicated to customers by

the length of time they have to wait for assistance, answers to questions, or attention to

problems. Responsiveness also captures the notion of flexibility and ability to customize

the service to customer needs.

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3.3 MOMENTS OF TRUTH

Each and every point where a customer comes in contact with the service

organization is known as a service encounter. These points of contact create an image or

impression in the customers mind about the service provider. This service encounter is

also known as “moment of truth”. Such points of contact thus form moments of truth for

a service provider. This concept was used and formulated by Jan Carlzon who was the

CEO of SAS (Scandinavian Airline Services) during the period 1981-1993.

For example, among the service encounters a hotel customer experiences are

checking in to the hotel, being taken to a room by a bell person, eating a restaurant meal,

requesting a wake-up call, and checking out. In a hospital context, a study of patients

revealed that encounters with nursing staff were more important in predicting satisfaction

than were encounters with meal service or patient discharge personnel. Side from

common key encounters, there are some momentous encounters that like the proverbial

“one bad apple” simply ruin the rest and drive the customer away no matter how many or

what type of encounters have occurred in the past.

The Disney Corporation estimates that each of its amusement park customer experiences

about 74 service encounters and that a negative experience in any one of them can lead to

a negative overall evaluation. Mistakes or problems that occur in early levels of the

service cascade are particularly critical, because a failure at one point results in greater

risk for dissatisfaction at each ensuing level.

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3.4 GAPS MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY

The service quality has five dimensions as explained earlier. Also the service quality

has a gaps model in which we can understand different types of gaps in the service

quality which can be filled or closed so as to provide a zero defect service. Different

people have developed different model for the gaps in service quality. The most

extensively used and accepted gaps model of service quality is known as SERVQUAL.

SERVQUAL model consists of five gaps in the service quality. One of the five gaps

is customer gap and the other four gaps are service provider gaps. The central focus of

the gaps model is the customer gap, the difference between customer expectations and

perceptions. Hence this gap is also known as Expectations Gap. Firms need to close this

gap – between what customers expect and receive – in order to satisfy the customers and

build long term relationships with them.

The four provider gaps are as follows:

1. Gap 1 – Knowledge Gap

2. Gap 2 – Standards or Design Gap

3. Gap 3 – Delivery Gap

4. Gap 4 – Communications Gap

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CUSTOMER GAP OR EXPECTATIONS GAP

The difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions creates the

customer gap. While customer perceptions are subjective assessments of actual service

experiences, customer expectations are the standards of, or reference points for,

performance against which service experiences are compared. Customers perceive that

they get what they think they will and should. In practice, a customer gap typically exists.

The Gap 5 shown in the following figure of service quality is customer gap or

expectations gap

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GAPS MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY

KNOWLEDGE GAP – NOT KNOWING WHAT CUSTOMERS EXPECT

This gap is the difference between customer expectations of service and company

understanding of those expectations. Management perceptions about the customer

expectations can be different from the customer expectations. There can be many reasons

behind this gap. Some of them are as follows: Provider may not interact directly with

customers, be unwilling to ask about expectations, or be unprepared to address them.

The key factors leading to this type of gap are as follows:

• Inadequate marketing research orientation

o Insufficient marketing research

o Research not focused on service quality

o Inadequate use of market research

• Lack of upward communication

o Lack of interaction between management and customers

o Insufficient communication between contact employees and managers

o Too many layers between contact personnel and top management

• Insufficient relationship focus

o Lack of market segmentation

o Focus on transactions rather than relationships

o Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers

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• Inadequate service recovery

o Inevitable service failures

o Not understanding the importance of service recovery

STANDARDS/DESIGN GAP – NOT HAVING RIGHT STANDARDS/DESIGN

The difference between company understanding of customer expectations and

development of customer driven service designs and standards is known as the standards

gap or the design gap. Customer driven standards are different from the conventional

performance standards that most services companies establish in that they are based on

pivotal customer requirements that are visible to and measured by customers.

The key factors leading to this type of a gap are as follows:

• Poor service design

o Unsystematic new service development process

o Vague, undefined service designs

o Failure to connect service design to service positioning

• Absence of customer defined standards

o Lack of customer defined standards

o Absence of process for setting service quality goals

o Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements

• Inappropriate physical evidence and servicescape

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o Inappropriate tangibles and physical setting

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DELIVERY GAP – NOT DELIVERING TO SERVICE STANDARDS

This type of gap is the difference between the service standards or the service design and

the service delivery. It is the discrepancy between development of customer driven

service standards and actual service performance by company employees. Thus even

when standards accurately reflect customers’ expectations, if the company fails to

provide support for them – if it does not facilitate, encourage and require their

achievement – standards do no good.

The key factors leading to this type of gap are as follows:

• Deficiencies in human resource policies

o Ineffective recruitment

o Poor employee-technology job fit

o Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems

• Failure to match supply and demand

o Inappropriate customer mix

o Over reliance on price

• Customers not fulfilling roles

o Customer lack knowledge of their responsibilities

o Customers negatively affect each other

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COMMUNICATIONS GAP – PROMISES DON’T MATCH PERFORMANCE

The difference between service delivery and the service provider’s external

communications is known as the communications gap. Promises made by a service

company through its media advertising, sales force, and other communications may

potentially raise customer expectations that serve as the standard against which customers

assess service quality. The discrepancy between actual and promised service therefore

has an adverse effect on the customer gap.

The key factors leading to this type of gap are as follows:

• Lack of integrated services marketing communications

o Not including interactive marketing in communications plan

o Absence of strong internal marketing program

• Ineffective management of customer expectations

o Not adequately educating customers

• Over promising

o Over promising in advertising

o Over promising in personal selling

o Over promising through physical evidence cues

• Inadequate horizontal communications

o Insufficient communication between sales and operations

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CHAPTER 4

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CHAPTER-4

AIRLINE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Airlines vary from those with a single airplane carrying mail or cargo, through full-

service international airlines operating many hundreds of airplanes. Airline services can

be categorized as being intercontinental, intracontinental, regional or domestic and may

be operated as scheduled services or charters.

DELAG, Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (German: acronym for

"German Airship Transport Corporation") was the world's first airline. It was founded on

November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by

Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt.

Air India was founded as Tata Airlines in 1932, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now

Tata Group) by J. R. D. Tata. On October 15, 1932 the founder, J. R. D. Tata flew a

single engined De Havilland Puss Moth registered VT-and carrying air mail (postal mail

of Imperial Airways) from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu Airstrip

via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by Royal Air Force

pilot Neville Vincent

.

Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India

and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on 29 July 1946 under the name Air

India.

The airline was set up under Air Corporations Act, 1953 with an initial capital of

Rs.32 million and started operations on 1 August 1953. It was established after legislation

came into force to nationalize the entire airline industry in India.

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At the time of independence, the number of air transport companies, which were

operating within and beyond the frontiers of the company, carrying both air cargo and

passengers, was nine. It was reduced to eight, with Orient Airways shifting to Pakistan.

These airlines were: Tata Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air service of India, Deccan

Airways, Ambica Airways, Bharat Airways and Mistry Airways.

The Open-sky policy came in April 1990. The policy allowed air taxi- operators to

operate flights from any airport, both on a charter and a non charter basis and to decide

their own flight schedules, cargo and passenger fares. The operators were, however,

required to use aircraft with a minimum of 15 seats and conform to the prescribed rules.

In 1990, the private air taxi-operators carried 15,000 passengers. This number increased

to 4.1 lakh in 1992, 29.2 lakh in 1993, 36 lakh in 1994 and 48.9 lakh in 1995.

There has been a revolution in air travel in India in the last decade. Ever since the

government launched its open sky policy and allowed private players to enter the arena

there has been a sea change in the airline industry in India. Air travel has become cheaper

and more affordable and the number of people traveling by air has gone up drastically.

Consequently, Indian Airports too have changed for the better. Airports in India have

become more swanky and passenger friendly.

In the recent past Indian civil aviation sector has grown manifold. The rapid growth

of Indian economy has resulted in a spillover effect on the airline industry in India.

Several new players have entered the industry and many more are about to enter the

arena. The arrival of cheap airline carriers in India has spiced up the whole affair.

Suddenly the air travel is no more the monopoly of the rich and the mighty. Now it has

become a common man’s vehicle and revolutionized the way a common Indian traveler

used to travel. Here is a brief preview of domestic airlines in India. This includes private

airlines as well as low cost airlines in India.

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills or discount carrier /

airline) is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many

traditional passenger services. The first successful low-cost carrier was Pacific Southwest

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Airlines in the United States, which pioneered the concept when their first flight took

place on May 6, 1949. Often, this credit has been incorrectly given to Southwest Airlines

which began service in 1971 and has been profitable every year since 1973.

Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo airlines and paramount airways are some of the

low cost carriers in India. Jet airways, Kingfisher airlines and Air Sahara, Air India, and

Indian are not considered as the low cost carriers.

4.2 AIRLINE INDUSTRY IN INDIA–PLAYERS

The airline industry in India has a lot of private players as open-sky policy was given

by government in 1990. After this policy many foreign players entered the airline

industry of India. Also government companies like Air India and Indian airlines were a

part of the airline industry of India. The list of existing players in airline industry is as

follows:

1. Air India

2. Indian

3. Jet airways

4. SpiceJet

5. Air Deccan

6. Kingfisher airlines

7. Air Sahara

8. GoAir

9. IndiGo

10. Paramount airways

11. Jagson Airlines

There are many low cost airlines which are going to enter the industry within a year

or so. The list of those players which are waiting to take a wing in 2009/2010 is as

follows:

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1. Dev airlines

2. Omega Air

3. Mega airways

4. Magic Air

5. Indus

6. East West

7. Premier Star Air

8. MDLR airlines

4.3 AIRLINE INDUSTRY(INDIA)-CURRENT SCENARIO

The airline industry in India today is facing a huge loss. According to an article in

Businessworld Jan’06, for every passenger flying today in India, airlines are losing on an

average roughly $15 i.e. the gap between the revenue and costs; some airlines are losing

than others. At 32 million passengers expected to fly in 2008-09, that works out to $480

million or Rs 2,200 crore. In September 2009, a total of 100,000 seats were available per

day. By December that went to 120,000. Since April 2008, the industry has added 120

aircraft. Airlines are buying planes like they were peanuts and adding capacity at a

frenetic pace. Industry leader Jet Airways has clocked a loss of over Rs 100 crore in the

first half.

That Indian industry suffers from the ‘herd mentality’ is quite evident by the trends in

telecommunications, information technology, BPO…the list is long. Airline has been no

different. Everyone worth his salt has jumped into it at the same time, so there is too

much capacity. Traffic is growing but capacity is growing faster. So to break even,

airlines have to achieve higher load factors than before. That means severe competition

and very low fares. Making matters a lot worse is the obsession with one or two routes.

For example, Delhi-Mumbai has close to 44 flights operating one way

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4.4 MARKET SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS(DOMESTIC)

Source www.wikipedia.com

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4.5 OVERVIEW OF MAJOR PLAYERS

4.5.1 INDIAN AIRLINES

Indian Airline is an airline based in Mumbai, India, and focuses primarily on domestic

routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. Indian

Airlines is state-owned, and is administered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is one of

the two flag carriers of India, the other being Air India.

Though the company that owns and operates the airline continues to be named Indian

Airlines Limited, on 7 December 2005, the airline was rebranded as Indian for

advertising purposes as a part of a program to revamp its image in preparation for an

initial public offering (IPO). The airline operates closely with Air India, India's national

carrier. Alliance Air, a fully-owned subsidiary of Indian Airlines, was renamed Air India

Regional.

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Indian Airlines would be merged into

Air India. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation

Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along

with Air India Express) and Indian Airlines] (along with Alliance Air) will be merged.

Once the merger is complete, the airline - which will be called Air India - will continue to

be headquartered in Mumbai and will have a fleet of over 130 aircraft.

History

The airline is set up under the Air Corporations Act, 1953 with an initial capital of Rs. 32

million and started operations on 1 August 1953. It was established after legislation came

into force to nationalise the entire airline industry in India. Two new national airlines

were to be formed along the same lines as happened in the United Kingdom with British

Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA). Air India

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took over international routes and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) took over the

domestic and regional routes.

Seven former freedom domestic airlines, Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat

Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways and Air

Services of India, were merged to form the new domestic national carrier. Indian Airlines

Corporation inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft including 74 Douglas DC-3 Dakotas, 12

Vickers Vikings, 3 Douglas DC-4s and various smaller types from the seven airlines that

made it up.

Vickers Viscounts were introduced in 1957 with Fokker F27 Friendships being delivered

from 1961. The 1960s also saw Hawker Siddeley HS 748s, manufactured in India by

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, join the fleet.

The jet age began for IAC with the introduction of the pure-jet Sud Aviation Caravelle

airliner in 1964, followed by Boeing 737-200s in the early 1970s. April 1976 saw the first

three Airbus A300 wide-body jets being introduced. The regional airline, Vayudoot,

which had been established in 1981, was later reintegrated.

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Old orange logo of Indian Airlines until the mid-2000s

By 1990, Airbus A320-200s were introduced. The economic liberalisation process

initiated by the Government of India in the early 1990s ended Indian Airlines' dominance

of India's domestic air transport industry. Indian Airlines faced tough competition from

Jet Airways, Air Sahara (now Jet Lite), East-West Airlines, Skyline NEPC, and

ModiLuft. As of 2005, Indian Airlines was the second largest airline in India after Jet

Airways while Air Sahara controlled 17% of the Indian aviation industry.

East-West Airlines, Skyline NEPC and ModiLuft discontinued flight operations but the

entry of several low-cost airlines in India, such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, IndiGo

(Interglobe Enterprise) and others like Kingfisher Airlines continue to give competition

in its market, forcing Indian to cut down air-fares. However, as of 2006, Indian Airlines

was still a profit making airline.

Indian Airlines Limited is wholly owned by the Government of India through a holding

company and has 19,300 employees as of March 2007 Its annual turn-over, together with

that of its subsidiary Alliance Air, is well over Rs.4000 crores (around US$ 1 billion).

Together with its subsidiary, Alliance Air, Indian Airlines carries a total of over 7.5

million passengers annually.

In December 2007, Air India was invited to join the Star Alliance. Since Indian Airlines

is in the midst of merging with Air India, it too will effectively be a member.

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4.5.2 INDIGO

INTRODUCTION

IndiGo is a private domestic low-cost airline based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It

operates domestic services linking 20 destinations. Its main base is Delhi's Indira Gandhi

International Airport. It was awarded the title of ‘Best Domestic Low Cost Carrier’ in

India for 2008.

5.3.2History

IndiGo Air is owned by an Indian named Mr Rahul Bhatia. The airline commenced

operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati. The

airline is owned by InterGlobe Enterprises. It took delivery of its first Airbus A320

aircraft on 28 July 2006 and received six aircraft during 2006. Nine more aircraft were

delivered in 2007 taking the total to 15. Former US Airways Executive Vice-President,

Marketing and Planning Bruce Ashby joined IndiGo as their Chief Executive Officer.

The airline has also acquired 3 parking spots in Indira Gandhi International Airport and

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

IndiGo placed an order for 100 Airbus A320 family aircraft during the 2005 Paris Air

Show. The total order was worth US $6 billion, one of the highest by any domestic

carrier during the show. The carrier has set a target of serving approximately 30 Indian

cities by 2010 with a fleet size of 40 A320 aircraft. The airline will receive all 100 A320

family aircraft by 2016. The Indian Government has approved the airline's aircraft import

plan "in principle".

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4.5.3 JET AIRWAYS

INTRODUCTION

Jet Airways is an airline based in Mumbai, India. It is India's second largest airline after

Air India and the market leader in domestic sector. It operates over 400 daily flights to 80

destinations worldwide.

In July 2008, Which? magazine ranked Jet Airways as the world's best long-haul airline

after Singapore Airlines.In a poll conducted by SmartTravelAsia.com in September 2008,

it was voted as the world's seventh best airline overall. Jet Airways has also won a survey

award for the quality of its catering from Which? magazine. Jet Airways also operates

two low-cost airlines, namely JetLite (formerly Air Sahara) and Jet Airways Konnect.

History

Jet Airways was incorporated as an air taxi operator on 1 April 1992. It started Indian

commercial airline operations on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of four leased Boeing 737-300

aircraft. In January 1994, a change in the law enabled Jet Airways to apply for scheduled

airline status, which was granted on 4 January 1995. It began international operations to

Sri Lanka in March 2004. While the company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange,

80% of its stock is controlled by Naresh Goyal (through his ownership of Jet’s parent

company, Tailwinds, and has 10,017 employees (at March 2007)

Jet Airways Airbus A340-300E at London Heathrow Airport in 2005 with the 1993-2007

liveryNaresh Goyal, who already owned Jetair (Private) Limited, which provided sales

and marketing for foreign airlines in India, set up Jet Airways as a full-service scheduled

airline to compete against state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a

monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport

providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994,

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when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received

scheduled airline status.

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER at San Francisco International Airport in the airline's new

livery introduced in 2007Jet Airways and Air Sahara were the only private airlines to

survive the Indian business downturn of the early 1990s. In January 2006, Jet Airways

announced that it would buy Air Sahara for US$500 million in an all-cash deal, making it

the biggest takeover in Indian aviation history. The resulting airline would have been the

country's largest] but the deal fell through in June 2006.

On 12 April 2007, Jet Airways agreed to buy out Air Sahara for 14.5 billion rupees

(US$340 million). Air Sahara was renamed JetLite, and was marketed between a low-

cost carrier and a full service airline. In August 2008, Jet Airways announced its plans to

completely integrate JetLite into Jet Airways.

In October 2008, Jet Airways laid off 1900 of its employees, resulting in the largest lay-

off in the history of Indian aviation. However, later, the employees have been asked to

return to work. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that the management reviewed

its decision after he analyzed the decision with them.[9][10]

In October 2008, Jet Airways and rival Kingfisher Airlines announced an alliance which

primarily includes an agreement on code-sharing on both domestic and international

flights, joint fuel management to reduce expenses, common ground handling, joint

utilization of crew and sharing of similar frequent flier programs.[11]

On 8 May 2009, Jet Airways launched another low-cost airline, Jet Airways Konnect.

The new airline uses spare aircraft from Jet Airways' routes that were discontinued due to

low passenger load factors. It also uses the same operator code as Jet Airways. The

decision to launch a new brand instead of expanding the JetLite network was taken

considering the regulatory delays involved in transferring aircraft from Jet Airways to

JetLite, as the two have different operator codes.[12]

Starting 8 September 2009, several Jet Airways pilots went on a simulated strike by

reporting sick and failing to turn up for duty. The stated reason for the pilots' action is

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that the pilots "are protesting against the dismissal of two senior pilots last month by the

airline." [13] On 9 September 2009, the airline had to cancel over 160 domestic flights due

to this reason.[14]. The five-day strike by pilots ended on 13 September 2009. It led to a

cancellation of 800 flights where more than 400 of the company's pilots called in sick.

According to Indian media reports, the strike cost the airline some $8m (£4.79m) a day.[15]

Services

Cabin classes

With the arrival of its new Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Jet Airways

has introduced a new cabin with upgraded seats in all classes. The Boeing 777-300ER

aircraft has three classes of service: First, Première (Business), and Economy. The Airbus

A330-200 aircraft have two classes: Première and Economy. All Airbus A330-200 and

Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have this feature. Boeing 737 aircraft are configured

differently. Jet Airways has a three-star rated Business and First Class, and is in the top

twenty-five business classes reviewed by Skytrax. Economy class has been reviewed as a

three-star product by Skytrax.Jet Airways First Class Suite on board a Boeing 777-

300ER.

First Class

First class is available on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. All seats convert to a fully-flat

bed, similar to Singapore Airlines first class seat but much smaller. It was the twenty-

second airline in the world to have private suites All seats in First have a 21-inch

widescreen LCD monitor with audio-video on-demand systems (AVOD), in seat power

supply, and USB ports etc. Jet Airways is the first Indian airline to offer fully-enclosed

suites on its aircraft; each suite has a closable door, making for a private compartment.

Skytrax consumer airline reviewers recently rated Jet Airways First Class as being 14th

best in the world.

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Première

Première (Business Class) on the Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER international

fleet has a fully-flat bed with AVOD entertainment. Seats are configured in a herringbone

pattern (1-2-1 on the Boeing 777-300ER, and 1-1-1 on the Airbus A330-200), with each

seat offering direct access to the aisle. Première seats on the A330-200s leased from

ILFC are configured differently in a 2-2-2 non-herringbone pattern. Each Première Seat

has a 15.4-inch flat screen LCD TV with AVOD. USB ports and in-seat laptop power are

provided.

On the short-haul/domestic Boeing 737-700/800, all new aircraft are equipped with

AVOD. All seats are standard recliner business-class seats with a few newer aircraft with

electronic recline and massager.

Economy Class

Economy class on Jet's Airbus A330-200, Boeing 737-700/800 and Boeing 777-300ER

aircraft has 32-inch seat pitch. Seats on the Boeing 777-300ER/Airbus A330-200 have a

"hammock-style" net footrest. The cabin is configured in 3-3-3 abreast on the Boeing

777-300ER, 2-4-2 on the Airbus A330-200, and 3-3 in the Boeing 737. Each Economy

seat on the 777-300ER/A330-200 has a personal 10.6-inch touch screen LCD TV with

AVOD.

Some recently acquired Boeing 737-700/800 aircraft also feature Personal LCD screens

with AVOD.

All three classes feature Mood lighting on the Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER,

with light schemes corresponding to the time of day and flight position.

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4.5.4 SPICE JET

INTRODUCTION

SpiceJet is a low-cost airline based in Delhi, India. It began service in May 2005 and by

2008, it was India's second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market share.

SpiceJet was voted as the best low-cost airline in South Asia and Central Asia region by

Skytrax in 2007. Rising fuel costs and increasing competition resulted in SpiceJet posting

a loss in the first quarter of 2008-09. In August 2008, SpiceJet announced plans to raise

US$100 million through foreign investment.

History

SpiceJet was earlier known as jadoo airlines , a reincarnation of ModiLuft. It is promoted

by Ajay Singh and the Kansagra family.

SpiceJet marked its entry in service with Rs. 99 fares for the first 99 days, with 9,000

seats available at this rate.

This deal was followed it up with a Rs. 999 promotional scheme on select routes. Their

marketing theme "offering low 'everyday spicy fares' and great guest services to price

conscious travelers. Their aim is to compete with the Indian Railways passengers

travelling in air conditioned coaches.

On 15 July 2008 Billionaire Wilbur Ross suggested he would invest $80 million (about

Rs 345 crore) in the low cost airline. The board of directors of SpiceJet accepted an offer

in-principle from the US-based PE firm that would make available about Rs 345 crore to

SpiceJet, a joint statement issued by SpiceJet and WL Ross & Co.

Spicejet names their airlines as the Modi family owns the group which is called the Spice

Group and also have GSM mobile services in India called Spice Telecom

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4.6 Fiscal Issues in Aviation Industry

Airlines are an important part of the Indian economy. Apart from contributing

considerably to the national exchequer and providing significant employment

opportunities, a whole host of industry sectors – from tourism to hospitality.

The high operating-cost environment in India, coupled with the competitive nature of the

Airline business, has resulted in a continued strain on the health of the airlines in India.

Fiscal Issues:

Rationalizing ATF Prices to International

Benchmarks

Withholding tax on leased aircraft

Fringe Benefit Tax

Service Tax

Sales Tax

Cenvat Credit on ATF

Hedging of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)

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ATF

Fuel currently accounts for close to 40% of the total operating costs for airlines in India.

The estimated annual fuel bill for the industry is around USD 1.7 billion, based on

September 2006 rates. There is also a tremendous wastage of fuel in the air & at the

tarmac, due to traffic congestion in Delhi and Mumbai that the airlines have to bear.

Current ATF prices in India (Dec 2009)

Domestic Flights Rs. 39,000 / kilolitre

Following the dismantling of the ‘Administered Price Mechanism’ (APM) effective April

1, 2001, the prices of ATF in India are based on the “International Import Parity Prices”,

and directly linked to the benchmark of Platt’s publication of FOB Arabian Gulf ATF

prices (AG); and do not relate to the actual cost of producing ATF in India. ATF prices

for domestic operations also include Freight charges from Gulf to India, Customs Duty of

10%, domestic transportation and other charges, Excise Duty of 8.16% (including cess).

Even though the ATF supplied at Indian airports (both for domestic and international

operations) is not imported into India but is the product of crude refined in Indian

refineries from imported crude, the 10% Customs Duty is taken into account in fixing .

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Withholding tax on leased aircraft

Section 10(15A) of IT Act of 1961 provides exemption from payment of withholding tax

on lease rental incomes on aircraft and engines earned by a non-resident Lessor from an

Indian company, subject to respective agreements being approved by the Indian

Government. This exemption is currently valid only for lease agreements which have

been signed prior to 31 March, 2007. The non-availability of this exemption subsequent

to March 2007 will significantly increase fleet acquisition costs of Indian carriers,

particularly in a market where demand for aircraft is greater than supply.

The aircraft leasing finance companies have a gross up clause in their agreements

whereby the WHT is paid not by the lessor (lease company), but by the lessee (Indian

Airline). The vast majority of countries too, impose no withholding tax on lease rentals.

The few countries that do impose a WHT, have allowed planning and structural

alternatives to minimize the taxes, such as leasing the aircraft through our existing

foreign subsidiaries. Previously, Australia and Japan had withholding tax laws, but those.

The leasing route is an established industry practice for airlines globally. Major

international leasing companies indicate that the vast majority of countries do not impose

withholding taxes on lease rentals payable. In all cases, the lessors require the leasing

companies to assume the liabilities for any withholding taxes imposed as also of all

indirect taxes applicable such as value added and property taxes. All aircraft and engine

lease agreements thus inevitably contain clauses that require the lessee to gross-up the

payments.

The non-availability of this exemption will significantly increase the fleet acquisition

costs of Indian carriers, particularly in a market where demand for aircrafts is greater than

the supply.

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Fringe Benefit Tax

This tax has also been made applicable on

free / concessional passages granted to airline

executives and family

expenses for crew

hotel accommodation provided to passengers due to

delays & cancellations; and

expenses on catering and inflight entertainment.

None of these items can be considered as ‘fringe benefits’. There is thus a need to remove

these from the coverage of FBT.

Service Tax

F& J Class tickets: This tax is not global practice, and therefore puts Indian carriers’

potential as International network carriers in jeopardy as it increases the total amount a

passenger connecting through India must pay as compared to connections via any other

point.

Service tax on landing, airport & air navigation fees: India has imposed a 10.2% service

tax fee on landing, airport and air navigation fees. This greatly reduces the

competitiveness of India's air transport sector.

Sales Tax

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There is a disparity in the fuel sales tax between Turbo Props and Regional Jets (less than

100 seaters). While Turbo Props enjoy substantially lower sales tax concessions,

Regional Jets which are also deployed on the same routes are charged higher sales tax for

their fuel needs. This is not helpful for the promotion and good health of India’s Regional

Carriers.

Sales Tax / VAT are payable on all supplies meant for international voyages irrespective

of the jurisdiction of its consumption. There is a need for extending the same benefit to

the airlines – as in the case of exporters where they are exempt from payment of any

Excise Duty / Sales Tax on their inputs – on all its procurements dedicated for its

international operations.

Cenvat Credit on ATF

Non-allowance of credit to the airlines on ATF is against the fundamental principle of the

CENVAT provisions – resulting in the cascading effect of taxes.

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Hedging of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)

De-regulation of Commodity Hedging is proceeding on a slow path. Domestic airlines

have to procure ATF only through domestic refineries at International Prices. Since they

are not physically importing the commodity, the airlines are not permitted to hedge the

commodity.

In a upward moving oil regime, the airlines have no option but to see their input costs

explode and whenever possible, pass on the same to passengers. A similar situation was

faced by local refiners on hedging their refinery margins where the Government and RBI

came out with a notification permitting national oil companies to hedge their refinery

margins without having physical import/exports. At a time when there are concerns of

crude continuing to be floored at USD 50-55 with no apparent ceiling in sight.

An urgent re-look at the present oil/petro products hedging regulations is needed.

Domestic airlines should be permitted to hedge their ATF price risk. Many global airlines

have used fuel hedging for effective risk management for themselves.

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CHAPTER 5

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CHAPTER-5

KINGFISHER AIRLINES

Kingfisher Airlines Limited is a major Indian airline. Kingfisher operates more than

400 flights a day and has a network of 80 destinations, with regional and long-haul

international services.[1]. Kingfisher Airlines, through one of its holding companies

United Breweries Group, has a 50 percent stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red.

Kingfisher Airlines is one of six airlines in the world to have a five-star rating from

Skytrax, along with Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore

Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. In May 2009, Kingfisher Airlines carried more than

a million passengers, giving it the highest market share among airlines in India.

Kingfisher has its registered office in the UB Tower in Bangalore and its head office in

the Kingfisher House in Mumbai.

5.1History:

Kingfisher Airlines registered office at the UB Group Towers in Bangalore, India

The airline started operations on 9 May 2005, following the dry lease of four new Airbus

A320-200 aircraft.[7] Its first flight was from Mumbai to Delhi. At the launch of the

airline, Dr. Mallya said that he is "committed to achieving our ambition of making

Kingfisher Airlines India's largest private airline both in capacity and market share by

2010."

Kingfisher was the first Indian airline to have in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems on

every seat even on domestic flights. All passengers were given a "welcome kit"

consisting goodies such as a pen, facial tissue and headphones to use with the IFE

system.

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On 14 July 2008, Kingfisher unveiled its first ever Wide-body aircraft, a Airbus A330-

200 (registered VT-VJL) at the 46th Farnborough Airshow held in July 2008.

On 3 September 2008, Kingfisher started its international operations by connecting

Bangalore with London. On 15 September 2009 the London service was withdrawn.

On 23 February 2010 Kingfisher announced that it would be joining the Oneworld airline

alliance by 2011 subject to regulatory approval

5.2 Cabin classes:

Domestic

Kingfisher First

The domestic Kingfisher First seats have a 48 inch seat pitch and a 125 degree seat

recline. There are laptop and mobile phone chargers on every seat. Passengers can avail

of the latest international newspapers and magazines. There is also a steam ironing

service on board Kingfisher First cabins. Every seat is equipped with a personalized IFE

system with AVOD which offers a wide range of Hollywood and Bollywood movies,

English and Hindi TV programmes, 16 live TV channels and 10 channels of Kingfisher

Radio. Passengers also get BOSE noise cancellation headphones.

Domestic Kingfisher First is only available on selected Airbus A320 family aircraft.

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Kingfisher Class

The domestic Kingfisher Class has 32-34 inch seat pitch with footrests. Every seat is

equipped with personal IFE systems with AVOD on-board the Airbus A320 family

aircraft. As in Kingfisher First, passengers can access the latest movies, English and

Hindi TV programmes, live TV and Kingfisher Radio.

On-board the ATR 72-500s there are 17 colour LCD drop-down screens mounted along

with loudspeakers for audio in the cabin overhead, a head-end unit to handle CDs and

DVDs, and a crew control panel. The screens measure 12.7 cm by 9.3 cm, weigh 0.2 kg

each and are spaced every two or three seat rows along both sides of the cabin.Economy

class meal on-board a Kingfisher Airlines domestic flight

Kingfisher Red

After Kingfisher Airlines acquired Air Deccan, its name was changed to Simplifly

Deccan and subsequently to Kingfisher Red. Kingfisher Red is Kingfisher Airline's low-

cost class on domestic routes. Passengers are given complimentary in-flight meals and

bottled water. A special edition of Cini Blitz magazine is the only reading material

provided.

Kingfisher Airlines is the first airline in India to extend its King Club frequent flyer

program to its low-cost carrier as well. Passengers can earn King Miles even when they

fly Kingfisher Red, which they can redeem for free tickets to travel on Kingfisher

Airlines or partner airlines.

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International

Kingfisher First

The international Kingfisher First has full flat-bed seats with a 180 degree recline, with a

seat pitch of 78 inches, and a seat width of 20-24.54 inches.[15] Passengers are given

Merino wool blankets, a Salvatore Ferragamo toiletry kit, a pyjama to change into, five-

course meals and alcoholic beverages. Also available are in-seat massagers, chargers and

USB connectors.

Every Kingfisher First seat has a 17 inch widescreen personal television with AVOD

touchscreen controls and offers 357 hours of programming content spread over 36

channels, including Hollywood and Bollywood movies along with 16 channels of live

TV, so passengers can watch their favorite TV programmes live. There is also a

collection of interactive games, a jukebox with customisable playlists and Kingfisher

Radio. Passengers are given BOSE noise cancellation headphones.

The service on board the Kingfisher First cabins includes a social area comprising a full-

fledged bar staffed with a bartender, a break-out seating area just nearby fitted with two

couches and bar stools, a full-fledged chef on board the aircraft and any-time dining. A

turn-down service includes the conversion of the seat into a fully-flat bed and an air-

hostess making the bed when the passenger is ready to sleep.

Both Kingfisher First and Kingfisher classes feature mood lighting on the Airbus A330-

200 with light schemes corresponding to the time of day and flight position.

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Kingfisher Class

The international Kingfisher Class seats offer a seat pitch of 34 inches, a seat width of

18 inches and a seat recline of 25 degrees (6 inches). Passengers get full length

modacrylic blankets, full size pillows and business class meals. There are in-seat chargers

and USB connectors.

Each Kingfisher Class seat has a 10.6 inch widescreen personal television with AVOD

touchscreen controls. The IFE is similar to that of the international Kingfisher First class.

In-flight entertainment

Kingfisher's IFE system is the Thales TopSeries i3000/i4000 on-board the Airbus A320

family aircraft, and Thales TopSeries i5000 on-board the Airbus A330 family aircraft

provided by the France-based Thales Group.[16]

Kingfisher Lounge

Kingfisher Lounges are offered to Kingfisher First passengers, along with King Club

Silver and King Club Gold members. Lounges are located in:

India

Bangalore

Chennai

Delhi

Hyderabad

Mumbai

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King Club

The Frequent-flyer program of Kingfisher Airlines is called the King Club in which

members earn King Miles everytime they fly with Kingfisher or its partner airlines,

hotels, car rental, finance and lifestyle businesses. There are four levels in the scheme:

King Club Base, Red, Silver and Gold levels. Members can redeem points for over a

number of schemes. Gold and Silver members enjoy access to the Kingfisher Lounge,

priority check-in, excess baggage allowance, bonus miles, and 2 Kingfisher First upgrade

vouchers for Gold membership.

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Chapter 6

Page | 59

Findings and analysis

Q. How Often Do You Fly?

This question gave an idea about the frequency of traveling through airlines for a

particular respondent. This question gives an idea whether the respondents have a past

experience or are new to the services or are frequent users of airline services. 20% of the

respondents used the airline service once a year which is the lowest in the category.

12.5% of the respondents used the airlines for traveling once in every 6 months. 15% of

the respondents used the airlines for traveling once in a month. 52.5% of the respondents

used the airline services frequently.

FREQUENCY OF TRAVELING THROUGH AIRLINES

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DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE RESPONDENTS

The questions related to the demographics of the respondents are explained in this

section. The questions were related to the age, gender, occupation and income. All the

important factors of demographics are covered in these characteristics. The demographics

of the respondents are shown in the following charts which give us an idea about the

customer profile or the respondents’ profile.

Age group of Respondents:

14% of respondents fall between the age group of 0-18 years, 26% of respondent’s falls

between the age of 18-23 years, 30% of respondent’s falls between the age group of 31-

45 years, 20% of respondents falls between the age group of 45-60 years, 10% of

respondents falls between the age group above 60 years.

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GENDER:

INCOME

Income level of people varies from 0-2 lakhs to 10 lakhs and above where maximum

respondents falls between the income level of 2-5 lakhs where as there are almost equal

number of respondents from 0-2 lakhs , 5-10 lakhs and 10 lakhs and above.

The remaining questions in the questionnaire were related to the service quality

dimensions which are taken together for a single service provider. Then the total service

quality of all the Service providers is compared. Also the service quality dimensions are

found for individual service providers.

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As there were certain constraints in carrying out the project only 4 service providers were

taken into consideration for calculating the service quality. The service providers taken

into consideration during the project are as follows:

1. SpiceJet

2. Jet Airways

3. Indian Airlines

4. Kingfisher Airlines

For all the service providers mentioned above every service dimension was calculated

and a total score for service quality is measured. This total score of all the service

providers is compared and then the service provider with the best service quality is found.

Now the data for the service providers for the service quality dimensions are analyzed

and the results are given in the next section. The section gives the details about the

service quality dimensions in individual service provider. Then a comparison of the total

score of service quality is carried out for all the service providers which are explained in

the later portion of the analysis.

Let us first try to measure the knowledge gap of all the service providers and then we can

measure the dimensions of service quality and compare the overall service quality of all

the service providers.

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KNOWLEDGE GAP

This was the only gap which could have been calculated in the project as far as the gaps

in service quality are concerned. The knowledge gap is the gap between the

management’s perceptions about the customers’ expectations and the customers’

expectations. Given below is a chart which gives an idea about the knowledge gap

existing in all the service providers taken into consideration.

KNOWLEDGE GAP FOR ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS

From this chart we can conclude the following:

• Kingfisher has the least gap and hence it understands the customers’

expectations very well. It is the best service provider in terms of

understanding the customers’ expectations.

• Indian Airlines has the highest gap and hence it does not understand the

customers’ expectations as compared to other service providers. Jet airways

are the next best to Spice Jet in terms of knowledge gap.

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Service Quality Dimensions

To measure the Service Quality dimensions we have kept several parameters in

the Questionnaire in which the respondents have to tick on likert scale ranging

from excellent to bad. Then by measuring the mean of all parameters we found

out the score of the Service Quality Dimension.

For Tangibility the parameters are Seat comfort, Cleanliness of cabin, Cleanliness

of toilets, Newspapers/magazines, pillows/blankets, Quality of entertainment,

Quality of beverages, handling of luggage, appearance and clothing of cabin crew.

For Responsiveness the parameters are punctuality of timing, politeness/courtesy,

friendliness and language skills of cabin crew

For Reliability parameters are Staff provides service without making fumbles,

responds quickly to problems, response happens at promised time.

For Assurance parameters are Cabin crew’s safety drill, courtesy of staff,

efficiency of check-in staff, and service efficiency of cabin crew.

For Empathy parameters are individual attention to customers, flight timings

convenient to customers, long term relationship with customers.

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Service Quality Dimensions

1) Tangibility

Analyzing the tangibility factor of each of the airlines it is very clear from the

above graph that tangibility of kingfisher airlines compared to rest of the airlines

is definitely high.

Kingfisher airlines is having such a significant increase in response towards

tangibility compared with the other flights is due to many factors that are playing

important role for such a shift in the above graph.

Comparing Tangibles such as seat comfort, Cleanliness of cabin, Cleanliness of

toilets and many other factors such as availability of newspapers and magazines,

Pillows and blankets etc. plays an most important role in shifting peoples

response more towards kingfisher compared with other airlines.

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Tang iblity

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

S pic ejet J et Indian A ilines K ingfis her

Though Indian airlines is public sector undertaking airlines but then also as far as

the question of tangibility is concern it was rated as second most preferable after

kingfisher. Only the difference in response of kingfisher and Indian airlines was

that there was comparatively less seat comfort in Indian airlines compared to

kingfisher airlines.

Now talking about jet and spice jet they both were rated at lowest level by the

respondents and comparing these two airlines there was almost equal grading to

both of the airlines as far as tangibility is concern.

So from above graph it is clear that kingfisher has got more preference and

positive response of people on tangibility criteria.

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2) Responsiveness

Respons ivenes s

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

S pic ejet J et Indian A ilines K ingfis her

Now comparing Responsiveness of the above airlines, it was remarkable that

kingfisher has majority of people rating it highest also in the factor of

responsiveness followed by Indian airlines.

As kingfisher is five star rated airlines it is obvious thing that staff of kingfisher

will be more responsive towards the facilities to be provided on time and also

problems to be solve at time. But position of Indian airlines in minds of people

holds second place in responsiveness criteria is remarkable.

Factors included in Responsiveness, such as friendliness, language skills, waiting

time to check in and courtesy of check in staff played very important role for

shifting the above graph in favor of kingfisher.

Page | 68

Now talking about jet and spice jet they both were rated at lowest level by the

respondents and comparing these two airlines there was almost equal grading to

both of the airlines as far as responsiveness is concern.

Page | 69

3) Assurance

As surance

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

S pic ejet J et Indian A ilines K ingfis her

Analyzing the assurance factor, of each of the airlines it is very clear from the

above graph that assurance of kingfisher airlines compared to rest of the airlines is

definitely high.

Kingfisher airlines is having such a significant increase in response towards

assurance compared with the other flights is due to many factors that are playing

important role for such a shift in the above graph.

Comparing assurance factors such as seat politeness/courteous, service efficiency,

efficiency of check in staff and safety of cabin crew drill plays an most important

role in shifting peoples response more towards kingfisher compared with other

airlines.

Page | 70

In case of assurance Indian airlines was rated as second most preferable after

kingfisher. Only the difference in response of kingfisher and Indian airlines was

that there was comparatively less service efficiency and efficiency of check in

staff in Indian airlines compared to kingfisher airlines.

Now talking about jet and spice jet they both were rated at lowest level by the

respondents and comparing these two airlines there was almost equal grading to

both of the airlines as far as assurance is concern.

So from above graph it is clear that kingfisher has got more preference and

positive response of people on assurance criteria.

Page | 71

4) Reliability

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

S pic ejet J et Indian A ilines K ingfis her

Reliablity

While comparing reliability of all the above mentioned airlines the result was

same as it was in the case of tangibility, assurance and responsiveness. It was

kingfisher which was as most reliable airlines by most of the people from the

sample.

Reliability of kingfisher compared with other three airlines is very high and

comparing the other three airlines that is Spice jet, Jet airways and Indian Airlines

its almost same in all the three airlines.

Page | 72

Reliability factors such as Service without fumbles, Quick response towards

problem and Response towards problem in promised time plays very important

role in gauging reliability factor of any of the airlines and kingfisher is able to

provide the above mention services to the expectation of people this the reason of

highest Reliability level of kingfisher by the respondents.

From the above graph it can be clearly interpreted that kingfisher compared with

other three airlines is more reliable.

Page | 73

5) Empathy

Empathy

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

S pic ejet J et Indian A ilines K ingfis her

Empathy also seems to be in the favor of kingfisher, from the above graph it can

be clearly interpreted that Empathy of kingfisher airlines compared to other

airlines is defiantly very high followed by spice jet.

Empathy factors such as Individual attention, Convenience of flight timings and

Long term relations affects response of the people up to an extent. Kingfisher is

having highest level of empathy level in the minds of the people.

This time instead of Indian Airlines, Spice jet is following Kingfisher in this

criteria so it can be interpreted that Empathy of spice jet is more then tangibility,

reliability, assurance and responsiveness of itself.

An Indian airline is having lowest Empathy after Jet airway which is having

second lowest Empathy level

Page | 74

Service providers

1) Spice Jet

The scores of the service quality dimensions of spice jet are given in the chart below.

Here we have kept 1 as excellent and 5 as poor , Service quality dimension which shows

lower rating in graph means its better than one showing higher rating in graph.

GRAPH FOR SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS FOR INDIAN AIRLINES

Page | 75

The scores in the above chart conclude the following.

• Empathy has the lowest score in all the service quality dimensions so its better

than rest of service quality dimensions. This shows that employees i.e. people

are contributing more in the service quality.

• Tangibility and responsiveness are having the high scores and hence the

physical evidence is not good.

• Moreover they are not much reliable in services and lack assurance as well.

• This shows that the service provider is not able to provide reliable services or

not able to inspire trust and confidence for the service.

Page | 76

2) JET AIRWAYS

The scores of the service quality dimensions for Jet Airways are given below in the form

of a chart. Here we have kept 1 as excellent and 5 as poor , Service quality dimension

which shows lower rating in graph means its better than one showing higher rating in

graph. The chart can easily give idea about the conclusions.

GRAPH FOR SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS FOR JET AIRWAYS

Page | 77

The scores in the above chart conclude the following:

• The service quality dimension of Tangibility has the highest contribution in the

overall service quality.

• Reliability and Empathy dimensions are close to each other in terms of the

score.

• Hence these 2 service quality dimensions are contributing equally in the overall

service quality in case of Jet Airways.

• This shows that physical evidence and other tangibles and intangibles are all

contributing in an equal manner to achieve the overall service quality.

• Responsiveness of the people is not up to the mark which staff must be given

more training to serve to customers efficiently.

Page | 78

3) Indian Airlines

The scores of the service quality dimensions for Indian Airlines are given below in the

form of a chart. Here we have kept 1 as excellent and 5 as poor , Service quality

dimension which shows lower rating in graph means its better than one showing higher

rating in graph. The chart can easily give idea about the conclusions.

GRAPH FOR SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS FOR KINGFISHER AIRLINES

Page | 79

The scores in the above chart conclude the following:

• Empathy as a service quality dimension is the Poor. Hence it means that the staff

does not provide individual attention to customers.

• Also the dimensions assurance and reliability are good are almost equal and

they contribute equally to the overall service quality.

• As the tangibility is poor so the physical evidence of the service provider is not

upto mark.

Page | 80

4) Kingfisher Airlines

The scores of the service quality dimensions for Kingfisher Airlines are given below in

the form of a chart. . Here we have kept 1 as excellent and 5 as poor , Service quality

dimension which shows lower rating in graph means its better than one showing higher

rating in graph. The chart can easily give idea about the conclusions.

GRAPH FOR SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS FOR SPICEJET

The scores in the chart above conclude the following:

• Responsibility scores the poor in all the other dimensions of service quality.

• The tangibility is excellent which means the physical evidence of the service

provider is also good. Quality of entertainment provided by kingfisher is the

best.

• Empathy score is also not too good as compared to other service quality

dimensions. Assurance and Reliability are good which means staff assures

customers about their safety and service provider is very reliable

Page | 81

Punctuality of Flights

Now talking about punctuality of flight timings it can be clearly interpreted from

graph that Kingfisher is highest number of rating from the respondents towards

excellent side, it is Indian airlines and the Spice jet who are having minimum

number of responses in their favor.

Considering the fair side of performance is concern it is Jet airways which tops

the chart from its responses being maximum on fair side.

Considering poor and bad performance then it is very clear from the graph that

punctuality of Indian Airlines and Spice Jet is not up to the mark as expected of

the travelers so they both have strong point to be think up on regarding its

punctuality

Page | 82

Seat comfort

As far as seat comfort is concern it can be clearly interpreted from graph that

Kingfisher is highest number of rating from the respondents towards excellent

side, it is Indian airlines and the Spice jet who are having minimum number of

responses in their favor.

Considering the fair side of performance is concern it is Jet airways which tops

the chart from its responses being maximum on fair side.

Considering poor and bad performance then it is very clear from the graph that

seat comfort of Indian Airlines is not up to the mark as expected of the travelers

so Indian Airlines have strong point to be think up on regarding its seat comfort.

Page | 83

Quality of beverages

Quality of beverages plays most important role in deciding satisfaction level of

travelers and beverages is only important factor that indicates strong tangibility of

any of air line service provider.

It can be clearly interpreted from the above graph that kingfisher is having highest

responses as excellent followed by Spice Jet.

Indian Airline and Jet Airways is having most of the responses as poor and bad so

there is strong point to be think upon for these both airlines.

Page | 84

Quality of Entertainment

As far as quality of entertainment is concern it can be clearly interpreted from

graph that Kingfisher is highest number of rating from the respondents towards

excellent side, it is Indian airlines and the Spice jet who are having minimum

number of responses in their favor.

Considering the fair side of performance is concern it is Jet airways which tops

the chart from its responses being maximum on fair side.

Considering poor and bad performance then it is very clear from the graph that

quality of entertainment of Indian Airlines and Spice Jet is not up to the mark as

expected of the travelers so Indian Airlines have strong point to be think up on

regarding its quality of entertainment.

Page | 85

Cross Tabulations:

By which airlines do you travel the most Vs If price reduced then ready to

switchover Cross tabulation

By which airlines do you travel the most * If price reduced then ready to switch over Cross tabulation

Count

If price reduced then ready to switchover

TotalYesProbably Yes Maybe

Probably No No

By which airlines do you travel the most

Spice jet 20 15 8 5 2 50

Jet airways 15 21 8 2 4 50

Indian Airlines

18 14 11 5 2 50

Total 53 50 27 12 8 150

Page | 86

From the above graph it can be clearly interpreted that people are having strong

preference towards kingfisher but not able to travel in kingfisher due to its high

ticket prices compared to other airlines in domestic as well as in international.

In the above graph it is shown that around 80% of Spice Jet user are ready to

switch themselves to Kingfisher, If Kingfisher reduces its prices in comparison

with rest of the players in the industry.

Now considering Jet Airways it also has most of the responses towards “yes” and

“probably yes” options so it can be interpreted that Jet also has its target audience

loyal to kingfisher but attracted to price factor of Jet Airways.

Now Indian Airlines has around 76% of people who are ready to shift themselves

to Kingfisher if Kingfisher reduces its price up to an extent so its is remarkable

thing that even public sector Airlines is not able to give stiff fight to Kingfisher as

far as preferences of people are concern.

The respondents who are not ready to shift from there Airline service providers

are minimum and can be counted on figures. So it is clear that Kingfisher has

strong preference and loyalty of people.

Page | 87

How often do you fly Vs Service provider maintains long term relationship Cross

tabulation

Count

Service provider maintains long term relationship

TotalStrongly Agree Agree Neutral Dis Agree

Strongly Disagree

How often do you fly

Once in a year 2 10 11 8 9 40

Once in 6 months

0 9 4 7 5 25

Once in a month 4 16 0 1 9 30

Frequently 39 44 6 7 9 105

Total 45 79 21 23 32 200

Page | 88

When asked respondents about maintenance of relationships from the side of

Airline service provider it was expected and obvious that most of the respondents

who were the frequent traveler of particular Airline service provider responded

positively.

Respondents who travel once in a month also had positive view point towards

maintenance of relationship by the service providers as they can be also counted

under the head of frequent traveler.

Respondents who were not the frequent flyers that is they travel once in six

months or once in a year they responded negatively towards the question asked to

them, from them around 85% of people responded as disagree and strongly

disagree.

So it can be clearly interpreted that frequent flayers enjoys more privilege on side

of service provider compared no flayer who is not a frequent flayer.

Page | 89

HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no association between Age and people ready to shift to Kingfisher airlines

if Kingfisher reduces its rates.

H1: There is association between Age and people ready shift to Kingfisher airlines if

Kingfisher reduces its rates.

If price reduced then ready to switchover * age group Cross tabulation

Count

Age group

Total0-18 18-30 31-45 45-60 60 and above

If price reduced then ready to switchover

Yes 12 27 10 0 5 54

Probably Yes 0 15 25 5 0 45

Maybe 6 0 10 5 0 21

Probably No 0 0 0 15 0 15

No 0 0 0 5 10 15

Total 18 42 45 30 15 150

Chi-Square Tests

Value dfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 184.281a 16 .000

Likelihood Ratio 178.571 16 .000

Linear-by-Linear Association

59.309 1 .000

N of Valid Cases 150

From above output of SPSS window we can see that Significance value of

pearson chi-Square is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 ,this means that H0 is rejected

and H1 is accepted because pearsons Chi-square significance value is less than

0.05. It means shift to kingfisher is dependent on age group

Page | 90

.

From the above graph we can see that people from age group between 0-18 and

18-30 have replied yes or probably yes when asked that are they ready to shift to

kingfisher airlines if it reduces its rates.They said they are ready to shift to

kingfisher airlines.

People between age group 31-45 said probably yes or may which means they may

or may not shift to kingfisher airlines.

People between age group 45-60 and 60 & above said NO which means they are

not ready to shift to kingfisher , they are loyal to their respectiver airlines.

Page | 91

HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no association between Gender and people ready shift to Kingfisher airlines

if Kingfisher reduces its rates.

H1: There is association between Gender and people ready shift to Kingfisher airlines if

Kingfisher reduces its rates.

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

49.257a

4 .000

Likelihood Ratio

54.354

4 .000

Linear-by-Linear Association

36.627

1 .000

Page | 92

If price reduced then ready to switchover * Gender Cross tabulation

Count

Gender

TotalMale Female

If price reduced then ready to switchover

Yes 48 6 54

Probably Yes 34 11 45

Maybe 12 9 21

Probably No 0 15 15

No 6 9 15

Total 100 50 150

Chi-Square Tests

N of Valid Cases 150

From above output of SPSS window we can see that Significance value of

pearson chi-Square is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 ,this means that H0 is rejected

and H1 is accepted because pearsons Chi-square significance value is less than

0.05. It means shift to kingfisher is dependant on Gender.

Page | 93

From the above graph we can see that most males have replied yes or probably

yes when asked that are they ready to shift to kingfisher airlines if it reduces its

rates.They said they are ready to shift to kingfisher airlines.

There were only few male swho said NO, which means only few are not ready to

shift.

Females have given uniform answers, the graph for females is almost equal for all

categories, which means females may shift or may not shift.

Page | 94

HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no association between Income and people ready to shift to Kingfisher

airlines if Kingfisher reduces its rates.

H1: There is association between Income and people ready to shifting to Kingfisher

airlines if Kingfisher reduces its rates.

If price reduced then ready to switchover * Income Cross tabulation

Count

Income

Total0-2 Lakhs 2-5 Lakhs 5-10 Lakhs10 Lakhs and Above

If price reduced then ready to switchover

Yes 18 36 0 0 54

Probably Yes 31 14 0 0 45

Maybe 1 11 6 3 21

Probably No 0 2 5 8 15

No 0 1 4 10 15

Total 50 64 15 21 150

Chi-Square Tests

Value dfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 138.586a 12 .000

Likelihood Ratio 145.771 12 .000

Linear-by-Linear Association

77.199 1 .000

N of Valid Cases 150

From above output of SPSS window we can see that Significance value of

pearson chi-Square is 0.000 which is less than 0.05 ,this means that H0 is rejected

and H1 is accepted because pearsons Chi-square significance value is less than

0.05. It means shift to kingfisher is dependant on Income.

Page | 95

From the above graph we can see that people with income level between 0-2lakhs

and 2-5lalkhs have replied yes or probably yes when asked that are they ready to

shift to kingfisher airlines if it reduces its rates.They said they are ready to shift to

kingfisher airlines.This maybe because they have low salary so they are price

concious.

People with Income level between 5-10lakhs and 10lakhs & above said NO which

means they are not ready to shift to kingfisher , they are loyal to their respectiver

airlines.The salary of these people is high so they are not price concious ,they

need luxury and comfort.Price doesnot matter much to the affluent class.

Page | 96

CHAPTER 7

Page | 97

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusions of the project are listed below on the basis of the graphs and charts

explained earlier. Following are the conclusions of the research:

The service quality of Kingfisher Airlines is the best, followed by Indian Airlines

and Spicejet.

Kingfisher Airlines has a higher rank on empathy and tangibility. Hence the

politeness and friendliness of the employees which form the people of the service

organization is high in case of Kingfisher Airlines. Also its physical evidence is

higher as it scores high on tangibility.

Jet Airways has the lowest service quality in all the service providers. Though Jet

Airways has a poor score in empathy and tangibility it scores well in assurance

and responsiveness.

Indian Airlines is the second best in terms of the service quality.

Spice jet is in the middle of all the service providers. It neither has high quality

nor a low quality in services. It is rated average.

If Kingfisher reduces its price than people between age group 0-45 and income

level 0-5 lakhs are ready to shift from their preferred airlines o Kingfisher

Airlines.

The knowledge gap which shows how better the service provider knows the

customers’ expectations is the best in Kingfisher. Hence Kingfisher is able to

understand customers’ expectations very well as compared to other service

providers.

Page | 98

CHAPTER 8

Page | 99

SUGGESTIONS

From the project under taken it can be recommended to Kingfisher to

reduce its price up to an extent to attract passengers of other airlines in

domestic destinations.

In many of the responses it is marked by researchers that kingfisher,

though leading in all parameters of service quality but then also

respondents are some what not comparatively satisfied in Empathy factors

so kingfisher has to work on this factor to convert responses into positive

one.

Spice jet should increase its punctuality of flight timings as around 75% of

response was negative towards its punctuality and responses showed very

negative attitude of respondents.

Indian Airlines should work on its seat comforts as most of the travelers

who are also frequent flyers of Indian Airlines were having complain

about seat comfort and it is also its drawback for not attracting travelers.

Jet airways service efficiency is low compared to other airlines and also its

punctuality of flight timings is poor comparatively so they have question

to be think up on to attract customers.

As far as Jet airways is concern they are falling in least satisfied criteria in

almost all of the parameters of service quality, so there is ample of work

required to be done by Jet airways to shift responses from not satisfied to

satisfied.

Page | 100

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books N.K. Malhotra(2007). Marketing research-5th edition An applied

orientation.delhi Dorling Kindersley (India) pvt. Ltd, licenses of pearson

education in south asia

.

Cooper & sehindler (2007). Business research methods 9th- edition , new

delhi: Tata McGraw-hill publishing company ltd.

Levin & Rubin (2008). Statistics for management- 7th edition New Delhi,

Prentice Hall of India Pvt. ltd

Services Marketing: The India Context - Page 1 by R. Srinivasan – 2004

Journal of services marketing - Page 183 by Michael La Roche Tsaur, SH,

Chang, TY and Yen, CH (2002), "The evaluation of airline service quality

by fuzzy MCDM", Tourism Management, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 107-15

Foster, S. Thomas, Managing Quality: An Integrative Approach. Prentice

Hall, 2001: pg. 132-134, 231-234.

SERVQUAL, an instrument for measuring quality service developed by

Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry and described in their book, Delivering

Quality Service; Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, Free

Press, 1990.

Page | 101

Websites

Aviation Industry of India,(2008) global market for Airlines:star ratings: New

Delhi,2008. www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/ranking.htm

Indian Airlines.(2009) History:Services: New Delhi,2009.

www.indianairlines.com

Spicejet Airlines.(2009) History: Quality, New Delhi,2009.

www.spicejet.com

Jet airway,(2009) History:Services: New Delhi,2009.

www.jetairways.com

Skytrax ratings,(2007) 5-Star rating of Airlines

www.skytrax.com

Service Quality Dimesnsions.(2009) SERVQUAL of Airlines ,Mumbai,2009.

www.service-quality.com

Kingfisher Airlines.(2009) Cabin Classes:Quality:Banglore,2009.

www.kingfisherairlines.com

Page | 102

ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear sir/madam

We are the students of NRIBM Ahmedabad, presently working on a project on SERVQUAL Analysis of Aviation Industry. We request you to kindly fill the questionnaire. We assure you that your data will be confidential.

1. How often do you fly?

Once in a year Once in 6 months Once in a month Frequently

2. By which airlines do you travel the most? _____________________________________________

3. In which class do you normally fly?

Economy class Business class

4. What type of flight do you normally take?

One hour flights/short haul Medium haul Long haul

5. How much do you think the service provider understands your expectations? Rate on a scale of 1-5 (1: Meets expectation and 5 does not meet expectations) _______

Page | 103

6. Rate your onboard experience for the service provider on following parameters

Excellent Good Fair Poor BadPunctuality of flight TimingsSeat comfortCleanliness of cabinCleanliness of toiletsNewspapers /MagazinesPillows, blanketsQuality of entertainmentQuality of beverages

7. Rate the cabin crew of the service provider on following parameters

Excellent Good Fair Poor BadPoliteness/CourteousFriendlinessLanguage skillsAppearanceClothingService efficiency

8. Rate the airport services for the service provider on following parameters

Excellent Good Fair Poor BadWaiting time at check inCourtesy of check in staffEfficiency of check in staffHandling of luggage

9. The staff provides the service without making fumbles or without any defects.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

10. When there is a problem the service provider (employees/staff) responds quickly to solve it.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5. Strongly disagree

Page | 104

11. If a response is promised in certain time, it does happen by the promised time.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

12. You feel safe about your travel by performance of cabin crew safety drill.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

13. You get individual attention by the cabin crew.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

14. The airline has flight timings convenient to you.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

15. Service provider maintains long term relations with the customers.

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Sometimes 4. Disagree 5.Strongly disagree

16. If Kingfisher reduces its rates as compared to rest of the players then are you ready to switchover from your preferred airlines to Kingfisher airlines. (Not applicable for Kingfisher airlines customers)

1. Yes 2. Probably Yes 3. May be 4. Probably No 5. No

Name: ______________________________________________________

Age group: 0-18yrs 18-30yrs 31-45yrs 45-60yrs 60 & above

Gender: Male Female

Occupation: Business Private Service Govt. Service Student Others________

Annual Income (in Rs.): <2 lakh 2-5 lakhs 5-10 lakhs 10 lakhs & above

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