Research Project

Research Project cover sheet (electronic version available on Brookes Virtual Hard copy available from outside Academic Management office)

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U54075 Research Project

Double module

Title “To Fly, To Serve? Does British Airways meet the needs and expectations of its premium passengers on longhaul international services: an analysis into consumer satisfaction” Student Number

08061629

Surname

GEORGE

Other names

DOMINIC PETER

Fields for which acceptable

TU

Date of submission

23 March 2012

This Research Project is submitted in part fulfilment of the regulations for BSc Honours Degree.

Oxford School of Hospitality Management, Oxford Brookes University

Statement of originality Except for those parts in which it is explicitly stated to the contrary, this Research Project is my own work. It has not been submitted for any degree at this or any other academic or professional institution.

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23 March 2012 ...............................

Date

OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY

ii Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Author’s Statement of Originality Except for those parts in which it is explicitly stated to the contrary, this project is my own work. It has not been submitted for any degree at this or any other academic or professional institution.

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23 March 2012

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DECLARATION Declaration

This Dissertation is a result of my own independent work. Where material other than my own work has been used it is appropriately attributed and referenced in the text.

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vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would also like to thank the School’s staff for their continued interest and messages of support during the writing of my dissertation.

A special mention should be made to Don Birch, my industry mentor, who helped me focus and continually challenge my hypothesis.

Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to: Frank van der Post, Head of Brand and Consumer Experience (British Airways) who provided me with the resources and greater in-depth knowledge of the British Airways consumer experience.

Andy Lord, Director of Operations (British Airways) for providing me with the contacts I so desperately needed, and providing me with the opportunity experience the BA Club World London City service and come to the British Airways Open Day 2011 to meet the team.

British Airways Media Relations Team for the authorisation to utilise their images to support my research.

The BA Operations Team at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Flight Deck on-board BA0155 (27 May 2011) who permitted me to take pictures and videos within Terminal 5 and aircraft interiors during my research period.

I would like to thank to my family, especially my parents who spent weeks reading everything over and over again, and assisting in piloting and distributing my questionnaire; my friends and colleagues who boosted me morally and provided me great informational assistance and resources. I would like to pay particular attention to the support of my fiancé for her assistance and having to put up with me doing my dissertation whilst we were supposed to be having a romantic getaway – at least there was always a pool and beautiful weather for you to enjoy wherever we went, Hayley!

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Acknowledgements

I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my dissertation tutor, Dr Jan Harwell, for the support and guidance she showed me throughout my dissertation research and writing. I am sure it would have not been possible without her help.

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Abstract “To Fly, To Serve? Does British Airways meet the needs and expectations of its premium passengers on longhaul international services: an analysis into consumer satisfaction”

An empirical study was conducted into premium class travel with British Airways, in order to analyse whether the airline was meeting the needs and expectations of its premium passengers, and whether there was a direct link between that of consumer satisfaction and the price that was paid for a ticket. Secondary research was conducted included analysis of the documentary Inside Gatwick. This provided an understanding of how British Airways attempts to meet customer expectations, and what passengers think of British Airways. This formed a basis for which to ground academic theory from research into customer satisfaction and apply it to airline consumer attitudes and behaviour. Alternative forms of primary research were carried out in order to ascertain if there were any correlations or patterns in customer expectation and attitudes. This included a survey in which 200 premium class passengers were canvased, and a selection interviewed to discuss their responses further. Interviews were also conducted with senior British Airways management, to gain a greater understanding of the products and services available to passengers. In addition, several flights were taken by the researcher to analyse whether these ‘standards’ set by British Airways were founded.

In general, passenger expectation is crucial to the satisfaction of a product or service, which goes the same for whether the customer has travelled with British Airways before or not. It is evident that passengers from the literature review, primary research, and Inside Gatwick documentary, feel that the airline is perceived as expensive. British Airways recognise that they are worth paying a little bit more for, but it is evident from the visible changes made through the development strategy: with upgraded cabins, improved aircraft, an on-going lounge redevelopment programme, and investment into a £73 million check-in facility extension at London Gatwick and £330 million on Terminal 5, where the revenue generated by passengers is being invested. From the research conducted, it proves that British Airways passengers, across all premium cabins, were satisfied with the products and services that they received. The expectation disconfirmation theory represented passengers most accurately. This is because of the perception that most people hold about the carrier.

It is hoped that further empirical research will be conducted into attitudes of British Airways premium passengers. Furthermore, it is also hoped that more passengers will be canvased in order to gain a greater understanding of customer satisfaction within the British Airways.

Moreover, additional research could be conducted in order to obtain analytical comparisons between British Airways and other carriers, of between internally between cabins.

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Abstract

In recent years, there have been a large number of publications about the future development of the airline industry with regard to market competitiveness and future globalisation through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Market deregulation and industry globalisation have increased the competitive pressures on airlines. This is evident through worldwide airline mergers of carriers such as British Airways and Iberia, Air France and KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, and Continental and United Airlines.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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Contents ii

Cover Page

iii

Declaration

v

Acknowledgements

vii

Abstract

ix

Contents

xiii

List of Figures

xvii

List of Tables

xvii

List of Abbreviations

xviii

List of Airport Codes

xix

List of Aircraft Codes

xx

Chapter One

Introduction

1

Section 1.1

Chapter Overview

3

Section 1.2

Research Project

3

Section 1.3

British Airways

4

Section 1.4

Development of Longhaul Premium Air Travel Products

4

Chapter Two

Products and Services

5

Section 2.1

Chapter Overview

7

Section 2.2

Product

7

Section 2.2.1

World Traveller Plus

7

Section 2.2.2

Club World

7

Section 2.2.3

Club World London City

8

Section 2.2.4

FIRST

8

Section 2.3

Service

8

Section 2.3.1

Lounges

8

Section 2.4

Chapter Summary

9

Chapter Three

Research Methodology

11

Section 3.1

Chapter Overview

13

Section 3.2

Research Philosophy

13

Section 3.3

Secondary Research

14

xi

Contents

Author’s Statement of Originality

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

xii

Section 3.4

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

15

Section 3.5

Primary Research

15

Section 3.5.1

Questionnaires

15

Section 3.5.1.1

Designing the Questionnaire

16

Section 3.5.1.2

Piloting the Questionnaire

17

Section 3.5.1.3

Questionnaire Sampling

17

Section 3.5.2

Interviews

17

Section 3.5.3

Participant Observation

18

Section 3.6

Validity of Research

19

Section 3.7

Reliability of Research

19

Section 3.8

Ethical Considerations

19

Section 3.9

Analytical Strategies

19

Section 3.10

Presentation of Data

20

Chapter Four

Consumer Satisfaction

21

Section 4.1

Chapter Overview

23

Section 4.2

Consumer Satisfaction

23

Section 4.2.1

Expectancy Disconfirmation

23

Section 4.2.2

Assimilation Theory

24

Section 4.2.3

Attribution Theory

25

Section 4.2.4

Equity Theory

25

Section 4.2.5

Emotion and Desire

25

Section 4.2.6

Word of Mouth

26

Section 4.2.7

Section Summary

27

Section 4.3

Consumer Satisfaction in the Airline Industry

27

Section 4.4

Consumer Satisfaction in British Airways

29

Section 4.5

Chapter Summary

30

Chapter Five

Findings Analysis

31

Section 5.1

Chapter Overview

33

Section 5.2

Expectancy Disconfirmation

33

Section 5.3

Assimilation Theory

34

Section 5.4

Attribution Theory

35

Section 5.5

Equity Theory

37

Section 5.6

Emotion and Desire

38

Section 5.7

Word of Mouth

39

Section 5.8

World Traveller Plus

39

Section 5.9

Club World / Club World London City

40

Section 5.10

FIRST

41

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British Airways as an airline used for business travel

41

Section 5.12

British Airways as an airline used for leisure travel

42

Section 5.13

Passenger Satisfaction Survey

42

Chapter Six

Limitations & Areas for Future Research

45

Section 6.1

Limitations of the Study

47

Section 6.1.1

Response Rates

47

Section 6.1.2

Access to Participants

47

Section 6.1.3

Reliability of Results

47

Section 6.2

Areas for Future Research

47

Chapter Seven

Conclusion and Recommendations

49

Section 7.1

Conclusion

51

Section 7.2

Recommendations

51

Glossary

53

Bibliography

56

List of Appendices Appendix A

Use of Media Authorisation from British Airways plc.

62

Appendix B1

Media (World Traveller Plus)

64

Appendix B2

Media (Club World)

66

Appendix B3

Media (Club World London City)

70

Appendix B4

Media (FIRST)

72

Appendix C

British Airways Product Portfolio Comparison Table

76

Appendix D1

World Traveller Plus Product Comparison against Competitors

77

Appendix D2

Club World Product Comparison against Competitors

78

Appendix D3

FIRST Product Comparison against Competitors

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Appendix E1

Questionnaire Design 1

80

Appendix E2

Pilot Questionnaire

86

Appendix E2

Final Questionnaire

92

Appendix F

Interview Case Studies

97

Appendix G

Participant Observation Case Studies

98

Appendix H

Global Events That Helped Shape the Aviation Industry (2009-2011)

99

Appendix J

British Airways Key Performance Indicators (2009-2011)

100

Appendix K1a

Departures from London Heathrow (July 2011) – SAMPLE

102

Appendix K1b

Departures from London Heathrow (August 2011) – SAMPLE

103

Appendix K2a

Departures from London Gatwick (July 2011) – SAMPLE

104

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Contents

Section 5.11

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

xiv

Appendix K2b

Departures from London Gatwick (August 2011)

105

Appendix K3a

Departures from London City (July 2011)

106

Appendix K3b

Departures from London City (August 2011)

107

Appendix L

British Airways Sale Periods (August 2011)

108

Appendix M

Sample of World Traveller Plus New Menu

109

Appendix N

Questionnaire Results

110

Appendix O

Sample of Field Notes

123

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List of Figures Stages that occur if a question is to be valid and reliable (Foddy, 1994) 16

Figure 3.2

Data Source Representation

20

Figure 4.1

Expectation Disconfirmation Theory (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001a)

24

Figure 4.2

The Affect Circumflex (Mano & Oliver, 1993 : 453)

26

Figure 4.3

Empirical model explaining future loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994)

26

Figure 4.4

Service Recovery Paradox (Customer Experience Academy, 2008)

29

Figure 5.1

Traffic Statistics for British Airways (IAG, 2012)

34

List of Tables Table 2.1

Sleeper Service Flights (correct to 23 Mar 2012)

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Table 4.4

2009 vs. 2010 Premium Air Travel Demand

29

Table 5.1

Flight Times Between AMS and BGI (via LGW) – Option 1

35

Table 5.2

Flight Times Between AMS and BGI (via LGW) – Option 2

36

Table 5.3

On-Time Departure of British Airways Scheduled vs. Average

37

Table 7.1

Arriving Longhaul Flight into London Heathrow T5 after 14:00

51

xv

List of Figures & List of Tables

Figure 3.1

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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List of Abbreviations A/C

Aircraft

AEA

Association of European Airlines

ARR

Arrival Airport

AVOD

Audio and Video On-Demand

BA

British Airways

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

BTCE

Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics

CAA

(UK) Civil Aviation Authority

DEP

Departure Airport

DUR

Duration of Flight

IAG

International Consolidated Airlines Group (formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia on 21 January 2011)

JBAs

Joint Business Agreements

M&As

Mergers and Acquisitions

RCA

Radio Corporation of America (introduced RCA jacks: an electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals)

T

Terminal

T5

London Heathrow’s Terminal 5

US

United States (of America)

USB

Universal Serial Bus (otherwise known as a Flash Drive or Portable Storage Device)

WT

World Traveller (British Airways’ longhaul economy cabin)

WTP

World Traveller Plus (British Airways’ premium economy cabin)

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List of Airport Codes Abuja (Nigeria)

AMS

Amsterdam-Schiphol (The Netherlands)

BAH

Manama (Bahrain)

BGI

Bridgetown (Barbados)

BKK

Bangkok (Thailand)

BOM

Mumbai (India)

CAI

Cairo (Egypt)

CDG

Paris Charles-de-Gaulle (France)

CPT

Cape Town (South Africa)

DAR

Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

DME

Moscow-Domodedovo (Russia)

DXB

Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

JFK

John F Kennedy Airport (New York, United States of America)

LAS

Las Vegas (Nevada, United States of America)

LAX

Los Angeles (California, United States of America)

LCY

London City (United Kingdom)

LGW

London Gatwick (United Kingdom)

LHR

London Heathrow (United Kingdom)

MEL

Melbourne (Victoria, Australia)

NBO

Nairobi Jomo-Kenyatta (Kenya)

NCE

Nice (Côte-de-Azur, France)

NRT

Tokyo-Narita (Japan)

ORD

Chicago (Illinois, United States of America)

PEK

Beijing (China)

SAN

San Diego (California, United States of America)

SFO

San Francisco (California, United States of America)

SYD

Sydney Kingsford-Smith (New South Wales, Australia)

TLV

Tel Aviv (Israel)

xvii

List of Airport Codes

ABV

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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List of Aircraft Codes Airbus Industries

Boeing

A332

Airbus A330-200

B752

Boeing 757-200

A333

Airbus A330-300

B763

Boeing 767-300ER

A343

Airbus A340-300

B76D

Boeing 767-300LR

A346

Airbus A340-600

B76G

Boeing 767-300ER-G

A388

Airbus A380-800

B76I

Boeing 767-300ER-I

B772

Boeing 777-200ER

B77L

Boeing 777-200LR

B773

Boeing 777-300ER

B774

Boeing 747-400

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1#

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Chapter One Introduction 1.1

3

Chapter Overview

1.2

Research Project

In recent years, there have been a large number of publications about the future development of the airline industry with regard to market competitiveness and future globalisation through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). “Market deregulation and industry globalisation have increased the competitive pressures on [airlines]” (Lawson, 2002 : 3).

Furthermore, “government[al] policy rather than market forces [has helped shape] the development and operation of scheduled passenger air service in almost all markets” (Borenstein & Rose, 2008 : 2). However, Steven (et al., 2012 : 752), debating the influence of market forces, state that “the relationship between service and satisfaction may be blunted by high customer expectations”. This suggests that there may be a link between the fare paid and expectations of comfort and service.

As academics debate what the greatest influence on the aviation industry is, it is the researcher’s intention to analyse service expectations and consumer satisfaction of premium passengers travelling on longhaul international services with British Airways. The aim of the research is to see whether BA meets the needs and expectations of its passengers, who travel in premium cabins. The researcher intends to draw a correlation between relevant academic theories, to (a) support primary research findings, and also (b) identify what the needs and expectations of the passengers are, and whether they are being met through current products and services offered by BA. Based on this, the researcher has devised four key objectives to assist in the development of this paper: 

To understand what consumer satisfaction is, and what part it plays in the airline industry,



To experience first-hand the service provided by BA in these cabins, and critically analyse the products and services available,



To use of various primary data collection techniques to critically assess whether British Airways is meeting needs and expectations of its premium passengers on longhaul international flights,

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Chapter 1 : Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the research project. It identifies the gap in the literature, outlines the aims and objectives of the paper, and why this research subject has been chosen. Furthermore, it will provide a brief overview of the current research methods utilised by British Airways (BA) to quantitatively analyse consumer behaviour. In addition, a brief history of BA is provided to distinguish its market position within the commercial airline industry.



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To analyse relevant secondary research material to apply consumer satisfaction theory to analyse whether there are any patterns in consumer satisfaction.

As a frequent flyer in premium cabins with British Airways, the author is interested to conduct research into premium consumer satisfaction to identify the significance of and compare and contrast between in-flight experiences.

1.3

British Airways

British Airways can trace its origins back to the birth of civil aviation, the pioneering days following World War I. In the 90 years that have passed since the world's first scheduled air service on 25 August 1919, air travel has changed beyond all recognition. Each decade saw new developments and challenges, which shaped the path for the future of commercial aviation.

Currently, BA is the UK's largest international scheduled airline and is one of the world’s leading global premium airlines (IAG, 2010). The airline’s principal place of operations is London with significant presence at Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City. Some 20 million people live within commuting distance of these airports, on the doorstep of the City of London, the world's largest premium travel market (ibid). Operating one of the most extensive international scheduled airline route networks, together with joint business agreements (JBAs), codeshare, and franchise partners, BA flies to more than 400 destinations worldwide. In the nine months to December 2011, BA carried over 24 million passengers (ibid).

1.4

Development of Longhaul Premium Air Travel Products

“From 1957 to until the late-1970s almost all scheduled airlines configured their aircraft into first and economy cabins” (Harwell, 2006 : 32). Qantas were the first airline to introduce a “middle cabin [and so followed that] longhaul airlines gradually introduced what it commonly called ‘business class’ to their longhaul passenger product portfolio” (ibid). When these products were introduced they typically had a greater staff to passenger ratio, seats that were wider and had more pitch (as compared to economy), free alcoholic beverages, an improved meal service, and preferential baggage handling (Davidson & Cope, 2003 cited in Harwell, 2006 : 32; Holloway, 1998 cited in Harwell, 2006 : 32; Shaw, 1999 cited in Harwell, 2006 : 32). More recently, having only three cabins in an airline’s product portfolio has been seen as being of a handicap (Shaw, 2007 : 23). Therefore, “a broad segmentation must be used for product planning purposes (ibid : 24). Notably, British Airways currently utilise four cabins in their longhaul product portfolios (British Airways, 2012a). In addition, BA was one of the first airlines, along with Eva Air, to introduce the premium economy product into their longhaul portfolio (Seat Guru, 2012). However, BA was the first airline to cite that “customers needed another seating option in the early 1990s” (ibid). Furthermore, BA was the “first with flat-beds for first-class across its longhaul fleet” (Thomas & Forbes-Smith, 2004 : 224) The researcher has continued the lead of academics and airlines and has used the term ‘products’ throughout this paper.

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Chapter Two Products and Services 2.1

7

Chapter Overview

For a detailed list of products and services offered by BA, please refer to Appendix C.

2.2

Product

This section will discuss the longhaul premium cabin ‘products’ that British Airways offer on their longhaul services.

2.2.1

World Traveller Plus

World Traveller Plus (WTP) is British Airways longhaul premium economy product, where passengers can enjoy added extra privacy, relaxation and tailored service. WTP is a private dedicated cabin with a maximum of six rows and is available to over seventy destinations worldwide across their network (British Airways, 2010a).

In 2011, BA created a new-look cabin environment to enhance the longhaul travel experience while retaining the privacy and exclusivity of our WTP cabins. “New furnishings … create a warm and premium environment throughout the new … cabin, while patterns and textures evoke a stylish and contemporary feel” (British Airways, 2011a). The ergonomically-designed seat comes with an adjustable ‘hammock-style’ headrest and increased recline1.

The new WTP cabin is available currently on the Boeing 777-300ER, operating on selected flights to and from Mumbai, Chicago, Delhi, Dubai, New York JFK, Tokyo-Narita, and Hong Kong. There are four fully fitted brand-new 777-300ERs currently in service, with two further additions to the fleet scheduled beginning of 2012 (British Airways, 2011a).

2.2.2

Club World

Club World is British Airways’ longhaul business class product. The current cabin has been around since 2006 (FlyBritishAirways, 2010).

1

As compared to the old-style World Traveller Plus seat

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Chapter 2 : Products and Services

This section will discuss the various components that make up the British Airways longhaul products and services. It will discuss and compare the standard industry product differences (seat pitch and seat width) between different longhaul carriers (that operated on the same routes and in similar markets, and also pre and post cabin enhancements that BA undertook from 2011, in a £5 billion upgrade scheme over a five year period (Kingsley-Jones, 2011; see Appendices B1 to B4).

The Club World seat has been specially designed to adapt to the needs of the passenger; whether for working, sleeping, eating or relaxing. It offers four preset seat positions, as well as the flexibility to create your own seating position, by utilising fine adjustment buttons.

With a touch-button privacy screen, you are enclosed in your own personal space. British Airways was the first airline to introduce fully-flat beds in business class in 1999 (FlyBritishAirways, 2010).

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2.2.3

Club World London City

Club World London City is British Airways’ business class-only service, with just 32 seats across eight rows on board, flying between London City and New York JFK. The entire journey has been designed to minimise airport travel time and check-in times while maximizing the passenger’s productivity on-board.

Mood lighting within the cabin creates “an intimate yet spacious environment” (British Airways, 2011b). The Club World London City seat is a new seat to the British Airways fleet, and is designed to adapt to the passenger’s needs; whether working, sleeping, eating or relaxing.

2.2.4

FIRST

The new British Airways FIRST suite offers the passenger their own personal space in an elegant and stylish environment. A unique double window, incorporating electric blinds bringing in natural light. On-board ambience adjusts to reflect the time of day, thanks to a mood lighting system.

Added comfort is found in the seat, which is 60% wider across the shoulder and uses the latest technology foam to provide increased comfort2. The attention to detail is also shown in the double-stitched leather upholstery and leather-coated table, whilst the Concorde pattern across the cabin’s interior provide as a reminder of BA’s prestige and history (British Airways, 2011c; Otley, 2011). Special touches help to make the suite practical and convenient as well as aesthetically pleasing.

2.3

Service

This section will discuss the differences in the longhaul premium cabin services that British Airways offer on their longhaul flights.

2.3.1

Lounges

Dining before take-off is a popular option (van der Post, 2011), offering passengers a choice from a varied menu, as the passenger may wish to get as much sleep as possible during the flight. A ‘Sleeper Service’ (pre–flight dining) is available on all flights departing after 20:00 to and from London Heathrow, and select destinations in the US and the Middle East (see Table 2.1).

2

As compared to the old-style FIRST product

8

All lounges have been designed in a unique way of trying to “emulate a five-star hotel rather than an airport lounge … and re-inject some glamour into the whole airport experience” (Ranns, 2008). ‘Destinational bar areas’ (ibid) such as the Gold Bar, Champagne Bar, and the Silver Bar have also been added, as well as a glass-fronted kitchens so passengers can see the “theatres of cooking in front of your eyes” (ibid).

Situated at Gate 24 at London City Airport, is the dedicated Club World London City lounge styled on Heathrow’s Galleries concept. It is a dedicated departure lounge area where the passenger can make use of free Wi-Fi, pick up a newspaper or magazine, and enjoy a selection of drinks and snacks.

Route (to the UK)

Flight #

Time

New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) Newark (EWR) to London Heathrow (LHR) New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) Chicago (ORD) to London Heathrow (LHR) Boston (BOS) to London Heathrow (LHR) Toronto (YYZ) to London Heathrow (LHR) New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) Philadelphia (PHL) to London Heathrow (LHR) New York (JFK) to London City (LCY) Newark (EWR) to London Heathrow (LHR) Washington (IAD) to London Heathrow (LHR) New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) Bahrain (BAH) to London Heathrow (LHR) Dubai (DXB) to London Heathrow (LHR) Abu Dhabi (AUH) to London Heathrow (LHR)

BA176 BA188 BA116 BA296 BA214 BA098 BA114 BA068 BA004 BA186 BA292 BA182 BA124 BA106 BA072

20:30 21:25 21:35 21:40 22:00 22:20 22:40 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:20 23:55 02:10 02:40 02:45

Table 2.1 Sleeper Service Flights (correct to 23 Mar 2012) (Adapted from: British Airways, 2012)

When travelling in FIRST, the passenger can take advantage of the worldwide FIRST lounges but also utilise the exclusive Concorde Room at T5 and New York JFK Terminal 7. The Concorde Room offers dining in private booths and full waiter service, complimentary champagne, wines, freshly ground coffee and Afternoon Tea. A business suite with boardroom facilities, internet, and computers linked to a printer, private cabanas (hotel–style rooms with a comfortable day bed and en–suite bathroom) with a terrace and viewing area and The Elemis Travel Spa is also available to FIRST customers.

2.4

Chapter Summary

Appendix C illustrates the differences between British Airways’ three premium cabins. As shown from the comparison, the greatest change is within the WTP cabin, where the

9

Chapter 2 : Products and Services

As a Club World customer, passengers are invited to relax in British Airways’ exclusive lounges (Galleries and Terraces) before their flight. The passenger has access to the comfort and facilities of over 70 dedicated BA lounges, and through airline partners, another 170 additional lounges worldwide (British Airways, 2011d). The Elemis Travel Spa is available at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 (T5) and New York JFK Terminal 7, where the passenger would be offered a complimentary two-tier treatment menu. There are also 20 shower suites available for use.

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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product has been greatly improved with an improved meal service, moveable arm rests, and new technology being incorporated into the new product. In addition, Appendices D1 to D3 directly compares the seat pitch and seat width for premium, business and first-class against several other longhaul scheduled airlines that operate on routes and in markets used by BA.

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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Chapter Three Research Methodology Chapter Overview

This chapter highlights the selected methods of research that the researcher aims to utilise in order to answer the research question. In order to answer the research question posed and to test the hypothesis (see Section 2.4), a variety of complimentary primary research methods have been used, including questionnaires, interviews, and primary observation. To support and generate questions that are to be further developed within the primary data collection, a wide variety of academic, printed, and internet sources have been employed to gain a greater understanding of customer satisfaction and the part it plays in the aviation industry, from both the view of the passenger, and what the airline does to meet consumer expectations.

3.2

Research Philosophy

The researcher will commence by analysing relevant theoretical concepts and text that relate to that of premium class travel, and consumer and tourist behaviour. The research question is: “To Fly, To Serve? Does British Airways meet the needs and expectations of its premium passengers on longhaul international services: an analysis into consumer satisfaction.”

This forms the basis for the research into whether there is a direct link between service quality and premium class travel. It will help develop a theory and/or hypotheses to prove or disprove the research question.

The two main research approaches that will be employed for this study will be deduction and induction, with the primary practice being the induction method. The purpose for using both techniques is that the deduction method will exploit what is already known by the researcher about British Airways and travelling in premium cabins, and compare this with consumer experiences and data collected. However, there will be a clear theoretical position prior to the collection of the data (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). Induction, on the other hand, will draw upon the observations of the researcher and can help determine whether a conclusion from one or more pieces of evidence can support the hypothesis. “It is the evidence that leads the researcher to the conclusion, not the other way around … however, the deductive (theory-driven) research approach can be used alongside the inductively-orientated approach in a study” (ibid : 73).

It is important to note that selecting a research approach depends on how appropriate it is for the particular research questions and objectives (Saunders, et al., 2007). There are five sequential stages that need to be adopted when taking a deductive approach to research (Robson, 2002 cited in Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008): 1.

Develop a hypothesis or hypotheses

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3.1

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2.

3.

4.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

5.

Express these hypotheses in operational terms (showing how they will be measured) Test the hypothesis (through an experiment, a survey, or some other kind of empirical inquiry) Examine the specific outcome of the inquiry (corroborate the hypotheses or refute them) If necessary, modify the theory in the light of the findings.

However, the inductive approach does come with its strengths and weaknesses (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008): Advantages      

It helps make a cause-effect link between particular variables and the way in which humans interpret these variables in their social world It is flexible in that it helps to identify alternatives theories on the research topic and permits changes of the research emphasis as the research progresses It helps explain why a particular phenomenon is taking place It acknowledges that [the researcher is] a part of the research process It allows research of topics that may have very little existing literature to support them It uses empirical evidence as the beginning of the reasoning process and can be easily applied.

Disadvantages   

3.3

It is more effective with a small sample, so there is a limit to the sample size It is generally more time consuming, as ideas are generated over a much longer period of data collection and analysis The risk of the research yielding no useful data patterns and theories is higher than with deductive research.

Secondary Research

Data collected from a variety of sources is important to ensure the validity and reliability of the study. Raw data and published summaries are included in secondary data collection (Cottrell, 2003). These provide a “useful source from which to answer … your research question (Saunders, et al., 2007 : 188). In order to ensure that a focus is kept on consumer satisfaction, researching of key terms will be crucial. These terms include: ‘consumer satisfaction’, ‘customer satisfaction’, ‘airlines’, ‘premium’ and ‘passengers’.

When analysing academic literature and journals, it is important to distinguish between the consumer satisfaction of low-cost carriers (LCCs), and those of full-service or network carriers, due to their different business model structures, and the differing levels of consumer satisfaction; that being ‘you get what you pay for’. Furthermore, the research will need to differentiate between economy and low-cost focused literature, and premium focused literature.

The terminology utilised to describe airlines, such as British Airways, is another issue that needs to be considered. Due partly because of BA’s history, the airline is sometimes referred to as a ‘legacy carrier’, as well as a full-service or network carrier. It is the researcher’s responsibility to separate the relevant and irrelevant literature.

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Saunders (et al., 2007 : 51) states that these journals are “evaluated by academic peers prior to publication to assess their quality and suitability”. In terms of relevance from these articles, it is important, however, to be aware of articles that might have an imposed marketing spin put on them by the airline. The use of the airline’s websites will, although assist in the latest developments within the airline, be utilised to gain an understanding of the products and services offered on-board to passengers.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Qualitative approaches tend to be more focused on gathering rich in-depth data by using a small sample size, whereas quantitative approaches collect less detailed information that normally have a larger sample size (Veal, 2006). Altinay and Paraskevas (2008) further explain the qualitative research focuses on experiences and emotions by gathering the participant’s perspective through words, whereas quantitative research aims to determine how one thing affects another by establishing variables, often using numbers. Both Saunders (et al., 2007) and Altinay and Paraskevas (2008) comment that combining both methods are becoming increasingly important in business management research. The researcher selected both qualitative and quantitative data techniques within the primary research in order to establish actual experiences and perspectives on consumer satisfaction within premium cabins on British Airways.

3.5

Primary Research

The four main forms of primary research that will be conducted will be: questionnaires, interviews, and participant observation.

3.5.1

Questionnaires

The questionnaires will be conducted on the internet to reduce printing and distribution expenses. It is hoped that this will generate sufficient data to be able to establish an answer to the hypothesis. The questionnaires will be initially distributed to a selection of participants (personal contacts known to the researcher who travel in premium cabins with British Airways), who it is hoped, will then forward it onto to people they know meet the criteria also; this is known as ‘snowballing’ sampling. It is a technique used to identify potential participants when appropriate candidates for the study are hard to locate. This, as mentioned before, requires referrals from initial participants (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). It creates a less controlled study, but by placing filters, also known as ‘logic’ tests, the researcher can reduce responses from ‘unsuitable’ participants. This will be achieved right at the start of the assessment; where participants must go through a series of virtual checks to confirm that they meet the criterion.

An optimum number of participants for this study would be 200, but anything over 100, will produce data that could be used in research analysis. The greater the number of participants, will give a more accurate measure of consumer satisfaction, as compared to a select few, which could be seen as biased. Although 200 is a very small proportion based on the number of longhaul BA flights departing daily worldwide, the answers to the questionnaires will provide adequate data to corroborate or refute the original hypotheses or objectives. If

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3.4

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more than 200 participants come forward to complete the questionnaire, this information will be included as it will provide a more comprehensive view of premium passenger satisfaction. A good-sized participant number will ensure that there is a structure to the analysis, even before all the responses have been collated. It will aid the research in being able to better describe and explain the pattern of relationships and interactions between variables that are being looked at (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008).

The survey was hosted online by Constant Contact. An invitation e-mail was distributed to the original potential research contacts, inviting them to click on a link that took them directly to the questionnaire. From there, they were then asked to complete the survey, which was then be logged on a secure website that only the researcher had access to. These individuals were then given the opportunity to forward the survey link onto associates they felt fitted the assessment criterion. From this source, the data collected, stored, and analysed.

3.5.1.1 Designing the Questionnaire “Designing the questionnaire requires the researcher to turn the generic topic of interest into specific research aims and then questions” (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008 : 71). Having completed research into the fields of consumer satisfaction and airlines, the researcher then began to develop aims for the study (see Section 1.2). The questions generated for the survey would support at least one of the research aims. “When writing a question the wording and phrasing used is especially important. This is because the respondent must understand the question as intended in order to provide relevant data” (Saunders, et al., 2007 : 366). Foddy (1994 cited in Saunders, et al., 2007 : 366), Figure 3.1, demonstrates this process: Researcher is clear about the data required and designs a question

Researcher decodes the answer in the way the respondent intended

Respondent decodes the question in the way the researcher intended

Respondent answers the question Figure 3.1 Stages that occur if a question is to be valid and reliable (Adapted from: Foddy, 1994 cited in Saunders et al., 2007 : 366)

Saunders (et al., 2007) recommends that by using a five-point scale, this allows the participant to express no opinion rather than admitting that they simply do not know. “An unavoidable disadvantage of self-administered questionnaires is the uncertainty of who answered it” (Ward, 2010 : 23).

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The questionnaire was designed on both an open-question and closed-question design. Even though the questions were mainly closed, the participant was provided with the opportunity to respond to any of the questions to substantiate their opinion. Following from Saunders’ (et al., 2007) recommendations, participants were asked to rate, using the five-point scale, with regards to whether they agreed or disagreed with statements, or were satisfied or dissatisfied with specific research areas of the journey. Initial questions were utilised to assess what type of passenger typography the respondent best suited.

A pilot study aims to identify and eliminate any problems with a questionnaire before a full survey is carried out (Johns and Lee-Ross, 1998). This allows the researcher to gain an assessment of a question’s validity and the potential reliability of the data that will be collected (Saunders, et al., 2007). Once the questionnaire had been approved by the research supervisor, the questionnaire underwent a pilot test. This was trialled on both family and friends to ensure the questions were answered and understood in the expected manner. It was recommended by several of the research participants that distributing the questionnaire over e-mail would enable the ability to reach more research participants on a global scale. Furthermore, after the initial trials, it was noted that the questionnaire was too long and needed to be cut down in order to ensure a high level of participation within the survey. Appendices E1 and E3 highlight the changes made to the questionnaire as a result of the trialling of the survey.

3.5.1.3 Questionnaire Sampling This project focuses on the research question from the perspective of the premium traveller. Saunders (et al., 2007 : 206) states that sampling “provides a valid alternative to a consensus when it is impractical for you to survey the entire population”. An obvious advantage of sampling is that the smaller the number of elements, the research becomes “more manageable and time-efficient, less costly, and potentially more accurate” (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008 : 89).

By using personal contacts, the researcher was able to see whether a fair balance of ‘premium business’ and ‘premium leisure’ travellers would respond to the survey. From the list of potential research contributors, all but three were contactable; with 42.2% of them registering interest in the study and agreeing to take part. Of those, 63.2% completed and returning the survey within the allocated survey timeframe.

3.5.2

Interviews

The second form of primary research was to interview participants. The number of interviews conducted would be a sample from the research participants who were prepared to go further into their journey experience. This gave a better opportunity for data collection to be analysed through other methods, and information about their requirements and expectations was gathered to understand whether their needs were being met.

Structured interviews also help boost the response rate and maximise the reliability and validity of data (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). All the interviews were structured, and enabled

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3.5.1.2 Piloting the Questionnaire

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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the researcher to gain a better in-sight into expectations of premium passengers. The majority of interviews were conducted face-to-face, however some were conducted over the internet (via Skype) or on the phone for practical purposes, such as the participant may have been working outside of the United Kingdom at the time the research was conducted.

The same standardised process was kept throughout the interviews, although the questions asked were changed slightly depending on which class the passenger travelled in. This made it easier for the researcher to “code, analyse, and compare the data” amongst interviewees of the same group (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008 : 73).

An interviews case studies list can be seen in Appendix F.

3.5.3

Participant Observation

The final form of primary research, other than consumer contact, was through participant observation, to better understand what consumer satisfaction is, and what part it plays in the airline industry. The experience of flying in the longhaul premium cabins on both a British Airways operated, and BA-codeshare flights, enabled the researcher to collect material to apply customer satisfaction theory to analyse whether there are any emerging patterns. This also helps corroborate or refute the findings found through other forms of primary research. To support these results, two standard longhaul return flights, one longhaul return flight including both an ‘open-jaw’ and ‘surface-sector’, and two longhaul return flights with a forced stopover, to ten ‘centres of commerce’ (MasterCard Worldwide, 2008) were selected (see Appendix G).

Gold (1969 cited in Bowen, 2002 : 9) devised a basic typology for participant observation: complete participant, participant as observer, observer as participant, and complete observer. The researcher adopted the ‘complete participant’ mode of observation, distinguished from the others because of its “covert rather than partially or completely overt nature” (Bowen, 2002 : 9). There were occasions when the researcher had to ‘come out’: mainly for the purpose of obtaining data such as photographs. Gold identified two issues with the complete participant observation style: “One, [the researcher] may become so self-conscious about revealing [their] true self that [they are] handicapped when attempting to perform convincingly in the pretended role. Or two, he may “go native,” incorporate the role into his selfconceptions and achieve self-expression in the role, but find he has so violated his observer role that it is almost impossible to report his findings.” (Gold, 1969 cited in: Bowen, 2002 : 9-10).

The researcher attempted to overcome the first issue by adopting the ‘mask of pretence’ (ibid). The researcher adopted the (true) identity of a research student, therefore making it “possible to legitimately and persuasively introduce an overt research interest” (Bowen, 2002 : 10). The second issue was dealt with by the researcher immersing then resurfacing (Dalton, 1959 cited in Bowen, 2002 : 10) which “celebrated the fusion of observation and participation” (Jorgensen, 1989 cited in Bowen, 2002 : 10).

Compared with other data collection methods, participant observation provides rich, detailed, context-specific descriptions, which are close to the insider’s perspective (Sackmann, 2008 cited in Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). Observation is also used to validate or

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further explore information obtained in interviews through a process of constant questioning, comparing, and contrasting (Schein, 1992 cited in Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). In other words, this form of research compliments other research methods, helps to generate theories and ideas for further research, and helps to validate existing findings. This data collection technique allows the researcher to gain first-hand experience of consumer behaviours, and the underlying meanings of their attitudes, relationships, and contexts (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008).

Validity of Research

The validity of research is the extent if to which a research method actually measures what it is supposed to (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). By bringing data from textbooks it is necessary to carefully assess information to ensure its relevancy to airline consumer satisfaction, therefore confirming that questions will be understood as intended. The appearance of questionnaires also assists in achieving valid results (Dillman, 2000 cited in Saunders, et al., 2007).

3.7

Reliability of Research

The reliability of research is the degree to which the data collection method produces consistent results (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). By capturing opinions and facts of specific goods in time quantitative methods result in a high degree of reliability (Collins & Hussey, 2009). This study used set questions to increase the likelihood of accurate replication, and by taking a large sample, reliability was increased to reflect a larger proportion of the studied sector.

3.8

Ethical Considerations

Research ethics refer to the appropriateness of research and behaviour in relation to the rights of the participants (Saunders, et al., 2007). The code of ethics was provided by the university for this research to detail acceptable procedures and conduct. Ethical codes are in place to protect the participant against harm. The need for the participant to grant consent to take part in the research did not pose a problem for this study as only those willing for their results to be used were included. This study does not require the deception of participants and all results were kept confidential. Individual results may have been valuable to competitors if exposed, and therefore were only seen by the researcher. This confidentiality may have increased the response rate and respondent’s honesty.

3.9

Analytical Strategies

All questions developed within both the questionnaires and interviews have been derived from personal observations on-board flights and academic literature. These utilised methods which both encompass quantitative and qualitative techniques into the research, and will be discussed in the findings. Participants have been taken from family, friends, and personal business contacts, as well as other participants unknown to the researcher, due to the ‘snowballing’ effect, to provide a broader range of results and to negate any bias from distributing it to only contacts known to the researcher. British Airways industry

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professionals were not used to form any part of the results, to ensure that the findings remained balanced and fair. The information collected was utilised to assist findings for the development of the questionnaires and interviews.

A bulk of the quantitative research was analysed through the survey host, Constant Contact.

This meant that the reliability of the data was (a) easier to access as it was all on one secure website, (b) made it a simple way of data analysis, and (c) ensured the reliability of the data.

3.10

Presentation of Data

Language interpretation is important and will always remain tentative, not assertive (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). Chapter 5 focuses on pulling all the findings from both primary and secondary data, and presenting it with personal thoughts about the meaning, value, and importance of findings; beginning with a general statement regarding what the findings mean, the relevant data specifics, and providing evidence for these findings. Chapters 6 and 7 will highlight the limitations of the research, and present a final conclusion that aims to answer the hypothesis and research question, as well as recommending areas for future study. Figure 3.2 shows how the collated information will be used to complete the research project.

Primary: Questionnaires

Primary: Interviews

Primary: Participant Observations

Secondary: Academic, Printed and Internet Sources

Secondary: Inside Gatwick Documentary

Figure 3.2 Data Source Representation (Author’s Own)

Data tables and graphs are used throughout this paper to illustrate quantitative data, such as statistics. However, use of this method of presentation will be limited within the analytical chapter to ensure the quality of results is representative.

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Chapter Four Consumer Satisfaction Chapter Overview

This chapter introduces the subject of the dissertation by reviewing the relevant literature in order to gain an in depth knowledge of the subject area and to meet the first objective, to identify what customer satisfaction is and what role it plays in the airline industry. This analysis focuses on general customer satisfaction. It highlights the main theories and research for the subject. Customer satisfaction is later reviewed more specifically in terms of airlines in order to gain a greater understanding of the subject area.

4.2

Consumer Satisfaction

In today’s society, it is clear that an “accurate measurement of customer satisfaction is a prerequisite for development affected management strategies” (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001a : 102) and therefore all industries have realised the importance of satisfying their customers. Customer satisfaction has been researched and written about since the early 1970s and since then, there is no agreement as to a definition of customer satisfaction (Yau, 1994). However, there are many theories and elements that are important to this subject and the key principles are discussed throughout this literature review.

4.2.1

Expectancy Disconfirmation

The expectancy of this confirmation theory has received the largest acceptance amongst all theories (Oh & Parks, 1997) and is a process “consisting of the formation of expectations and the disconfirmation of those expectations to performance comparisons” (Oliver & DeSarbo, 1988 : 493 cited in Bowen, 1998) Figure 4.1 represents the basic model that highlights the four steps that are undertaken in this theory.

A customer will compare their experience with their expectation and conclude whether there is a positive or negative disconfirmation by the level of customer service. If expectations are met or exceeded the person is satisfied (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001b), however, if the experience falls short of expectations the customer is dissatisfied. This is completed in order to gain an expectation, however pre-purchase evaluation is necessary through memories (Bowen, 2001), past experiences (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001b), relevant tourism information, and so on. “Standardisation of branding strategy across global markets leads to consistent and well-defined brand meaning and image across markets” (Bengtsson, et al., 2010; Lehmann, et al., 2008).

“As a verb, experience describes a process of learning, leading to learned response, but as a noun emphasises novelty and the lack of predictable, learned response. By incorporating emotions and perceptual distortion over time,

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customer experience overcomes many problems associated with static, partial measures of service quality” (Palmer, 2010).

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Expectation or Perception

Performance

Positive Disconformation

Neutral

Negative Disconformation

Very Satisfied

Satisfied

Unsatisfied

Can cause reaction (e.g. positive wordof-mouth)

Only a large disconfirmation will cause a change in expectation level

Can cause reaction (e.g. negative wordof-mouth)

Figure 4.1 Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory (Adapted from: Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001b)

The importance of performance in the satisfaction literature “has been as a standard of comparison by which to assess disconfirmation” (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982 : 492 cited in Bowen, 1998) and in turn satisfaction and delighting customers is seen as a vital tool for business success (Arnould & Price, 1993 : 25 cited in Bowen, 1998) in the first place and some expectations may be satisfied even though their expectations are not met.

Expectations are set by individuals and can be seen as “attitude-like adjustments” (Fournier & Mick, 1999 : 5). Different groups of consumers make this the judgment and satisfaction of different elements of the product (Yuksel, 2000). For example, “Asian customers tend to have higher expectations” (Mattila, 2000 : 265 cited in Brown, 2007 : 16) and women are more likely to get negative evaluation of a product (ibid). This is contested by Foxall (2003) who argues that “the consumer knows what he or she wants, and is capable of obtaining, processing, and using the information required to make sensible choices in light of his or her objectives”.

4.2.2

Assimilation Theory

The second paradigm that relates to customer satisfaction is the assimilation theory which suggests that “any discrepancy between expectations and product performance will be minimised … by the consumers adjusting his [or her] perception of the product” (Anderson, et al., 1973 : 38 cited in Bowen, 1998). In other words, the customer maintains a preconception of the product, but is flexible as their different zones of acceptance in terms of each consumer’s perception (ibid). Lau-Gest (2005) maintains that:

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“Individuals prefer to experience positive and negative effects close together but this effect only occurs when source similarity is low; when it is high, close proximity between negative and positive affect leads to unfavourable evaluations”.

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It is also important to note that customers may relate their emotional tones with the satisfaction ones in terms of customer satisfaction (Oliver & DeSarbo, 1988 cited in Bowen, 1998).

Attribution Theory

The attribution paradigm, derived from the work of Weiner (et al., 1971 cited in Bowen, 1998), focuses mainly on product failure (Folkes, 1984 cited in Bowen, 1998) and that “customer satisfaction levels would be related to the strengths of the benefits” (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001b : 87) in terms of how well each attribute meets the expectation. This theory of product failure encompasses the different variables that can affect consumer satisfaction and are arguably reliable as it focuses on the consumption of the product. It also understands that product failure happens and that is not always caused by the company; external factors also play a vital role. Three causes of product failure are distinguished: stability, locus, and controllability (Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988 cited in Bowen, 1998). ‘Stability’ refers to whether the failure is temporary or permanent (Folkes, 1984 cited in Bowen, 1998). The ‘locus’ emphasises on the location of the failure, whether the cause of the failure originates from the consumer or from the production (ibid). Finally the ‘controllability’ elements of the theory emphasises on whether it is a volitional or non-volitional (ibid).

4.2.4

Equity Theory

Consumer values influence product attitudes and purchase behaviour; they may also affect the prioritisation of needs to be met through purchase of particular consumer products (Yau, 1994). The equity theory can be seen as focusing mainly on the financial side. The theory can be seen as sound as they are focusing on both parties and not just the satisfaction of the consumer. The equity theory suggests that “an exchange will feel equitable, treated, and thus satisfied if the ratio of the outcomes to inputs is in some [equal] sense” (Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988 : 484 cited in Bowen, 1998). It is important that the exchange is satisfactory in order to maintain an on-going relationship (Oliver & Swan, 1989). However, customers today are strongly value-orientated. They seek results and service process quality that far exceeds the price and acquisition costs they incur (Heskett, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1997).

4.2.5

Emotion and Desire

Emotion can be categorised into three groups: the positive (interest and joy), the negative (anger, disgust, content, distress, fear, shame, and guilt), and the neutral (surprise) (Plutchik, 1980). It is one element of consumers that have been forgotten in many paradigms, and as it is normally only associated as being a benefit (Havlena & Holbrook, 1986 cited in Bowen, 1998). As seen in Figure 4.2, Mano and Oliver (1993 cited in Bowen, 1998) emphasise the importance of the emotion in order to engage the consumer with the product. Swarbrooke and Horner (1999 : 243) suggest that too little arousal can cause boredom and therefore

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4.2.3

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dissatisfaction. However, it does take into consideration that consumers can be satisfied without the arousal (calmness stage).

(Engagement) Arousel

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Distress (Negative Affectivity)

Elation (Positive Affectivity)

Unpleasantness

Pleasantness

Boredom

Calmness

Quietness

Figure 4.2 The Affect Circumflex (Adapted from: Mano & Oliver, 1993 : 453)

A further emotion that is important in terms of customers selecting a product is desire.

Yuksel and Yuskel (2001a) emphasise mainly on the performance desire that may or may not meet what is expected of the product. This expectation can be described as inflated and it is likely that consumers will be “less satisfied with their own experience” (Spreng, et al., 1996 : 16) as their standards are set too high and causes the gap between the company performance or customer expectations to be unacceptably large (Shaw & Ivens, 2002 cited in Brown, 2007).

4.2.6

Word of Mouth

As discussed in Section 4.2.1, customer satisfaction is influenced by previous knowledge of the subject. Figure 4.3, represents future loyalty and retention of satisfied customers.

Airline Image Comfort

Service

Satisfaction

Catering Value

Figure 4.3 Empirical model explaining future loyalty (Adapted from Dick and Basu, 1994 cited in Zins, 2000)

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Loyalty

4.2.7

Section Summary

Overall, customer satisfaction plays a vital role in a company’s success and future, and may be harmed by the dissatisfaction of customers that will influence potential consumers not to use the company, and is based on the individual’s personal perceptions and expectations (Brown, 2007). It is a vital element of the company and in order to discuss it, this review will now focus on consumer satisfaction specifically within the airline industry.

4.3

Consumer Satisfaction in the Airline Industry

The airline industry is reaching maturity. Passenger demand has reduced since the early periods of commercial aviation in the 1950s. From 2000 to 2008, annual traffic growth, ‘passenger plus freight’, average a little below 4%. Most recent long-term forecasts for the next 20 years indicate growth at just above or below the 5% mark” (Doganis, 2010 : 4).

The airline industry is part of the service industry and therefore relies on customers to survive. In order to do so it is important to keep the customer satisfied to a higher standard as many consumers choose an airline “based on their experience and perception about an airlines’ customer service” (Bhat, 1993 : 54 cited in Brown, 2007 : 19). It is also important to note that customers, have greater demands due to access to wider information resources.

Shoppers have more sophisticated expectations and are no longer passive; their expectations for reliable services and value-for-money are vital. Particularly in air transport, “customer satisfaction is the essence of [a] sustainable competitive advantage” (Lawson, 2002 : 78).

Airlines’ competitive advantages lie in the service quality perceived by customers. “Service quality is central to the choice of airlines for both business and leisure travellers” (Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE), 1994). It is important to anticipate the constant change in customer needs and be ready for when they occur in order to be a successful airline (Shaw, 2007). The power is shifting from the business to consumers as they want their demands to be heard As customer expectations rise there is a decline in satisfaction ratings as their expectations are not met (Taneja, 2005).

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One main communication channel is word of mouth. Word of mouth, “an informal, personto-person communication” (Cheng, et al., 2006 : 97), can be seen as just as influential on purchase decisions as the formal channels (Middleton & Clarke, 2005). Positive word-ofmouth is considered as a strong marketing tool when positive communication is being used.

It reduces the need for marketing expenditure (Soderlund, 1998) as customers are able to influence potential new patrons to use the product because they are likely to value their friends’ opinions. However, “twice as many people hear about the bad experience has about a good experience” (Goodman, 1999 : 19) and therefore, negative word of mouth is likely to discourage potential customers from even giving an organisation a chance (Scheuing, 1999).

Once customer expectations are not met, they are seen to have a negative experience of the service and therefore are more motivated to tell others (Schneider & Bowen, 1999) and can be seen as ‘terrorists’ to a company (Jones & Sasser, 1995). Cheng (et al., ibid : 98) explain that customers use negative word-of-mouth as “vengeance … to retaliate against offending businesses by deterring customers”. What is worryingly important to companies is that this form of negative marketing is invisible and therefore difficult to police as the company is not able to see the damage that a dissatisfied customer is doing to their reputation.

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“On-time performance, schedule reliability, quality of food [and drink], fare, the frequency of flights, by the flights, package delivery and customer service are some factors that represents customer service” (Bhat, 1993 : 54).

In order to ensure that customers will continue to return and affect current and future sales revenue, it is important to maintain a high standard of service to (Sims, et al., 2006). It is therefore in the interests of the airline to keep customer satisfaction high, as they are the main stakeholders that determine the success of the carrier (Brown, 2007). When passenger satisfaction is not met, the negative properties, such as flight delays and mishandled baggage may have a stronger negative effect than that of positive ones (ibid). This reflects badly on the airline and could result in the loss of future passengers to other carriers due to negative word-of-mouth. There are currently strict laws, enforced by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), that provide assistance to airline passengers who have experienced flight delays or cancellations: “When stuck at an airport in the UK and your flight is delayed or cancelled, you have the right to be looked after by your airline, whatever caused the delay or cancellation.

This means providing food, drinks, and some communications. If you are delayed overnight, this also means a hotel and travel to and from it. Airlines may give you vouchers for food and drink at the airport.” (CAA, n.d.).

The length of the journey does impact upon when assistance is received, especially when flying out of the European Union. “Most airlines base their terms and conditions on those recommended by the International Air Transport Association. Some airlines may provide refreshments and accommodation for passengers while they wait for their delayed flight.

Some airlines will not.” (CAA, 2012a). British Airways offers assistance for passengers on delayed or cancelled flights, with constant progress updates, and “additional assistance, such as compensation, refreshments, and other care and reimbursement, if required” (British Airways, 2005).

The ‘service recovery paradox’ is the satisfaction and repurchase intention, with or without product or service failure, to levels that exceed ‘pre-failure’ level (Evanschitzky, et al., 2011; McCollough & Bharadwaj, 1992 cited in: de Matos, et al., 2007). Figure 4.3 illustrates how the service recovery paradox works. Recovery paradox effects are, in this sense, the airline’s attempt to minimise damage limitation or exceed expectations to a point that the ‘failure’ never happened. “These effects are limited by the requirement that in most situations, customers must seek redress for recovery to occur. In the case of airline delays and cancellations, most consumers seek redress or correction of the problem. However, for many service failures, customers choose not to complain” (McCollough, et al., 2000 : 133). In fact, “under low-harm failure conditions, the customer is less likely to complain, and redress seeking may occur less often than under high-harm failure conditions” (Richins, 1983, 1987 cited in McCollough, et al., 2000 : 133). Conversely, in a study of post-complaint satisfaction, Tax (et al., 1998 cited in McCollough, et al., 2000 : 133) found that most complaints resulted from problems judged by the consumer to be highly important. However, it should be noted that harm is specific to the individual and the situation. One passenger’s low-harm failure is another’s high-harm failure.

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Customer Loyalty

Customer with service failure and successful recovery

Customer without service failure

Service Recovery

Service Failure

Figure 4.3 Service Recovery Paradox (Adapted from: Customer Experience Academy, 2008)

Consumer Satisfaction in British Airways

“In February 2010, [British Airways] saw the first upturn in demand for premium travel in 18 months. With recovery likely to be slow, [British Airways] will continue to match [their] flying schedule to demand and to general economic activity as it picks up” (British Airways, 2010b : 21). The impact of the economic downturn on the global premium air travel market can be seen in the table, right. However, there has been an increasing demand for premium air travel which “should lead to revenue improvement” (ibid). As you can see from Appendix H, there are several key events that happened, that had impacts on the revenue and premium traffic demand for British Airways.

Premium demand 2010

Premium demand 2009

North America Within Europe Within Far East Europe – Far East Europe – Middle East

5.2% 3.0% 21.1% 12.2% 10.7%

-12.2% -25.1% -19.8% -15.6% -5.9%

Total market

9.1%

-15 .8%

Table 4.4 2009 vs. 2010 Premium Air Travel Demand (Source: IATA, in: British Airways, 2010c : 23)

In 1983, British Airways launched the Customer First campaign, aimed at understanding the expectations of its passengers in terms of personal service (Anon., 1983; Bamford & Xystouri, 2005). “BA established monitoring mechanisms, which continually told them what the customers expect, and how well they were doing against these expectations. The market research covered both customers and staff, so as to form the starting point for a fully integrated campaign to improve standards of service” (Bamford & Xystouri, 2005 : 311). This programme also focused on how to manage feelings, understanding and coping with stresses, and being assertive. The objective was that all staff would be actively involved and fully committed to the corporate objective of improving customer service, with the slogan: “Putting our customers first – if we don’t, someone else will” (Hamill & Davies, 1986 cited in

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Time

4.4

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

30

Bamford & Xystouri, 2005 : 311). “British Airways is totally committed to understanding and responding to customer needs … [and] is confident that, by offering competitive pricing and high standards of customer care, we will provide a service that meets the needs of both the business and leisure traveller” (Marshall, 1987 : 71). More recently, BA has rolled out iPads to crew, with aim of understanding “how the tablets can be push[ed] the ‘passenger experience’ envelope even further” (Flynn, 2012; Walton, 2011a). “The iPads have already replaced the bulky passenger manifest for 2,000 senior BA crew, providing instant access to data such as each passenger’s Executive Club frequent flyer status, special meal requests and onward travel plans, along with timetables, manuals, fault reporting forms and more” (ibid).

Over time, BA hope that this data will evolve to remember meal preferences, such as fish, rather than the standard requested dietary requirement preferences (McClelland, 2012 cited in Flynn, 2012). “If the crew recorded passenger food choices we’d know if the menu ratios were right – if we need to put more fish on flights to [New York] JFK for example, if that’s what more customers on that flight are eating” (ibid).

BA has established key performance indicators (KPIs, see Appendix J). Three metrics have been used to set targets for the basis of remuneration. The three are: customer recommendation, operating margin and network punctuality. (British Airways, 2010c).

Furthermore, the airline has also introduced a Customer Advisory Board, which invites their passengers to comment and help shape their business decisions (Inside Gatwick, 2011).

4.5

Chapter Summary

Customer satisfaction plays a vital role in the company and therefore this issue has become “a central position in marketing thought and practice” (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982 : 491 cited in Bowen, 1998). The success and survival of any business depends on the processes of delighting customers (MacDonald, 1995). This is also the case in the airline industry, as “customer satisfaction represents an important parameter in choosing an airline” (Bhat, 1993 : 59), and when looking into the future, customer satisfaction is “battleground in the airline market” (Airline Business, 2004 : 82).

Based on the literature findings and further research, it is believed that passengers will be satisfied with the products and services offered by British Airways. It is hypothesised that there will be a direct correlation between the price paid for a ticket and the rising expectations (emotion and desire), as well as the confirmation of expectations (expectation disconfirmation). BA’s attempt to exceed passenger satisfaction levels through increased service levels based on the research project supports the literature previously recorded.

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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32

Chapter Five Findings Analysis Chapter Overview

This section of the research discusses the findings from the literature review and the primary data collection. It will synthesise the findings from the research and incorporate the questionnaire to answer the overall aim of the research study. In order to structure this chapter, the same framework for the literature review section has been utilised.

5.2

Expectancy Disconfirmation

Oliver & DeSarbo (1988 : 493 cited in Bowen, 1998) that the expectancy of this confirmation theory is a process “consisting of the formation of expectations and the disconfirmation of those expectations to performance comparisons”.

Doganis (2010 : 23) states that the nature of the airline product is “seen not as an end in itself, but as part of a business trip, a two-week or two-day leisure trip, or of a weekend visit to see relatives”. British Airways attempt to differentiate their services and products from those of their competitors, through cabin service and product improvements (British Airways, 2011e). They do this by “being first to introduce new aircraft types, by increasing their frequency of service, by spending more on in-flight catering or on ground services, and by advertising” (ibid).

From the findings, it would seem that, of that passengers display a positive disconfirmation based on their responses (Yuksel & Yuksel, 2001b), this group of passengers are satisfied with the service received when at ‘touch points’ (at check-in, in the lounges, or on-board the flight; whenever the passenger is in contact with a member of staff). This is emphasised by BA aims to “make sure all customers enjoy a unique premium service at every touch point” (British Airways, 2011c : 18), “providing comfort, convenience and reliability” (British Airways, 2011b : 41). The airline states that their passengers recognise that [they] are worth paying that little extra for” (British Airways, 2011c : 18). This shows that by the airline attempting to provide a ‘unique’ experience, means that every passenger is being treated as an individual, and not a commodity. However, passengers stated within the survey that if they flew with other carriers, their expectations were formed in comparison with British Airways.

In today’s society, services need to be of a good quality and delivered fast as passengers are becoming more demanding (Taneja, 2005). As mentioned, BA has tried to differentiate itself by highlighting positive differences to its premium passengers, such as “the only truly flat beds in business class” (British Airways, 2003; FlyBritishAirways, 2010; Mannion, 2012). This was supported by a comment made in the interview process by a Club World passenger: ‘the fare difference between BA and Virgin Atlantic on most longhaul routes to and from the East Coast of America and the Caribbean is not very much; but between the two airlines, I would choose BA over Virgin any time because I know what to expect and service is

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5.1

33

Passengers Carried from Jan 2009 to Dec 2010 3400 3200 3000 2800 2600 2400 2200 2000

Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10

Passengers Carried ('000s)

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

34

consistent’. This highlights not only a sense of equity with regards to this passenger, but it is deemed that the service offered by BA is of a high standard in most passengers’ view compared to that of competitor airlines. Measured against increasing passenger numbers (see Figure 5.1) and demand (see Table 4.4), this highlights a positive correlation.

Number of Passengers Carried ('000s) Linear (Number of Passengers Carried ('000s)) Figure 5.1 Traffic Statistics for British Airways (Jan 2009 to Dec 2010) (Source: British Airways, in: IAG, 2012)

5.3

Assimilation Theory

The assimilation theory is that “any discrepancy between expectations and product performance will be minimised … by the consumers adjusting his [or her] perception of the product” (Anderson, et al., 1973 : 38 cited in Bowen, 1998). As Lau-Gesk (2005) identified, passengers prefer to experience positive and negative effects close together, an example of this would be flight delays and cancellations. This is where British Airways attempts to deal with the situation, whilst providing exceeding levels of customer service to satisfy the passengers. “Many people do not complain about a flight being late, as they are aware that this situation can happen and that it is due to external factors” (Brown, 2007 : 35). This demonstrates that these passengers’ zones of acceptance are much wider than passengers that are seen as complaining when the flight is not on-time (Anderson, et al., 1973 cited in Bowen, 1998).

It was highlighted through the interview stages that passengers found the check-in process laborious and arduous. In general, a third of these passengers felt that flying, in general, was a time-consuming activity. The assimilation theory was evident through interviews, where one passenger mentioned that they would ‘rather [the check-in process] was done properly than end up on the wrong plane or with no luggage at the other end; it is a necessary evil’. This demonstrates a clear link between the assimilation theory and consumer satisfaction, where the passenger would prefer that the process was completed efficiently and effectively, than have something go wrong during the ‘journey’ (Graburn, 1989). This can be deemed as a functional risk (Cheron & Ritchie, 1982 cited in Sönmez & Graefe, 1998), where BA may not perform as desired and thus not deliver the benefits promised. In addition, “choice situations

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5.4

Attribution Theory

The attribution paradigm focuses mainly on product failure (Folkes, 1984 cited in Bowen, 1998) and that “customer satisfaction levels would be related to the strengths of the benefits” (Yuksel & Yukselb, 2001 : 87) in terms of how well each attribute meets the expectation. Oliver and DeSarbo (1988 cited in Bowen, 1998) separated the attribution theory into three sections: stability, locus, and controllability. The stability of product failure within British Airways is about whether the damage caused will have a temporary of lasting effect on the brand. The reputation of BA was greatly affected by 18 months of disputes between the company and its cabin crew. “Thousands of staff took part in 22 days of strikes [in 2010 and 2011], which cost BA £150m” (Anon, 2011). “What made this more prominent was that it was with such a well-known company, and that it wasn’t just in one area … it was essentially a worldwide impact” (Crossman, 2011). However, it is unclear from the research whether this has put passengers off flying with BA. Based on those that rated the attribution theory highly within the questionnaire, it demonstrates issues such as lost baggage which can cause a lasting effect on the passenger’s attitude towards the airline. One concern highlighted through the interview process was that a few passengers on longhaul flights (transiting through a British Airways ‘hub’ airport), that were not met with their luggage when arriving at their destination. An example of this was a passenger departing from Amsterdam-Schiphol to Barbados via London Gatwick and due to time-constraints of scheduled flights, there was (in the passenger’s opinion) insufficient time to offload the passenger’s baggage and ensure it was transferred onto the connecting flight.

This has been shown in Tables 5.1 and 5.2.

Option 1 Amsterdam-Schiphol to London Gatwick Flight BA2759 Number Operated By British Airways Depart Amsterdam-Schiphol 23 March 2012 09:30 Arrive London Gatwick 23 March 2012 09:35 Stops 0 Journey Time 01:05 hours Aircraft Boeing 737 Classes Club Europe Euro Traveller

London Gatwick to Barbados Flight BA2155 Number Operated By British Airways Depart London Gatwick 23 March 2012 11:00 Arrive Bridgetown (Barbados) 23 March 2012 15:45 Stops 0 Journey Time 08:45 hours Aircraft Boeing 777 Classes First Club World World Traveller Plus Word Traveller

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Chapter 5 : Questionnaire Results Analysis

involve uncertainty which creates some level of anxiety. Since anxiety is uncomfortable, consumers … develop strategies to reduce risk and thereby reduce anxiety” (ibid). This could include packing valuables in hand luggage. It should be noted, however, that “individual consumers might perceive the same or similar risk situations differently” (Taylor, 1974 cited in Harwell, 2011). This would probably explain as to why most passengers were satisfied with the process, but only one spoke of it being a ‘necessary evil’. Furthermore, ‘touch points’ are where BA can augment a passenger’s expectations and satisfaction levels by offering ‘unique’ service (British Airways, 2011c : 18).

Option 2

36 Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Amsterdam-Schiphol to London Gatwick Flight BA2759 Number Operated By British Airways Depart Amsterdam-Schiphol 23 March 2012 09:30 Arrive London Gatwick 23 March 2012 09:35 Stops 0 Journey Time 01:05 hours Aircraft Boeing 737 Classes Club Europe Euro Traveller

London Gatwick to Barbados Flight BA2153 Number Operated By British Airways Depart London Gatwick 23 March 2012 11:55 Arrive Bridgetown (Barbados) 23 March 2012 16:45 Stops 0 Journey Time 08:50 hours Aircraft Boeing 777 Classes Club World World Traveller Plus Word Traveller

Tables 5.1 and 5.2 Flight Times Between AMS and BGI (via LGW) (Source: British Airways, 2012b)

As this passenger travels in FIRST on a regular basis (where baggage is given a ‘priority’ tag), it should be anticipated that their bags would make the earlier flight. This leads to expectation disconfirmation and the company taking ultimate responsibility for a controllable situation not being met. Conversely, the ‘shortlanded’ baggage at in the mainline operational network for 2009 was 15.6 bags per 1,000 passengers (Millward, 2009). However, this is still not a great figure, as compared to other European carriers, where Virgin Atlantic mislaid 4.9 bags per 1000 passengers, bmi 17.2 bags, and Air France 18.9 bags. Iberia was the worst performing European airline with 19.2 bags lost per 1000 passengers (ibid). BA cites this due snow disruption (ibid). If comparisons are made between numbers of passengers who travelled on international services with BA (14.1 million) and Virgin Atlantic (5.4 million) in 2009 (CAA, 2009), relatively BA carry three-times as many passenger as Virgin Atlantic and the ratio of disconfirmation is relative to the number of passengers they carry.

“Departure punctuality is our primary measure, as high performance here requires other operational processes to run smoothly, and also because it is a key driver of customer satisfaction” (British Airways, 2010c). During the six-months to December 2011 (see examples in Appendices K1a to K3b), 75.6% of flights departing from London Heathrow, 79.0% of flights departing from London Gatwick, and 76.0% of flights departing from London City, left on-time3. Table 5.2 demonstrates the average number of flights that departed from London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, and City) during this period of time. As compared to the airport (scheduled) average, London Heathrow and London City are underperforming, whereas London Gatwick is performing better than the airport average. Across all departing London airports, BA is underperforming in comparison to the London airports average for scheduled services. However, the CAA (2012) reported “that over the whole of 2011, 80% of scheduled flights were on-time, up from 73% in 2010”.

3

‘On-time’ refers to a flight departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled time.

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British Airways

Airport Average

London Heathrow London Gatwick London City

75.6% 79.0% 76.0%

76.0% 78.1% 86.3%

Total average

76.8%

80.1%

5.5

Equity Theory

The equity theory focused on the financial side, and can therefore draw a potential correlation between the price paid for the ticket and the level of expectation. The sense of fairness is created by airline pricing and their strategy of making flying affordable to customers (Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988 cited in Bowen, 1998). Therefore, “most passengers are satisfied as they feel that they have had a good deal”.

Of the passengers surveyed for the research that believe that service expectations are affected by the price paid, there appears to be a positive response to in-flight service quality.

In addition, this was echoed in an interview with one passenger who upgraded on a flight to South Africa from Club World to FIRST, who stated that the service was ‘excellent: far and away the best flight I have ever taken – marvellous’. Another stating that they were ‘very pleased – always encountered friendly and welcoming crew; no problems at all’. A FIRST passenger on Inside Gatwick (2011), when answering a question about how the food and drink could be improved, commented that it was “difficult to say how to improve: it was excellent”.

These findings are supported by the number of sales that British Airways have had over the past four years (see Appendix L). It could not be determined exact travel periods of the participants surveyed, but the evidence of the survey showed that 80% of the equity driven consumers booked their flights between one and five months in advance. Therefore, highlighting that they were more likely to book their tickets for travel within the limited travel window specified in the sales conditions.

This, even though the passenger may be prioritising their needs in terms of seeking results and service process quality (Heskett, Sasser & Schlesinger, 1997), clearly emulates the results predicted by the researcher. Therefore, demonstrating a clear link between perception, value, and service expectations.

“For a business passenger, it is all about speed” (Solomon, 2011 cited in Inside Gatwick, 2011). British Airways has recently developed “a new state-of-the-art check-in” at London Gatwick (Inside Gatwick, 2011) “BA has also installed new self-check-in kiosks [at London Gatwick] for passengers to use, where boarding cards and baggage tags are printed off” (Carey, 2011). This facility is now been extended to London City, after the successful trial at London Gatwick (Caswell, 2012). They predict that in 2012, passengers will be able to print their baggage tags at home (Inside Gatwick, 2011). It is calculated that it takes passengers 42 seconds to check-in at a self-service kiosk, with 50% of those passengers taking between 2223 seconds on average (ibid). One issue highlighted amongst this passenger typography was the length of time it took to check-in. Some passengers found that being unable to view the entire length of the cabin and the inability to check-in through mobile technology in some

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Table 5.3 On-Time Departure of British Airways Scheduled vs. Airport Average Scheduled Services (Source: British Airways, in: IAG, 2011; CAA, 2011)

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

38

destinations caused issues for business passengers. British Airways has attempted to combat these issues by offering a greater number of premium check-in desks within T5: 16 Club desks and 14 FIRST desks, offering 96 in total (BBC, 2008). This has been designed “with speed in mind” (FlyBritishAirways, 2010), to aid the transition speed from the check-in through to the lounge and onto the aircraft. At London City, BA operates a check-in policy which permits the passenger to check-in up to 15 minutes before their scheduled departure time (without baggage), and 20 minutes with baggage (British Airways, 2011f).

5.6

Emotion and Desire

“Emotion is a powerful tool in terms of customer satisfaction” (Brown, 2007 : 36) and has a direct link to benefit (Havlena and Holbrook, 1986). Plutchik (1980) separated these emotional states into the positive (interest and joy), the negative (anger, disgust, content, distress, fear, shame, and guilt), and the neutral (surprise).

From this passenger typography demonstrated in the Inside Gatwick programme, it was found that passengers are either in the positive or neutral state when flying with British Airways.

When ‘Lisa’ came to check-in at the new BA zone at London Gatwick, for being the first passenger to utilise the facility, she was given a pair of tickets to any European destination.

This was something that the passenger was not expecting, and might potentially have heightened or augmented her feelings about the airline. However, this could lead to an inflated expectation (Spreng, et al., 1996). If the free tickets were removed from the equation, ‘Lisa’ can still be seen being given individualistic attention by Colm Lacy (Head of Commercial for BA at London Gatwick) and a Customer Services Agent (CSA). This individual attention, in reality, is not realistic as not every passenger will be able to receive this sort of treatment, especially during busy check-in periods.

During one interview, a passenger mentioned that they when boarded a specific Club World flight, they were shown to their seat by a cabin crew member, asked whether they could hang the passenger’s jacket and offered a glass of champagne; ‘all within minutes of arriving on-board the aircraft’. The passenger stated that they felt ‘welcomed’ and ‘at home’ and were ‘surprised’ that they were offered such a level of service. In addition, they felt ‘comfortable’ in the surroundings, and ‘happy’ with the service quality offered. British Airways is always “looking for the very best” cabin crew (Inside Gatwick, 2011). The airline has identified that they make most of their profits through premium class travel and “trying to offer a better quality of service at London Gatwick is BA’s fight back strategy” against competition from LCCs and other carriers (ibid).

Earlier problems experienced during the opening of T5 created some negative emotions. A study conducted by London First showed performance at the terminal as “how it [should have been] when it all opened … a world-class for a world-class airport” (Dicke, 2011). This is echoed by British Airways (2010b : 41) who state that “the service [they] provide on the ground at [Heathrow] is highly valued by [their] customers”. In 2009, BA consolidated their Heathrow operations by moving flights out of Terminal 4 into Terminal 3 and Terminal 5, “thereby offering a smoother travel experience, extensive facilities, and consistently high levels of punctuality” (ibid).

Terminal 5 was billed as desirable from the outset. It is a very important asset for BA because “for the first time in almost 40 years, [BA] will be able to have [their] core operations under one roof; so it will give [the airline] a much more efficient operation, and

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5.7

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is a strong, informal, person-to-person marketing tool that reduces the need for large marketing expenditure (Soderlund, 1998; Cheng, et al., 2006). This method of recommendation enables customers to influence potential new customers to use the airline.

British Airways monitors customers’ views through their Think Customer survey, and is completed by up to 36,000 passengers per month, where the airline, as a headline measure, analyse customer recommendation (British Airways, 2010c). For April to December 2010, British Airways set a customer recommendation target level of 64%. However, levels of satisfaction were impacted by the extended periods of disruption (ibid) due to industrial action, volcanic ash threats, European ATC disputes, and severe weather during Christmas at London Heathrow and London Gatwick (BBC, 2011), pushed the score down to 60%.

This was echoed in Inside Gatwick, which recorded comments of ‘BA is unreliable because they’re on strike’, and ‘I wouldn’t choose not fly British Airways, I … think it all comes down to money’. These messages could be communicated through to other potential customers, and therefore these ‘terrorists’ (Jones & Sasser, 1995) are likely to discourage potential customers from flying with BA (Scheuing, 1999). Even though this form of communication is usually verbal, and difficult to combat, BA has developed a social media team who continually monitor social networking websites for consumer feedback and satisfaction and dissatisfaction. “Twice as many people hear about the bad experience has about a good experience” (Goodman, 1999 : 19), and by using these social networking websites, consumers and potential customers are able to voice their comments. BA, through the social media team are able to monitor ‘posts’ and ‘tweets’ about the airline and respond to them directly and efficiently.

5.8

World Traveller Plus

Due to varying demands, WTP passengers could be classified under several theories. One issue that was highlighted by WTP passengers, was that they were undecided as to whether airlines offer a premium product and service to their passengers (Question 23f). The old WTP cabin was introduced in 1999, and was since redesigned in 2010 (FlyBritishAirways, 2010; Jaunted, 2012). The probably reason why these passengers felt that they may not have been receiving an improved standard of product or service, is because British Airways do not have separate check-in desks for their WTP passengers, as compared to Qantas and Virgin Atlantic (Walton, 2011b). British Airways has not only improved the product that is offered to WTP passengers, it is also offering an à-la carte Club World ‘sample’ menu (Crotty, 2011; Jaunted, 2011; see Appendix M). “We are currently looking at every aspect of

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[they] will be able to give customers the standard of service that [BA] has aspired to give at Heathrow for many years” (Walsh, 2008). The first thing that passengers notice when they walk into T5 is “how spacious it is, how bright, how airy, how calm the experience is” (ibid).

This is supported by desirable questions from the survey, where passengers highlighted that, even though ‘airport ambiance is going to vary from airport to airport’; they felt that they were satisfied with the terminal quality as a primary departure airport (London Heathrow and London Gatwick). This then extended into the departure lounges, where they were very satisfied with the variety and diversity of the food and drink on offer. This clearly shows that BA has taken a lot of time to consider what passengers want in their lounges.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

40

the food and drink we serve on-board and making changes that our customers will certainly notice when it comes to taste. There are areas we can make great improvements in, simply by using new ingredients and products” (McClelland, 2011 cited in Crotty, 2011). Because the new cabin product has not been rolled out across all aircraft (correct to 23 March 2012, see Section 2.1.1), this means that the canvased WTP passengers may have not experienced the new product. Furthermore, because of this, passengers criticised that they did not feel refreshed when they arrived at their destination (Question 32e). It was noted through participant observation, that there is very little difference between the amenities kits offered in the World Traveller (WT) and WTP cabins. The only difference between them is that WTP receive a free pen in their kits. Possibly quite useful for immigration and landings cards.

In addition, another issue communicated by passengers was that they deemed that the free ‘checked baggage’ allowance for WTP passengers was not sufficient. This could not be explained by the researcher and can only be attributed to passenger preference, as WTP passengers receive an additional free ‘checked baggage’, as compared to WT passengers.

Additionally, because passengers’ baggage is not labelled with a ‘priority’ tag when checking in, all WTP baggage is processed in the same manner as WT baggage; priority is given to FIRST and Club World baggage.

5.9

Club World / Club World London City

Club World and Club World London City passengers are best represented by the expectation disconfirmation and attribution theories. Passengers echo the comment made by one passenger (see Section 5.2) agreeing that service remained at a consistently high level and the cabin crew appeared very approachable, welcoming, and were efficient in dealing with any issues that arose. Passengers also commented on the seat comfort and quality of sleep. This is complimented by the 25% width increase in the new Club World product, as well as making it softer and more comfortable (as compared to the old-style Club World product, still available on some Boeing 767-300ER aircraft), included more storage space, improved the privacy that the seat provides, and the introduction of the Club Kitchen (FlyBritishAirways, 2010).

If a passenger is travelling for business, comfort is considered a somewhat important aspect (fast:track, 2012). Furthermore, because of the design of the product, passengers agreed that they had sufficient personal and private space. Even though seats are designed to face in alternate directions to one another, the privacy screen (see Appendix B2, Image 10) assisted in privacy if the passenger does not wish to see the passenger next to them. However, when the researcher was on the return flight back from New York JFK to London Heathrow, the privacy screen would not stay up. This was probably due to a clasp malfunction, but this meant that privacy was somewhat compromised during the ‘Sleeper Service’ night flight.

An issue of lounge spaciousness was raised through the questionnaire. Even though it was undecided as to whether there was enough space or not, several participants fed back that there was limited seating available. It is unsure which departure lounges are being referred to, however, this is cannot be supported by the researcher. Following consideration from when the researcher was at Cairo International Airport, it was felt that the third-party departure lounge (the First Class Lounge) was not large enough to contain all Club World and

40

FIRST passengers. However, this was the largest third-party lounge the airport offered, as other lounges were owned and managed by other airlines, for example: Air France.

5.10

FIRST

“[Passengers] tell [British Airways] that one of the most important things that they are looking for is a restful and comfortable journey. Therefore, [BA] has developed a seat that is … more comfortable, … wider, and makes best use of the space … available on the aircraft. [The airline] can claim that they can now offer passengers a 55% bigger bed [as compared to the old-style FIRST cabin] for their journey. Entertainment is also really important to customers travelling on a longhaul journey, so [BA] have increased the size in all … FIRST suites. Customers can now enjoy a 15” screen. From [the] dining experience, [passengers] can eat when they want, what they want, … so [they] can … tailor their journey around their needs.” (FlyBritishAirways, 2010).

British Airways as an airline used for business travel

For some business passengers, when travelling “price is an important factor, but … there are other things to consider, like reliability, the convenience of flight times, and … those allimportant air miles” (fast:track, 2012). Some passengers try to fly certain airlines to accrue air miles, but more important to them is the flight scheduling and the comfort (ibid). “For many corporate travellers, [business class] is an essential part of doing their job well” (fast:track, 2010; Choueke, 2011). Many companies have realised that time in the air, is not necessarily ‘down time’ as airlines have begun to install Wi-Fi and mobile phone coverage (ibid). British Airways has installed the mobile phone coverage on-board its Club World London City services. Unfortunately, it appears that passengers find it difficult to work within the confines of their seat. This cannot be explained by the researcher, apart from the observation of potentially small tray tables, which may not be as large as that offered as a desk in an office.

From both the secondary and primary research, it would be assumed that most business travellers would be classified under the assimilation theory, and this is supported by the findings. Due to passengers continually comparing experiences against other airlines, they believe that airlines can better differentiate their service by offering lounges and premium check-in facilities (Question 23f). If you take an example of a high competitive business traveller route, London to Hong Kong (fast:track, 2012), it is evident that there are four main airlines operating business class products to and from the two destinations: British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, and until recently, Qantas (Walton,

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There appeared, through the questionnaire, to be no flaws in the products or services offered in FIRST. The theories that most accurately represent these passengers are, again, the expectation disconfirmation theory, but also the equity theory. It was shown that FIRST passengers rate value-for-money as being important, much like some business travellers (see Section 5.11). No passengers canvased had experienced problems with the cabin products or services. This was echoed in the Inside Gatwick documentary (see Section 5.5). This can probably be explained by the way in which the new FIRST cabin has been designed around the needs of the passenger:

5.11

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

42

2011c). Frequent flyers are looking for the ability to spend points on other carriers to make flying more suited to their schedule (ibid), and being a member of an airline alliance (BA being part of the oneworld alliance), this makes the airline more attractive to business passengers. BA has a established frequent flyer programme which was revamped in late 2011 (Johnson, 2011).

Because speed through the airport is so important to not only the business passengers canvased in the questionnaire, but also business passengers in general (Solomon, 2011 cited in Inside Gatwick, 2011), BA has introduced express check-ins at London City, a major business airport due to its proximity to London’s Financial District (Tobin, 2010), and the adoption of new technology, such as mobile boarding passes and check-in, permitting the traveller to transit through the airport more efficiently.

BA came out on top, ahead of Virgin Atlantic, as the UK’s favourite airline, for cost, service, and overall comfort (GoCompare, 2011 cited in Woodman, 2011), However, it would be recommended to increase the size of the tray table, or include a side table, so that business passengers may be able to work more effectively. In addition, it would also be recommended that the OnAir mobile connectivity service be installed on all longhaul aircraft, as passengers have been calling for it (fast:track, 2011).

5.12

British Airways as an airline used for leisure travel

Due to leisure travellers being more value orientated, the value-for-money aspect is important. This is echoed within the survey, as passengers deemed themselves as within the equity driven theory, due to this high value orientation. It is therefore important that British Airways meet those value-for-money expectations. This comes down to little things that improve the overall consumer experience, such as welcoming and friendly staff (Questions 30a & 31a). The ‘touch points’ (see Section 5.2) were rated overwhelmingly positively with most passengers with over 70% of passengers rating their experiences at these ‘points’ as being satisfied or very satisfied.

The seat comfort has been greatly improved across all cabins (see Sections 5.10 & 5.11). This was again reflected in the survey with 84% of passengers saying that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the comfort levels of the product. During the interview stages, one passenger did however comment about aisle accessibility, stating that: “the only thing that lets BA down is their seat configuration, where, if you are sitting at the window seat you have to climb over the person behind, if he/she is sleeping”. This was also noted during an observation flight where a window-seat passenger had to climb over a passenger as they slept to access the aisle. This could potentially be more of an issue on ‘Sleeper Services’.

However, some 50% of passengers canvased through the questionnaires, did not find this to be a problem.

5.13

Passenger Satisfaction Summary

In general, passenger expectation is crucial to the satisfaction of a product or service, which goes the same for whether the customer has travelled with British Airways before or not.

The expectation disconfirmation theory represents BA passengers most accurately. This is because of the perception that comes with the airline. It is evident that passengers from

42

both the literature review, primary research, and Inside Gatwick documentary, feel that the airline is expensive. BA (2010c : 18) stated that they “recognise that [they] are worth paying that little bit more for”, but it is evident from the visible changes made through the redevelopment strategy with upgraded cabins, improved aircraft, an on-going lounge redevelopment programme (ibid : 19), and investment into a £73 million check-in facility extension at London Gatwick (Carey, 2011) where the money is being invested.

43

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

44

44

45

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

46

46

Chapter Six Limitations and Areas for Future Research

47

6.1

Chapter 6 : Areas for Future Research

Limitations of the Study

“Limitations are those aspects of the study that the researcher was unable to achieve” (Ward, 2010). The shortcomings highlighted by this study showed that response rates, access to participants, and reliability of the results caused limitations to the findings.

6.1.1

Response Rates

The researcher was disappointed with the poor response rates to the primary research questionnaire. Even after a promising start to potential research participant engagement, fewer actually completed the research questionnaire than was anticipated. This meant that reliability could potentially have been weakened and had the survey been available for completion for a longer period, more responses may have been received.

6.1.2

Access to Participants

Access to a diverse selection of the populous travelling in premium cabins was very limited, and the survey canvased less than one percent of possible participants (see Section 1.3). This meant that, potentially, a limited view from selected passengers was taken from the questionnaire during the research period. If further research was conducted, and access to one per cent of passengers still remains unrealistic, tertiary data should be sought directly from the airline to achieve a more holistic view from premium passengers.

6.1.3

Reliability of Results

Because the research utilised the ‘snowballing’ technique to access research participants, it relied on participants forwarding on the survey to potential new contributors who they believed to be suitable candidates. As the reliability of results for this band was questionable, the questionnaire was structured to follow a logical sequence to limit unpredictability and check for any ambiguous answers. In addition, the researcher manually verified responses to assess their suitability for this study.

6.2

Areas for Future Research

There were other forms of further research which could not be conducted during this study which are likely to provide further knowledge about British Airways’ approach to premium service and customer expectation and satisfaction levels. These research areas are: 

By gaining a greater sample size for research, it is hoped that this will provide a greater insight into consumer satisfaction on longhaul flights

47

48

  

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers



Developing an in-depth analysis of satisfaction levels across shorthaul flights Understanding whether there is a difference in satisfaction levels by comparing shorthaul routes with longhaul routes Determining whether there is are varying satisfaction levels between Club Europe and Club World Comparing and contrasting differences in customer satisfaction levels against other carriers, or against similar cabins (e.g. Club World compared to Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Upper Class’)

48

49

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Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

50

50

Chapter Seven Conclusion & Recommendations Conclusion

Industry experts state “that so much air travel is for leisure and is discretionary, so if you put up the prices too much, people simply won’t travel” (BBC, 2011). It should be noted that “large numbers of airlines – mainly those which are long established – … provide a value-formoney solution to a wide range of customer requirements” (Shaw, 2007 : 105). Because of the perceptions that British Airways is ‘considerably’ more expensive compared to other carriers, it may be difficult to perform price comparisons against other longhaul carriers on their website. BA has, however, introduced a ‘price calculator’ on its website to compare costs against LCCs, such as easyJet and Ryanair, which details ancillary costs not normally thought about by the passenger. van der Post (2011) stated that the “cost difference is not much … it is about educating passengers”.

7.2

Recommendations

When flights are delayed, passengers felt that communications could have been improved to keep them informed. Due to a poor ‘on-time’ departure performance at London Heathrow and London City, it is further recommend that as compared to London ‘on-time’ departure averages, BA must improve their service reliability.

Even though the AEA League Table was discontinued in 2010 (Millward, 2010), it is still important to keep passengers updated with ‘shortfall’ baggage statistics. This demonstrates to customers that the airline is striving to improve and gain greater passenger confidence.

It was highlighted through the survey that passengers, although satisfied, did not rate the Arrivals lounges up to the same standard of the departure lounges. This could be due to passenger fatigue, but could also be attributed to the opening hours. As premium class passengers still continue to arrive on longhaul flights until 20:15 (inbound from New YorkJFK, see Table 7.1), it would be recommended that BA extend the opening hours of their Arrivals lounge beyond 14:00 to accommodate more inbound passengers.

Flight #

From

BA0108 BA0286 BA0274 BA0006 BA0268 BA0038 BA0272

DXB SFO LAS NRT LAS PEK SAN

Dubai San Francisco Las Vegas Tokyo-Narita Las Vegas Beijing San Diego

STA

Flight #

From

14:00 14:00 14:05 14:45 14:50 15:23 15:20

BA0082 Ba0046 BA0042 BA0198 BA0873 BA0164 Ba0875

ABV DAR CPT BOM DME TLV DME

STA Abuja Dar es Salaam Cape Town Mumbai Moscow Tel Aviv Moscow

15:30 15:40 17:45 18:10 18:20 20:05 22:10

Table 7.1 Arriving Longhaul Flight into London Heathrow T5 after 14:00 (Source: IATA, in: British Airways, 2012b)

Passengers agreed that new technology (mobile check-in) sped up the check-in process.

However, mobile check-in is not available on all routes. It is further recommended that this

51

Chapter 7 : Conclusion & Recommendations

7.1

51

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

52

service is made available to all passengers on all routes. It is believed that this would assist in the check-in process, and reduce reliance on passenger internet access prior to departure.

52

Glossary of Terms

53

AEA League Table A league table of the worst and best airlines with regards to shortfall (lost or damaged) baggage compiled by the Association of European Airlines.

AVOD Audio and Video On-Demand.

Baggage that is stowed in the hold. Free allocated allowances vary depending on which cabin the passenger travels in.

Club Kitchen An area in the galley that is available in between meals to Club World passengers, offering: fresh wraps, salads and bite-sized sandwiches, delicious hot dishes such as chicken tikka masala and tasty soups which the cabin crew will prepare for you, cakes and Fairtrade chocolate, and wines, fruit smoothies, soft drinks and juices.

Codeshare A flight operated under one airline’s code (e.g. BA), but operated by another.

Full-Service or Network Carrier Full service is the traditional airline offering with checked bag allowance, an allocated seat, a meal or snack included and some beverages. However, some services ‘extra space’ (exit) seat requests are chargeable.

Hub Airport The airport(s) in which an airline operates from (e.g. BA: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, and London City).

IAG International Consolidated Airlines Group. Formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia on 21 January 2011.

JBAs (Joint Business Agreements) An agreement between two or more airlines to work in cooperation with regards to flight schedules and operations, booking processes, and [potentially] fares.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) A measure reflecting how an organization is doing in a specific aspect of its performance.

KPIs are usually expressed as a critical success factor.

53

Glossary of Terms

Checked Baggage

LCC (Low-Cost Carrier)

54

Also known as a no-frills, discount or budget carrier or airline or cheap flight) is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts. Examples would include easyJet and Ryanair.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

M&As (Mergers and Acquisitions) The aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing, and combining of different companies and similar entities, that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector/field or location of origin/new location.

On-Time A flight departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure time.

Open Jaw A single open jaw means travel which is essentially of a round-trip nature, except that the outbound point of arrival and the inbound point of departure are different (e.g. LHR / DXB // BAH / LHR).

A double open jaw means that both the outbound points of departure and arrival and inbound points of departure and arrival are different (e.g. LHR / CDG // NCE / LGW).

Passenger Plus Freight The terminology given to an aircraft that is carrying both passengers and freight in one service.

Premium Business The terminology given by British Airways to passengers travelling for business purposes in premium cabins. Fares between ‘Premium Business’ and ‘Premium Leisure’ are never different, unless agreed upon in a contract by the company at British Airways.

Premium Leisure The terminology given by British Airways to passengers travelling for leisure purposes in premium cabins. Fares between ‘Premium Business’ and ‘Premium Leisure’ are never different.

RCA Radio Corporation of America. Introduced RCA jacks, an electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals.

Shortlanded Baggage The baggage volume count that is less than what was originally shipped (i.e. lost baggage).

This also includes mishandled or damaged baggage complaints.

STA Scheduled Time of Arrival.

Stopover A deliberate interruption by the passenger at a point between the place of departure and the destination. This could be forced (by the airline) or voluntary.

54

Surface Sector This is where a passenger has a breaks their itinerary with a journey between two points (e.g. LHR / JFK // ORD / LAX / LHR).

55

Third-Party Lounge Airport lounge operated by another airline or the airport operator which is utilised by all ‘entitled’ passengers. This sort of lounge is usually offered when the airline cannot their own.

Traffic Statistics

USB Universal Serial Bus. Otherwise known as a Flash drive or portable storage device.

WTP World Traveller Plus. British Airways’ premium economy cabin.

55

Glossary of Terms

The statistics for the volume of passengers that travelled with a specific airline. This also includes data on revenue per seat kilometre (RPKs), and available seat kilometres (ASKs).

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

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Tobin, L. (2010) BA plans major transatlantic push at London City Airport, Evening Standard [Online] 06 September 2010. Available at: http://bit.ly/GQvfoN [Accessed: 20 December 2011]. van der Post, F. (2011) The Big Talk: with Keith Williams, interviewed by John Strickland [Interview] World Travel Market (London), 10 November 2011, 15:30.

61

Walton, J. (2011a) British Airways: customer service iPad 2 + app for all flights, Australian Business Traveller [Online] 21 November 2011. Available at: http://bit.ly/rHBn6J [Accessed: 21 November 2011].

Walton, J. (2011b) Best premium economy? Qantas vs. British Airways vs. Virgin Atlantic, Australian Business Traveller [Online] 04 August 2011. Available at: http://bit.ly/qvwf6r [Accessed: 04 August 2011].

Ward, S. (2010) A Research Study to Understand the Factors that Affect Customer Satisfaction at Events and How the Event Organiser May Achieve Customer Delight [Dissertation]. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University.

Woodman, P. (2011) British Airways tops airlines poll, The Independent [Online] 18 October 2011. Available at: http://ind.pn/o7gr8s [Accessed: 18 October 2011].

Yau, O. (1994) Consumer Behaviour in China: customer satisfaction and cultural values. London: Routledge.

Yuksel, A. & Yuksel, F. (2001a) Measurement and Management Issues in Customer Satisfaction Research: review, critique, and research agenda (Part One), Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. 10 (4), pp. 47-80.

Yuksel, A. & Yuksel, F. (2001b) Measurement and Management Issues in Customer Satisfaction Research: review, critique, and research agenda (Part Two), Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. 10 (4), pp. 81-111.

61

Bibliography

Walton, J. (2011c) Real-world photo tour: British Airways Club World business class, Australian Business Traveller [Online] 23 September 2011. Available at: http://bit.ly/mZmoXA [Accessed: 23 September 2011].

62

Appendix A

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Use of Media Authorisation from British Airways plc.

Dominic George From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tom Norris [media.relations@ba.com] 23 February 2012 14:10 Dominic George [08061629@brookes.ac.uk] RE: Use of Media for Academic Research Project

Hi Dominic, I can confirm that we're happy for you to use an image from our online Press Office gallery in your project.

Best regards, Tom Norris British Airways Media Relations 020 8738 5100 media.relations@ba.com www.ba.com/press

Tom Norris From: Sent: To: Subject:

Dominic George [08061629@brookes.ac.uk] 23 February 2012 13:07 BA Media Relations [media.relations@ba.com] RE: Use of Media for Academic Research Project

Dear Mr Norris, Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to discuss my research project with yourself and your team.

As stated in my e-mail (please see below), this research project is for academic purposes only. In addition, this research project is being completed as part fulfilment of a Bachelor of Science award in International Tourism Management.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks, and kind regards, Dominic -Dominic George

Undergraduate Student & TU/TZ Field Student Representative BSc (Hons) International Tourism Management <08061629@brookes.ac.uk>

62

63 BA Media Relations From: Sent: To: Subject:

Dominic George [08061629@brookes.ac.uk] 18 February 2012 11:46 BA Press Office [ba.images@ba.com] RE: Use of Media for Academic Research Project

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am currently doing an academic research project as part of my undergraduate studies, and would like to utilise some of the images on the BA Press Office Gallery to support my findings. This research project is for academic purposes only.

I hope that you will permit the use of your images as part of my studies, and will respect your decision regardless of the outcome.

Kind regards, Dominic George -Dominic George

Undergraduate Student & TU/TZ Field Student Representative BSc (Hons) International Tourism Management <08061629@brookes.ac.uk>

63

Appendices

My name is Dominic George, and I am a final-year student at Oxford Brookes University, reading for a BSc (Hons.) in International Tourism Management.

64

Appendix B1

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Media (World Traveller Plus)

2

1

Seat 22G – B772 (Old Style)

Seat 22J– B773 (New Style)

4

3

Back of Seat Pouch (B772)

Footrest (B772)

64

65 5

6

Tray Table – B772 (extended)

7

8

6.5” TV Screen (on 22J – B772)

10.5” TV Screen (on 22J – B773)

9

10

Amenities Provided for WTP Passengers

Side Table (on B773)

All World Traveller Plus images © Dominic George, 2011

65

Appendices

Tray Table – B772 (into armrest)

66

Appendix B2

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Media (Club World)

2

1

Club World Cabin

Club World Seat ‘Z-Position’ for Relaxing

4

3

Ability to Work and Rest

Ability to Eat and Sleep

5

6

Club Kitchen

‘Ying-Yang’ Seating Style

Club World media (Images 1-6) reproduced with the kind permission of © British Airways

66

67 7

8

Appendices

Footrest (down – B772)

Footrest (stowed – B772)

10

9

10.5” AVOD Screen – B773

Privacy Screen – B773

67

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

68

12

11

Zone Entrance Signs (Zone H, LHR T5)

Club Check-In (Zone H, LHR T5)

13

14

Seat and Control Panel – B772

Seat and Control Panel – B773

15

16

Top View of B772 Club World Seat

Ambience Lighting – B773

68

69

18

17

Appendices

Screen and Stowed Tray Table – B773

Screen and Stowed Tray Table – B772

Images (7-18) © Dominic George, 2011

69

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

70

Appendix B3 Media (Club World London City)

2

1

On-Board the Airbus A318

Seat – 1D & 1F

3

4

Ability to Work

Ability to Sleep

6

5

Entertainment

Food Service

Club World London City Media (Images 1-6) reproduced with the kind permission of British Airways

70

71

8

7

Universal Power Socket

Product Information Booklet Appendices

10

9

Light and Secondary Seat Controls

Primary Seat Controls

Images (7-10) © Dominic George, 2011

71

72

Appendix B4

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Media (First)

2

1

The FIRST Suite

The FIRST Suite with Electronic Blinds

3

Seat Controls, Lighting, and Side Table

First Suite Media (Images 1-3) reproduced with the kind permission of © British Airways

72

73

5

4

FIRST Check-In Zone (J)

FIRST Check-In Desks Appendices

7

6

Passenger Welcome Desk

Table (New FIRST)

8

9

Table (Stowed) Ready for Release

Top View of New FIRST Suite

73

74 10

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

11

AVOD & Telephone Control Panel with USB/RCA Jacks (New FIRST)

Cupboard (New FIRST)

12

Legroom Available (as demonstrated by researcher)

74

75 13

14

Selection of Amenities Offered (New FIRST)

15

16

Seat Controls – 4D (New FIRST)

Seat Controls – 6A (Old FIRST)

17

Old FIRST

Images 4-17 © Dominic George, 2011

75

Appendices

15.4” AVOD Screen (New FIRST)

76

Appendix C

Priority or Separate Check-In Area Pre-Seat Selection1 Priority Boarding Priority Disembarkation Baggage Allowance Use of British Airways FIRST and Other oneworld First Class Check-In Desks Galleries / Terraces (Business Class) Departure Lounge Access when flying with British Airways Concorde Room (First Class Lounge) Access Maximum Number of Seats in Cabin Adjustable Headrest Lumbar Support Leg Rest Moveable Arm Rests Seat Pitch Seat Width Seat Recline Length of Fully-Extended Bed Complimentary Newspapers In-Flight Amenity Kit In-Seat Power In-Seat Phone À la carte Three Course Meal Sleeper Service / Pre-Flight Dining Option Club Kitchen Dine On Demand Service City Breakfast AVOD Entertainment System AVOD Screen Width USB/RCA Ports On-Board Mobile Connectivity Use of Fast-Track Immigration Channel London City Arrivals Service Arrivals Lounge Access Fast-Track Airport Security Access Complimentary Elemis Travel Spa Treatment Dedicated Telephone Contact Dedicated E-mail Contact Private Concierge through Quintessentially

New First

Old First

Club World LCY

Club World

New WTP

Old WTP

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

British Airways Product Portfolio Comparison Table

46kg 46kg 96kg 69kg 96kg 96kg

40

36

70

32

14

14

31” 38” 73” 73” 78” 85” 17.5” 18.5” 21.4” 20” 21” 32” 7° 9° 180° 180° 180° 180° N/A N/A 6’6” 6’ 6’6” 6’6”

6.5” 10.4” 10.4” 10.4” 15”

15”

Adapted from: British Airways, 2011abcdef; Seat Guru, 2010abcdefg; Seat Plans, 2012abcd

PLEASE NOTE: This table excludes advantages gained through Frequent Flyer Status 1 Pre-seat selection refers to the ability to select seat before the standard ‘24 hours before departure’ check-in period

76

77

Appendix D1 World Traveller Plus Product Comparison against Competitors

Aircraft

Seat Pitch

Seat Width

Air Canada Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines JAL JAL JAL KLM Openskies (BA subsidiary) Qantas Qantas Qantas United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic

Boeing 767-300ER (B763) Airbus A330-200 (A332) Airbus A340-300 International Longhaul (A343) Airbus A380-800 (A388) – v2 Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v2 Boeing 777-300 (B773) Indian Ocean & Caribbean Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v2 Boeing 747-400 Low-J (B744) Boeing 747-400 High-J (B744) Boeing 767-300 (B763) – v1 Boeing 777-200 (B772) 3 Class Boeing 777-200 (B772) 4 Class Boeing 777-300 (B773) 4 Class Airbus A330-200 (A332) Airbus A330-300 (A333) Boeing 747-400 (B744) Boeing 767-300ER-G (B76G) Boeing 767-300ER-I (B76I) Boeing 767-400LR (B76D) Boeing 777-200ER (B772) Boeing 777-200LR (B77L) Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v3 Airbus A330-200 (A332) Boeing 757-200 (B752) Airbus A380-800 (A388) Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v1 Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v2 Boeing 747-400 (B744) Boeing 767-300 International (B763) Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 1 (B772) Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 2 (B772) Airbus A340-300 (A343) Airbus A340-600 (A346) Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v1 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v2 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v3 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v4

38” 38” 38” 49.8” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 36” 38” 36” 36” 36” 36” 36“ 36” 38” 38” 38” 35” 52” 38” 38” 38” 34” 35” 34” 34” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38” 38”

23.5” 19” 26.6” 19” 19” 18” 19” 19” 19” 18.5” 18.5” 18.5” 18.5” 18.5” 18.5” 17.5” 17.5” 17” 18” 18” 17.8” 18.5” 18.5” 18” 18” 18” 17.5” 20” 19.5” 19.5” 19.5” 17” 18” 18” 18” 21” 21” 21” 21” 21” 21”

(Adapted from: Seat Guru, 2010h)

77

Appendices

Airline

78

Appendix D2

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Club World Product Comparison against Competitors

Airline

Aircraft

Seat Pitch

Seat Width

Air Canada Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France Air France British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Delta Airlines Emirates Emirates Emirates Emirates JAL JAL JAL KLM Openskies (BA subsidiary) Qantas Qantas Qantas United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic

Boeing 767-300ER (B763) Airbus A330-200 Airbus A340-300 International Longhaul Airbus A380-800 – v2 Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v2 Boeing 777-300 Indian Ocean & Caribbean Boeing 777-300 – v1 Boeing 777-300 – v2 Boeing 747-400 Low-J (B744) Boeing 747-400 High-J (B744) Boeing 767-300 (B763) – v1 Boeing 777-200 (B772) 3 Class Boeing 777-200 (B772) 4 Class Boeing 777-300 (B773) 4 Class Boeing 747-400 (B74A) Longhaul Boeing 777-200 (B772) Boeing 777-300 (B773) Boeing 777-300ER (B77A) Airbus A330-200 (A332) Airbus A330-300 (A333) Boeing 747-400 (B744) Boeing 767-300ER-G Boeing 767-300ER-I Boeing 767-400LR (B76D) Boeing 777-200ER (B772) Boeing 777-200LR (B77L) Airbus A380-800 (A388) – v1 Airbus A380-800 (A388) – v2 Boeing 777-200LR (B772) 3 Class Boeing 777-300ER (B773) 3 Class Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v3 Airbus A330-200 (A332) Boeing 757-200 (B752) Airbus A380-800 (A388) Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v1 Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v2 Boeing 747-400 (B744) Boeing 767-300 International (B763) Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 1 Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 2 Airbus A340-300 (A343) Airbus A340-600 (A346) Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v1 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v2 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v3 Boeing 747-400 (B744) – v4

70” 61” 55” 55” 61” 61” 61” 61” 61” 73” 73” 73” 73” 73” 73” 78” 45” 45” 78” 60” 60” 60” 60” 44” 44” 44” 44” 48” 48” 78” 46” 62” 58” 58” 60” 73” 80” 60” 60” 74” 77” 55” 55” 79.5” 79.5” 79.5” 79.5” 79.5” 79.5”

20.35” 21.5” 34” 34” 21.5” 21.5” 21.5” 21.5” 21.5” 20” 20” 20” 20” 20” 21.37” 32” 20” 20” 32” 20” 20” 20” 18.5” 21.5” 20” 20” 20” 18.5” 18.5 20.5” 20.5” 26” 22” 22” 20.25” 20” 21.5” 21.5” 21.5” 23.5” 23.5” 20.5” 20.5” 22” 22” 22” 22” 22” 22”

(Adapted from: Seat Guru, 2010i)

78

79

Appendix D3 FIRST Product Comparison against Competitors

Aircraft

Seat Pitch

Seat Width

Air France Air France Air France British Airways British Airways British Airways British Airways Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Emirates Emirates Emirates Emirates JAL JAL JAL Qantas Qantas Qantas United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines United Airlines

Airbus A380-800 – v2 Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-300 – v1 Boeing 747-400 Low-J (B744) Boeing 747-400 High-J (B744) Boeing 777-200 (B772) 4 Class Boeing 777-300 (B773) 4 Class Boeing 747-400 (B74A) Longhaul Boeing 777-300ER (B77A) Airbus A380-800 (A388) – v1 Airbus A380-800 (A388) – v2 Boeing 777-200LR (B772) 3 Class Boeing 777-300ER (B773) 3 Class Boeing 777-200 (B772) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v1 Boeing 777-300 (B773) – v3 Airbus A380-800 (A388) Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v1 Boeing 747-438 (B744) 4 Class – v2 Boeing 747-400 (B744) Boeing 767-300 International (B763) Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 1 Boeing 777-200 Worldwide 2

81” 79” 79” 78” 78” 78” 85” 81” 81” 86” 86” 62” 69” 51” 79” 79” 83.5” 79” 79” 78” 78” 78” 78”

35” 24” 24” 21” 21” 21” 32” 36” 36” 23” 23” 21.5” 20.5” 21” 26” 26” 29” 22” 22” 31” 31” 21.5” 21.5”

(Adapted from: Seat Guru, 2010j)

79

Appendices

Airline

80

Appendix E1

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Questionnaire Design 1 Tell us about yourself Are you…

Male

Female

What age range are you in?

15 - 24 25 -34 35 - 44 45 - 54

55 - 64 65 - 74 Over 74 Over 74

Do you or have you worked for an airline, airport, or ground handling agency?

Yes If so, which:

No

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

What is your secondary travel purpose?

If you do not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 8.

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your primary travel purpose?

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your secondary travel purpose?

If you did not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 10.

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

Air France American Airlines bmi British Airways Cathay Pacific Delta Airlines Emirates

Lufthansa Qantas Virgin Atlantic United Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled with this airline? (1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

Which cabin do you travel in most frequently?

First Class Business Class

Premium Economy Economy

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled in this cabin?

(1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

How close to departure do you usually book your flight?

Less than a week in advance A week to a month in advance

2 - 4 months in advance 5 months or more in advance

Who is the primary decision maker in booking flights?

Myself My spouse / partner My family My company

My travelling companion(s) It is a group decision Other:

Which Frequent Flyer Programmes are you part of?

Please select all that apply to you.

If you are not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programmes, please go to Question 18.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

What is your primary country of residency?

What is your primary departure airport?

What is your primary travel purpose?

Which is the airline you travel with most frequently?

80

Other

Other

The ‘cheapest’ airline

Not applicable

Which Frequent Flyer Programme do you utilise most frequently?

Please only select one.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

81

Not applicable

  

 



  

  

   

   

 



     

     

Appendices

    

What do you expect when you fly?

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements? I believe…

1

2

3

4

5

4

5

Passengers should be processed through the airport experience as quickly as possible.

Airlines offer a premium service and product to their premium passengers.

Service expectations are affected by the price you pay for your ticket.

Airlines that have a good reputation offer a better standard of service.

Maximum waiting times for check-in, security, boarding, and immigration should be kept to a minimum.

Airlines can better differentiate their service by offering lounges and premium check-in facilities.

The following sections are about your flight experiences with British Airways The following sections will cover all areas of a typical flight, including: check-in, security, the airport environment, the BA departure lounges, service quality, the cabin environment, transiting through the airport, arrivals, and the BA arrivals lounge. For some, you will be asked about your feelings with regards to specific statements, and your personal opinions on others.

Travelling through the airport: pre-departure 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about check-in? I believe…

Queues at check-in are too long.

British Airways should be fined if their check-in queues are too long.

Passengers should be given a specific time for checking-in for their flight.

British Airways should provide passengers with alternative methods to check-in for their flight.

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

Airport accessibility is a vital part of the flying experience.

81

5 – Strongly Agree 1

2

3

To what extent do you agree with these statements about security? I believe…

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

82

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Queues at security are too long.

British Airways should provide security with a detailed list of when their peak departure times are.

Passengers should be shown a greater degree of customer service and care at security.

Processing documents and baggage at security is a very time-consuming process.

The level of security screening for frequent flyers should be kept to the bare minimum.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the airport experience? I believe…

Flight information is effectively communicated.

British Airways staff are helpful and have a friendly attitude towards passengers.

There is a good amount of seating available landside (before security) and airside (after security).

Departure delays are effectively communicated by the airline.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about check-in?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

NA – Don’t

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Accessibility of the airport (by any transportation-means) Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight online Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight on your mobile application Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a self-service check-in kiosk Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a standard airport desk Time and ease it takes to drop your baggage off at the fast bag drop desk Baggage allowance Overall, how satisfied were you with the check-in process?

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about security?

Time it takes to get through security Level of screening provided by airport security Overall, how satisfied were you with the security process?

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the airport experience?

NA

Time and ease of getting to the departure gate Time and ease of getting from the departure gate onto the aircraft Signage and wayfinding (navigation) Communication of both physical (i.e. on a screen) and verbal (i.e. passenger announcements) information Airport leisure facilities (e.g. shops and restaurants) Cleanliness and maintenance of airport facilities Availability and helpfulness of airline staff (post-check-in) Terminal quality Baggage delivery Trolley availability Airport and terminal ambience Facilities and assistance for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRMs) Overall, how satisfied were you with the airport experience?

Travelling through the airport: the departure lounge If you have never utilised a BA departure (Concorde / First / Galleries / Terraces) or third-party lounges, please go to Question 31.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

82

NA

NA – Don’t Know 1

2

3

4

5

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

83 On-board the aircraft: service quality 1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the cabin environment?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Appendices

Welcome and friendliness of the cabin crew Enthusiasm and attitude of the cabin crew Interaction of the cabin crew with passengers Presence of the cabin crew during the flight The way the cabin crew handled any requests or problems Cabin crew linguistic skills Service consistency amongst cabin crew Overall, how satisfied were you with the service quality

On-board the aircraft: cabin environment 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the cabin environment?

NA

1

NA – Don’t Know 2

3

4

5

The airline provides me with the facilities to work on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

The airline provides me with the facilities to relax on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

I was able to sleep easily on-board the flight.

I was able to get undisturbed sleep on-board the flight.

I felt refreshed and revitalised when I land at my destination.

I felt as though I was enclosed in my own personal space.

I was able to stay connected (via in-seat phone or Internet) with the outside world whilst on-board the flight.

The seat configuration allowed me to sit with my travelling companion / party.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the cabin environment?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Cabin interior cleanliness on boarding the aircraft Cabin interior condition Toilet facilities cleanliness Toilet facilities condition Toilet facilities space Overall, how satisfied were you with the cabin environment?

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the seat environment?

Comfort of your seat Comfort of blankets / pillows Range of In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) channels / options Amount of personal space Ability to sleep or rest during your flight Ability to work during your flight Available storage space Overall, how satisfied were you with the product?

83

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Travelling through the airport: transiting

84

If you have never transited through a British Airways hub airport (London Heathrow, London Gatwick, or London City), please go to Question 36.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

5 – Strongly Agree NA

1

2

3

4

5

Flight transfer information is communicated clearly and effectively.

It is easy to transfer through the airport; from the aircraft (through security) to the departure lounge.

My bags are checked-through and arrive at my final destination without any problems.

Travelling through the airport: arrivals 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about immigration? I believe…

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Queues at immigration are too long.

There is a suitable amount of immigration desks to process incoming passengers.

There should be priority desks available for premium passengers.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline (pre-arrival).

Information is effectively communicated by the airline (post-arrival).

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

It is easy to make my way from the aircraft to immigration.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about baggage reclaim? I believe…

My baggage is delivered quickly and efficiently.

My baggage is handled with care and consideration for its contents.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline as to which carousel my baggage is being delivered on.

There is a suitable amount of trolleys available in baggage reclaim.

It is easy to make my way from immigration to baggage reclaim.

Travelling through the airport: the arrivals lounge If you have not utilised a BA Arrivals lounge, please go to Question 39.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

Customer relationship management 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree Know

4 – Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

84

5 – Strongly Agree NA

1

NA – Don’t 2

3

4

5

A B C D

Any problems I have are dealt with by British Airways effectively.

It is easy to contact and discuss issues I have with British Airways.

The airline has an excellent customer contact base.

If there is an operational change with regards to my flight, British Airways contacts me as soon as possible.

85

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP Thank you once again for assisting in my dissertation. Your comments will prove invaluable towards my research. If you have any other comments or questions you would like to put to me, please feel free to e-mail me at 08061629@brookes.ac.uk, or telephone: 07765 67 64 69.

85

Appendices

This questionnaire is conducted on behalf of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management of Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP, by Dominic George, as an independent academic research project for the part fulfilment of a Bachelor of Science (honours) degree in International Tourism Management, and is in no way related to British Airways. By completing this questionnaire, your statutory rights will remain unaffected.

86

Appendix E2

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Pilot Questionnaire This questionnaire and its contents are in no way connected to British Airways plc. or any of its subsidiaries or franchises.

Dear British Airways passenger, Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this questionnaire. This questionnaire is being completed for the purpose of my final year dissertation at Oxford Brookes University, into consumer behaviour of premium passengers travelling with British Airways.

I would be very grateful if you would take a moment to let me know what you think about the service and facilities that were available to you when you travel with British Airways, as a premium passenger, on longhaul flights.

Thank you for your assistance in my research project.

Tell us about yourself Are you…

Male

Female

What age range are you in?

15 - 24 25 -34 35 - 44 45 - 54

55 - 64 65 - 74 Over 74 Over 74

Do you or have you worked for an airline, airport, or ground handling agency?

Yes If so, which:

No

What is your primary travel purpose?

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

What is your secondary travel purpose?

If you do not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 8.

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your primary travel purpose?

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your secondary travel purpose?

If you did not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 10.

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

Which is the airline you travel with most frequently?

Air France American Airlines bmi British Airways Cathay Pacific Delta Airlines Emirates

Lufthansa Qantas Virgin Atlantic United Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled with this airline? (1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

Which cabin do you travel in most frequently?

First Class Business Class

Premium Economy Economy

What is your primary country of residency?

What is your primary departure airport?

86

Other

Other

The ‘cheapest’ airline

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled in this cabin?

(1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

How close to departure do you usually book your flight?

Less than a week in advance A week to a month in advance

2 - 4 months in advance 5 months or more in advance

Who is the primary decision maker in booking flights?

Myself My spouse / partner My family My company

My travelling companion(s) It is a group decision Other:

Which Frequent Flyer Programmes are you part of?

Please select all that apply to you.

If you are not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programmes, please go to Question 18.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

Which Frequent Flyer Programme do you utilise most frequently?

Please only select one.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

What do you believe has the greatest influence upon your buying decisions?

A price initiative (e.g. sales / ‘best price’) Advertising through: Online media Newspapers TV adverts Other print media Radio broadcasts Redesign of a product or service (e.g. upgraded in-flight product) Other:

What best describes your flying style?

Nothing but the best Occasional upgrade Middle of the road

On a tight budget Roughing it Over 74

I think flying is…

Please select all that apply to you.

Boring Enjoyable Exciting Expensive

Fun Time-Consuming Other

When travelling, I…

Try and blend in with the locals Want all the comforts of home

I usually travel with…

Please select all that apply to you.

Myself Spouse / Partner Family with young children Family with teenagers Family with older children Extended Family

Appendices

Not applicable

Not applicable

Friends Large Tour Group Business Colleagues Other

What do you expect when you fly?

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements? I believe…

Passengers should be processed through the airport experience as quickly as possible.

Airlines offer a premium service and product to their premium passengers.

Service expectations are affected by the price you pay for your ticket.

Airlines that have a good reputation offer a better standard of service.

Maximum waiting times for check-in, security, boarding, and immigration should be kept to a minimum.

Airlines can better differentiate their service by offering lounges and premium check-in facilities.

87

1

2

3

4

87

5

The following sections are about your flight experiences with British Airways

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

88

The following sections will cover all areas of a typical flight, including: check-in, security, the airport environment, the BA departure lounges, service quality, the cabin environment, transiting through the airport, arrivals, and the BA arrivals lounge. For some, you will be asked about your feelings with regards to specific statements, and your personal opinions on others.

Travelling through the airport: pre-departure 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about check-in? I believe…

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Queues at check-in are too long.

British Airways should be fined if their check-in queues are too long.

Passengers should be given a specific time for checking-in for their flight.

British Airways should provide passengers with alternative methods to check-in for their flight.

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

Airport accessibility is a vital part of the flying experience.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about security? I believe…

Queues at security are too long.

British Airways should provide security with a detailed list of when their peak departure times are.

Passengers should be shown a greater degree of customer service and care at security.

Processing documents and baggage at security is a very time-consuming process.

The level of security screening for frequent flyers should be kept to the bare minimum.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the airport experience? I believe…

Flight information is effectively communicated.

British Airways staff are helpful and have a friendly attitude towards passengers.

There is a good amount of seating available landside (before security) and airside (after security).

Departure delays are effectively communicated by the airline.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about check-in?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

NA – Don’t

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Accessibility of the airport (by any transportation-means) Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight online Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight on your mobile application Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a self-service check-in kiosk Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a standard airport desk Time and ease it takes to drop your baggage off at the fast bag drop desk Baggage allowance Overall, how satisfied were you with the check-in process?

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about security?

Time it takes to get through security Level of screening provided by airport security Overall, how satisfied were you with the security process?

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the airport experience?

Time and ease of getting to the departure gate Time and ease of getting from the departure gate onto the aircraft Signage and wayfinding (navigation) Communication of both physical (i.e. on a screen) and verbal (i.e. passenger announcements) information Airport leisure facilities (e.g. shops and restaurants) Cleanliness and maintenance of airport facilities Availability and helpfulness of airline staff (post-check-in) Terminal quality Baggage delivery Trolley availability Airport and terminal ambience Facilities and assistance for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRMs) Overall, how satisfied were you with the airport experience?

88

NA

Travelling through the airport: the departure lounge If you have never utilised a BA departure (Concorde / First / Galleries / Terraces) or third-party lounges, please go to Question 31.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

NA

89

NA – Don’t Know

1

2

3

4

5

Appendices

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

On-board the aircraft: service quality 1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the cabin environment?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Welcome and friendliness of the cabin crew Enthusiasm and attitude of the cabin crew Interaction of the cabin crew with passengers Presence of the cabin crew during the flight The way the cabin crew handled any requests or problems Cabin crew linguistic skills Service consistency amongst cabin crew Overall, how satisfied were you with the service quality

On-board the aircraft: cabin environment 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the cabin environment?

NA

1

NA – Don’t Know 2

3

4

5

The airline provides me with the facilities to work on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

The airline provides me with the facilities to relax on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

I was able to sleep easily on-board the flight.

I was able to get undisturbed sleep on-board the flight.

I felt refreshed and revitalised when I land at my destination.

I felt as though I was enclosed in my own personal space.

I was able to stay connected (via in-seat phone or Internet) with the outside world whilst on-board the flight.

The seat configuration allowed me to sit with my travelling companion / party.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the cabin environment?

Cabin interior cleanliness on boarding the aircraft Cabin interior condition Toilet facilities cleanliness Toilet facilities condition Toilet facilities space

89

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Overall, how satisfied were you with the cabin environment?

90

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

5 – Very Satisfied

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the seat environment?

NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Comfort of your seat Comfort of blankets / pillows Range of In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) channels / options Amount of personal space Ability to sleep or rest during your flight Ability to work during your flight Available storage space Overall, how satisfied were you with the product?

Travelling through the airport: transiting If you have never transited through a British Airways hub airport (London Heathrow, London Gatwick, or London City), please go to Question 36.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

5 – Strongly Agree NA

1

2

3

4

5

Flight transfer information is communicated clearly and effectively.

It is easy to transfer through the airport; from the aircraft (through security) to the departure lounge.

My bags are checked-through and arrive at my final destination without any problems.

Travelling through the airport: arrivals 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about immigration? I believe…

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Queues at immigration are too long.

There is a suitable amount of immigration desks to process incoming passengers.

There should be priority desks available for premium passengers.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline (pre-arrival).

Information is effectively communicated by the airline (post-arrival).

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

It is easy to make my way from the aircraft to immigration.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about baggage reclaim? I believe…

My baggage is delivered quickly and efficiently.

My baggage is handled with care and consideration for its contents.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline as to which carousel my baggage is being delivered on.

There is a suitable amount of trolleys available in baggage reclaim.

It is easy to make my way from immigration to baggage reclaim.

Travelling through the airport: the arrivals lounge If you have not utilised a BA Arrivals lounge, please go to Question 39.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

90

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

91

Customer relationship management 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree Know

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

A B C D

NA

1

Any problems I have are dealt with by British Airways effectively.

It is easy to contact and discuss issues I have with British Airways.

The airline has an excellent customer contact base.

If there is an operational change with regards to my flight, British Airways contacts me as soon as possible.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP Thank you once again for assisting in my dissertation. Your comments will prove invaluable towards my research. If you have any other comments or questions you would like to put to me, please feel free to e-mail me at 08061629@brookes.ac.uk, or telephone: 07765 67 64 69.

This questionnaire is conducted on behalf of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management of Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP, by Dominic George, as an independent academic research project for the part fulfilment of a Bachelor of Science (honours) degree in International Tourism Management, and is in no way related to British Airways. By completing this questionnaire, your statutory rights will remain unaffected.

91

2

3

4

5

Appendices

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

NA – Don’t

92

Appendix E3

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Final Questionnaire This questionnaire and its contents are in no way connected to British Airways plc. or any of its subsidiaries or franchises.

Dear British Airways passenger, Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this questionnaire. This questionnaire is being completed for the purpose of my final year dissertation at Oxford Brookes University, into consumer behaviour of premium passengers travelling with British Airways.

I would be very grateful if you would take a moment to let me know what you think about the service and facilities that were available to you when you travel with British Airways, as a premium passenger, on longhaul flights.

Thank you for your assistance in my research project.

Tell us about yourself Are you…

Male

Female

What age range are you in?

15 - 24 25 -34 35 - 44 45 - 54

55 - 64 65 - 74 Over 74 Over 74

Do you or have you worked for an airline, airport, or ground handling agency?

Yes If so, which:

No

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

What is your secondary travel purpose?

If you do not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 8.

Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study

Visiting Friends & Relatives Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your primary travel purpose?

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your secondary travel purpose?

If you did not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 10.

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 20 21 - 30 31 +Over 74

Air France American Airlines bmi British Airways Cathay Pacific Delta Airlines Emirates

Lufthansa Qantas Virgin Atlantic United Other:

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled with this airline? (1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

Which cabin do you travel in most frequently?

First Class Business Class

Premium Economy Economy

What is your primary country of residency?

What is your primary departure airport?

What is your primary travel purpose?

Which is the airline you travel with most frequently?

92

Other

Other

The ‘cheapest’ airline

How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled in this cabin?

(1 return flight = 1 flight)

None 1-4 5-9

10 - 15 16 - 20 21 +Over 74

How close to departure do you usually book your flight?

Less than a week in advance A week to a month in advance

2 - 4 months in advance 5 months or more in advance

Who is the primary decision maker in booking flights?

Myself My spouse / partner My family My company

My travelling companion(s) It is a group decision Other:

Which Frequent Flyer Programmes are you part of?

Please select all that apply to you.

If you are not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programmes, please go to Question 18.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

Which Frequent Flyer Programme do you utilise most frequently?

Please only select one.

Air France Flying Blue AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club BA Executive Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards

Lufthansa Miles & More Qantas Club United Mileage Plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other:

What do you believe has the greatest influence upon your buying decisions?

A price initiative (e.g. sales / ‘best price’) Advertising through: Online media Newspapers TV adverts Other print media Radio broadcasts Redesign of a product or service (e.g. upgraded in-flight product) Other:

What best describes your flying style?

Nothing but the best Occasional upgrade Middle of the road

On a tight budget Roughing it Over 74

I think flying is…

Please select all that apply to you.

Boring Enjoyable Exciting Expensive

Fun Time-Consuming Other

When travelling, I…

Try and blend in with the locals Want all the comforts of home

I usually travel with…

Please select all that apply to you.

Myself Spouse / Partner Family with young children Family with teenagers Family with older children Extended Family

Appendices

Not applicable

Not applicable

Friends Large Tour Group Business Colleagues Other

What do you expect when you fly?

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements? I believe…

Passengers should be processed through the airport experience as quickly as possible.

Airlines offer a premium service and product to their premium passengers.

Service expectations are affected by the price you pay for your ticket.

Airlines that have a good reputation offer a better standard of service.

Maximum waiting times for check-in, security, boarding, and immigration should be kept to a minimum.

Airlines can better differentiate their service by offering lounges and premium check-in facilities.

93

1

2

3

4

93

5

The following sections are about your flight experiences with British Airways

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

94

The following sections will cover all areas of a typical flight, including: check-in, security, the airport environment, the BA departure lounges, service quality, the cabin environment, transiting through the airport, arrivals, and the BA arrivals lounge. For some, you will be asked about your feelings with regards to specific statements, and your personal opinions on others.

Travelling through the airport: pre-departure 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about check-in? I believe…

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Queues at check-in are too long.

British Airways should be fined if their check-in queues are too long.

Passengers should be given a specific time for checking-in for their flight.

British Airways should provide passengers with alternative methods to check-in for their flight.

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

Airport accessibility is a vital part of the flying experience.

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the airport experience? I believe…

Flight information is effectively communicated.

British Airways staff are helpful and have a friendly attitude towards passengers.

There is a good amount of seating available landside (before security) and airside (after security).

Departure delays are effectively communicated by the airline.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about check-in?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Accessibility of the airport (by any transportation-means) Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight online Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight on your mobile application Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a self-service check-in kiosk Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a standard airport desk Time and ease it takes to drop your baggage off at the fast bag drop desk Baggage allowance Overall, how satisfied were you with the check-in process?

Travelling through the airport: the departure lounge If you have never utilised a BA departure (Concorde / First / Galleries / Terraces) or third-party lounges, please go to Question 31.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

94

NA

NA – Don’t Know

1

2

3

4

5

On-board the aircraft: service quality 1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the airline’s service quality?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

95

5

Welcome and friendliness of the cabin crew Enthusiasm and attitude of the cabin crew Interaction of the cabin crew with passengers Presence of the cabin crew during the flight The way the cabin crew handled any requests or problems Cabin crew linguistic skills Service consistency amongst cabin crew Overall, how satisfied were you with the service quality

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the cabin environment?

NA

1

NA – Don’t Know 2

3

4

5

The airline provides me with the facilities to work on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

The airline provides me with the facilities to relax on-board, within the confines of my seat area.

I was able to sleep easily on-board the flight.

I was able to get undisturbed sleep on-board the flight.

I felt refreshed and revitalised when I land at my destination.

I felt as though I was enclosed in my own personal space.

I was able to stay connected (via in-seat phone or Internet) with the outside world whilst on-board the flight.

The seat configuration allowed me to sit with my travelling companion / party.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the cabin environment?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

5

Cabin interior cleanliness on boarding the aircraft Cabin interior condition Toilet facilities cleanliness Toilet facilities condition Toilet facilities space Overall, how satisfied were you with the cabin environment?

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent are you satisfied with these statements about the seat environment?

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

2

NA – Don’t 3

4

Comfort of your seat Comfort of blankets / pillows Range of In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) channels / options Amount of personal space Ability to sleep or rest during your flight Ability to work during your flight Available storage space Overall, how satisfied were you with the product?

Travelling through the airport: transiting If you have never transited through a British Airways hub airport (London Heathrow, London Gatwick, or London City), please go to Question 36.

1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

95

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

5

Appendices

On-board the aircraft: cabin environment

96

Flight transfer information is communicated clearly and effectively.

It is easy to transfer through the airport; from the aircraft (through security) to the departure lounge.

My bags are checked-through and arrive at my final destination without any problems.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

Travelling through the airport: arrivals 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree

NA

4 – Agree

1

2

3

4

5

4

5

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about baggage reclaim? I believe…

1

2

3

My baggage is delivered quickly and efficiently.

My baggage is handled with care and consideration for its contents.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline as to which carousel my baggage is being delivered on.

There is a suitable amount of trolleys available in baggage reclaim.

It is easy to make my way from immigration to baggage reclaim.

Travelling through the airport: the arrivals lounge If you have not utilised a BA Arrivals lounge, please go to Question 39.

1 – Very Dissatisfied

2 – Dissatisfied

3 – Neither Dissatisfied or Satisfied Know

4 –Satisfied

To what extent do you agree with these statements about the departure lounge? I believe…

5 – Very Satisfied NA

1

NA – Don’t

2

3

4

5

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The lounge was spacious.

There was good seat availability.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi availablewas of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge staff were excellent at handling any requests or problems I had.

The linguistic assistance of the lounge staff was of an excellent comprehension.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

Customer relationship management 1 – Strongly Disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neither Agree or Disagree Know

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly Agree

To what extent do you agree with these statements about transiting within the airport? I believe…

A B C D

NA

1

NA – Don’t 2

3

Any problems I have are dealt with by British Airways effectively.

It is easy to contact and discuss issues I have with British Airways.

The airline has an excellent customer contact base.

If there is an operational change with regards to my flight, British Airways contacts me as soon as possible.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP Thank you once again for assisting in my dissertation. Your comments will prove invaluable towards my research. If you have any other comments or questions you would like to put to me, please feel free to e-mail me at 08061629@brookes.ac.uk, or telephone: 07765 67 64 69.

This questionnaire is conducted on behalf of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management of Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP, by Dominic George, as an independent academic research project for the part fulfilment of a Bachelor of Science (honours) degree in International Tourism Management, and is in no way related to British Airways. By completing this questionnaire, your statutory rights will remain unaffected.

96

4

5

97

Appendix F Interview Case Studies Date of Interview

Duration

Primary Travel Purpose

Female, 35-40 Male, 45-50 Male, 50-55 Male, 50-55 Female, 20-25 Male, 50-55 Female, 50-55 Female, 45-50 Female, 20-25 Male, 45-50

24 Jun 2011 24 Jun 2011 24 Jun 2011 18 Aug 2011 25 Oct 2011 02 Feb 2012 24 Feb 2012 26 Feb 2012 27 Feb 2012 29 Feb 2012

1 hour 1 hour 1.5 hours 1 hour 1.5 hours 1 hour 2 hours 1 hour 1 hour 1.5 hours

Business Business Business Business Leisure Leisure Leisure Business Leisure Leisure

97

Appendices

Interview 1 Interview 2 Interview 3 Interview 4 Interview 5 Interview 6 Interview 7 Interview 8 Interview 9 Interview 10

Gender & Approximate Age

98

Appendix G

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Participant Observation Case Studies Basic View Date

Origin

Destination

28 May 2011 05 Jun 2011 17 Jun 2011 20 Jun 2011 24 Jun 2011 27 Jun 2011 29 Jun 2011 01 Jul 2011 02 Jul 2011 11 Jul 2011 12 Jul 2011 13 Jul 2011 31 Jul 2011 05 Jan 2012 14 Jan 2012

London (Heathrow) Cairo London (Heathrow) New York (JFK) London (City) New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) Doha Bahrain London (Heathrow) Bangkok Sydney Melbourne London (Heathrow) Nairobi

Cairo London (Heathrow) New York (JFK) London (Heathrow) New York (JFK) London (City) Dubai Bahrain London (Heathrow) Bangkok Sydney Melbourne Singapore Nairobi London (Heathrow)

Duration 04:40 04:55 07:40 06:55 09:10 07:10 06:50 00:50 07:00 11:15 08:55 01:35 07:50 13:10 11:15

Cabin Club World World Traveller Plus Club World Club World Club World Club World Club World First (Old) First (Old) First (New) First (New) Club World Club World World Traveller Plus World Traveller Plus

Detailed View Flight

Date

Dep

T

Time

Date

Arr

T

Time

Dur

A/C

Cabin

BA0155 BA0154 BA0177 BA0182 BA0001 BA0004 BA0109 BA0124 BA0124 BA0009 BA0009 BA7445* BA7309* BA0012 BA0055 BA0054

28-MAY 05-JUN 17-JUN 20-JUN 24-JUN 27-JUN 29-JUN 01-JUL 02-JUL 11-JUL 12-JUL 13-JUL 31-JUL 31-JUL 05-JAN 14-JAN

LHR CAI LHR JFK LCY JFK LHR DOH BAH LHR BKK SYD MEL SIN LHR NBO

5 1 5 7 --7 5 ----3 --3 1 1 5 ---

18:15 07:30 13:00 22:30 13:05 21:50 21:40 23:20 01:25 22:00 18:10 08:00 15:30 22:55 10:15 18:10

28-MAY 05-JUN 17-JUN 21-JUN 24-JUN 28-JUN 30-JUN 02-JUL 03-JUL 12-JUL 13-JUL 13-JUL 31-JUL 01-AUG 05-JAN 15-JAN

CAI LHR JFK LHR JFK LCY DXB BAH LHR BKK SYD MEL SIN LHR NBO LHR

1 5 7 5 7 --1 --5 --1 1 1 3 --1

00:55 11:25 15:40 10:30 17:15 10:00 07:30 00:10 06:25 15:15 06:05 09:35 21:20 05:05 15:15 05:20

04:40 04:55 07:40 06:55 09:10 07:10 06:50 00:50 07:00 11:15 08:55 01:35 07:50 13:10 11:15 08:55

B772 B772 B744 B777 A318 A318 B772 B772 B772 B774 B774 B763 A388 B744 B772 B772

J/I W/T J/I J/R J/D J/D J/I F/J F/J F/A F/A C/D F/A F/A W/T W/T

* Codeshare flights with Qantas

98

99

Appendix H Global Events That Helped Shape the Aviation Industry (2009 to 2011)

Appendices

99

100

Appendix J

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

British Airways Key Performance Indicators (2009 to 2011)

PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY [ Please see overleaf ]

100

British Airways 2008/09 Annual Report and Accounts / 29

Our business Corporate governance

Our performance through the year is reflected in our Key Performance Indicators. We failed to meet our financial target because of the unprecedented downturn in trading conditions. However, the move to Terminal 5 saw a step-change in our operational performance and we achieved record-breaking punctuality and customer recommendation scores.

Overview

Our Key Performance Indicators

Financial statements

30 / British Airways 2008/09 Annual Report and Accounts

Our Key Performance Indicators continued KPI

How is it measured?

What does this mean and why is it key to our strategy?

Financial

Operating margin

We must achieve a consistently strong financial performance if we are to continue investing in the future success of the business and provide adequate shareholder returns. Operating margin is the main way we measure our financial performance. In 2002 we set ourselves the goal of achieving a 10 per cent operating margin through the economic cycle and in 2007/08 we delivered this for the first time in our history.

Customers

Customer recommendation

Customer recommendation is a key measure of our success. Our Global Performance Monitor (GPM) survey, an onboard customer survey, together with a follow-up online survey on the arrivals process, provides monthly insights into customers’ views. The survey is carried out by an independent market research company and involves more than 57,000 customers each month. The customer recommendation measure is based on the percentage of customers who, when surveyed, were very, or extremely likely to recommend British Airways to friends, family or colleagues. Apart from being extremely important in its own right, we believe that this measure indicates how the customer experience will affect future profitability.

Operations

Punctuality – ‘Ready to Go’

Running a robust operation is key to both meeting our customers’ expectations and to creating a cost-effective business. We monitor our operational performance via a broad range of measures at a variety of levels. Departure punctuality is our primary operational performance measure, requires other operational processes to run smoothly and is a key factor in whether customers would recommend British Airways to other travellers. ‘Ready to Go’ measures how many of our flights are prepared for departure at three minutes before the scheduled or planned departure time and focuses on the aspects of the departure process within our control.

Colleagues

Colleague involvement

Progressive, high-performing organisations are increasingly recognising that engaged employees are more committed to organisational goals and values and more willing to embrace change and improve customer service. For three years we have tracked opinions via an all-employee confidential Speak Up! survey, conducted and hosted by the independent research organisation, Ipsos MORI to measure our colleague involvement. Last year we indicated we would review our headline measure in this area. We have now defined an Employee Engagement Index, based on a basket of more detailed measures from the Speak Up! surveys, and have built employee responses into the way we measure and manage individual performance.

103

Appendix K1a Departures from London Heathrow (July 2011)

Departing from London Heathrow between 00:00 and 23:59 during July 2011 30 to 44 mins 510

45m+ & Cancelled 574

8453

ON-TIME

01-Jul 02-Jul 03-Jul 04-Jul 05-Jul 06-Jul 07-Jul 08-Jul 09-Jul 10-Jul 11-Jul 12-Jul 13-Jul 14-Jul 15-Jul 16-Jul 17-Jul 18-Jul 19-Jul 20-Jul 21-Jul 22-Jul 23-Jul 24-Jul 25-Jul 26-Jul 27-Jul 28-Jul 29-Jul 30-Jul 31-Jul

246 268 289 323 311 264 259 205 232 296 281 289 291 307 315 217 198 221 175 304 295 301 253 285 309 324 309 280 291 230 285

54 37 33 19 27 58 52 71 56 22 53 47 37 33 26 60 80 65 54 29 35 40 49 39 26 15 27 47 43 55 26

29 10 13 9 5 24 16 39 19 15 12 9 10 9 9 16 34 29 57 12 9 13 16 8 15 10 14 13 8 19 9

32 16 13 9 17 14 30 48 25 13 14 15 22 9 16 38 34 42 72 14 19 8 13 14 9 11 10 19 20 29 19

68% 81% 83% 90% 86% 73% 73% 56% 70% 86% 78% 80% 81% 86% 86% 66% 57% 62% 49% 85% 82% 83% 76% 82% 86% 90% 86% 78% 80% 69% 84%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

284 275 292 285 272 240 271

41 36 38 42 47 51 40

16 20 15 12 20 16 16

19 29 15 19 25 24 19

79% 76% 81% 80% 75% 72% 78%

AVERAGES

274

42

16

21

77%

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

103

Appendices

TOTALS

16 to 29 mins 1315

On time

104

Appendix K1b

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Departures from London Heathrow (August 2011)

Departing from London Heathrow between 00:00 and 23:59 during August 2011

TOTALS

8758

16 to 29 mins 1020

01-Aug 02-Aug 03-Aug 04-Aug 05-Aug 06-Aug 07-Aug 08-Aug 09-Aug 10-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug 13-Aug 14-Aug 15-Aug 16-Aug 17-Aug 18-Aug 19-Aug 20-Aug 21-Aug 22-Aug 23-Aug 24-Aug 25-Aug 26-Aug 27-Aug 28-Aug 29-Aug 30-Aug 31-Aug

299 277 302 290 309 285 248 161 264 305 278 317 290 296 324 318 305 252 303 234 298 291 255 316 298 248 199 264 309 316 307

29 46 27 32 18 27 44 74 55 21 48 27 20 24 12 19 28 51 24 52 27 33 42 11 25 53 55 27 18 19 32

13 17 6 11 11 6 18 45 12 13 12 7 9 8 3 2 8 24 11 23 8 11 22 8 9 27 25 10 13 6 11

11 14 17 15 19 9 29 73 22 10 10 6 8 12 13 12 10 23 19 18 5 16 32 15 17 28 48 35 10 10 8

85% 78% 86% 83% 87% 87% 73% 46% 75% 87% 80% 89% 89% 87% 92% 91% 87% 72% 85% 72% 88% 83% 73% 90% 85% 70% 61% 79% 88% 90% 86%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

280 294 252 277 277 286 307

39 31 39 31 33 36 24

14 14 16 11 17 12 9

16 18 21 20 25 18 12

80% 82% 77% 82% 79% 81% 87%

AVERAGES

282

33

13

19

81%

On time

30 to 44 mins 409

45m+ & Cancelled 574

ON-TIME

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

104

105

Appendix K2a Departures from London Gatwick (July 2011)

Departing from London Gatwick between 00:00 and 23:59 during July 2011 30 to 44 mins 111

45m+ & Cancelled 2

2486

ON-TIME

01-Jul 02-Jul 03-Jul 04-Jul 05-Jul 06-Jul 07-Jul 08-Jul 09-Jul 10-Jul 11-Jul 12-Jul 13-Jul 14-Jul 15-Jul 16-Jul 17-Jul 18-Jul 19-Jul 20-Jul 21-Jul 22-Jul 23-Jul 24-Jul 25-Jul 26-Jul 27-Jul 28-Jul 29-Jul 30-Jul 31-Jul

78 76 86 88 85 90 91 60 67 78 79 86 84 85 90 63 85 86 70 84 89 85 75 85 82 85 78 71 58 76 91

14 5 4 6 6 3 3 8 9 12 11 8 4 9 6 7 5 2 17 4 8 12 9 5 7 8 8 15 26 7 3

6 4 2 1 4 1 3 8 2 4 3 2 4 2 2 5 2 5 5 6 3 3 5 3 3 2 1 6 7 6 1

4 6 5 5 4 5 5 25 15 3 6 2 5 6 2 17 5 7 8 3 2 3 4 5 7 4 10 10 12 3 3

76% 84% 89% 88% 86% 91% 89% 59% 72% 80% 80% 88% 87% 83% 90% 68% 88% 86% 70% 87% 87% 83% 81% 87% 83% 86% 80% 70% 56% 83% 93%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

84 82 84 84 74 71 85

7 10 5 9 13 7 6

3 3 3 4 5 4 2

6 5 6 6 9 9 4

84% 82% 86% 82% 73% 77% 87%

AVERAGES

81

8

4

6

82%

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

105

Appendices

TOTALS

16 to 29 mins 251

On time

106

Appendix K2b

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Departures from London Gatwick (August 2011)

Departing from London Gatwick between 00:00 and 23:59 during August 2011

TOTALS

2453

16 to 29 mins 267

01-Aug 02-Aug 03-Aug 04-Aug 05-Aug 06-Aug 07-Aug 08-Aug 09-Aug 10-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug 13-Aug 14-Aug 15-Aug 16-Aug 17-Aug 18-Aug 19-Aug 20-Aug 21-Aug 22-Aug 23-Aug 24-Aug 25-Aug 26-Aug 27-Aug 28-Aug 29-Aug 30-Aug 31-Aug

82 86 86 82 84 66 75 41 82 83 82 84 64 82 88 89 83 91 91 77 83 77 78 88 84 63 61 81 75 88 77

10 6 8 9 10 10 10 11 9 9 9 9 12 10 7 6 5 5 2 5 10 5 11 6 10 11 18 7 12 7 8

1 2 2 7 4 4 4 5 6 1 6 0 4 2 2 2 1 1 3 6 2 0 5 1 3 6 7 4 4 0 6

6 5 1 1 2 11 9 42 2 4 2 7 12 4 4 2 8 2 4 4 3 1 5 3 2 20 7 5 7 4 6

83% 87% 89% 83% 84% 73% 77% 41% 83% 86% 83% 84% 70% 84% 87% 90% 86% 92% 91% 84% 85% 93% 79% 90% 85% 63% 66% 84% 77% 89% 79%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

85 81 67 80 73 85 83

8 8 11 9 9 8 7

4 3 5 3 2 3 2

2 8 9 5 12 4 4

86% 81% 73% 82% 76% 85% 86%

AVERAGES

79

9

3

6

81%

On time

30 to 44 mins 101

45m+ & Cancelled 195

ON-TIME

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

106

107

Appendix K3a Departures from London City (July 2011)

Departing from London City between 00:00 and 23:59 during July 2011 30 to 44 mins 36

45m+ & Cancelled 82

723

ON-TIME

01-Jul 02-Jul 03-Jul 04-Jul 05-Jul 06-Jul 07-Jul 08-Jul 09-Jul 10-Jul 11-Jul 12-Jul 13-Jul 14-Jul 15-Jul 16-Jul 17-Jul 18-Jul 19-Jul 20-Jul 21-Jul 22-Jul 23-Jul 24-Jul 25-Jul 26-Jul 27-Jul 28-Jul 29-Jul 30-Jul 31-Jul

24 4 13 28 32 32 31 22 4 11 26 26 28 26 22 4 8 28 35 37 35 24 5 13 28 37 37 34 19 5 18

7 1 5 10 4 2 4 10 1 5 9 6 9 3 3 1 3 6 2 0 2 4 0 4 5 2 1 5 8 0 0

1 0 1 2 4 6 0 2 0 2 3 3 2 2 2 0 2 2 1 1 0 2 0 3 4 0 1 0 2 0 0

5 0 2 1 1 1 5 3 0 2 3 5 1 9 9 0 5 3 1 1 2 6 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 3

65% 80% 62% 68% 78% 78% 78% 59% 80% 55% 63% 65% 70% 65% 61% 80% 44% 72% 90% 95% 90% 67% 100% 62% 72% 95% 95% 87% 56% 100% 86%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

28 33 34 32 22 4 13

8 4 3 4 6 1 3

3 2 3 1 2 0 2

2 2 1 4 6 0 3

69% 82% 84% 80% 62% 88% 62%

AVERAGES

23

4

2

2

75%

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

107

Appendices

TOTALS

16 to 29 mins 82

On time

108

Appendix K3b

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Departures from London City (August 2011)

Departing from London City between 00:00 and 23:59 during August 2011

TOTALS

723

16 to 29 mins 82

01-Aug 02-Aug 03-Aug 04-Aug 05-Aug 06-Aug 07-Aug 08-Aug 09-Aug 10-Aug 11-Aug 12-Aug 13-Aug 14-Aug 15-Aug 16-Aug 17-Aug 18-Aug 19-Aug 20-Aug 21-Aug 22-Aug 23-Aug 24-Aug 25-Aug 26-Aug 27-Aug 28-Aug 29-Aug 30-Aug 31-Aug

28 34 34 33 28 5 7 13 32 37 35 31 5 15 31 33 35 24 31 5 11 31 25 31 33 18 3 15 3 32 25

5 3 2 1 3 0 5 7 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 1 2 1 1 0 4 4 4 3 2 13 2 4 2 2 3

2 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 3

2 0 0 2 1 0 6 15 3 0 0 1 0 3 1 2 0 9 1 0 6 1 5 2 2 3 0 2 2 3 10

76% 92% 92% 89% 85% 100% 33% 35% 86% 100% 95% 94% 100% 71% 84% 89% 95% 67% 94% 100% 52% 79% 66% 84% 87% 51% 60% 71% 30% 82% 61%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

31 27 5 12 21 31 32

1 5 1 4 4 2 2

1 1 0 1 2 2 1

3 2 0 4 4 3 2

84% 81% 90% 57% 66% 83% 86%

AVERAGES

23

3

1

3

77%

On time

30 to 44 mins 36

45m+ & Cancelled 82

ON-TIME

Sources: British Airways, 2011; Flight Stats, 2011 (Author’s Own)

108

109

Appendix L British Airways Sale Periods (August 2011)

Date Started 21 Aug 2008 27 Feb 2009 05 Jun 2009 29 Oct 2009 27 Jan 2010 10 Jun 2010 01 Jul 2010 24 Aug 2010 28 Oct 2010 29 Dec 2010 10 Mar 2011 30 Mar 2011 31 May 2011 30 Jun 2011 02 Jul 2011 30 Jun 2011 25 Aug 2011 30 Aug 2011 13 Sep 2011 20 Oct 2011 22 Dec 2011 23 Feb 2012

Date Ended 24 Sep 2008 24 Mar 2009 30 Jun 2009 24 Nov 2009 09 Feb 2010 06 Jul 2010 20 Jul 2010 14 Sep 2010 31 Oct 2010 25 Jan 2011 22 Mar 2011 01 Apr 2011 02 Jun 2011 12 Jul 2011 04 Jun 2011 12 Jul 2011 20 Sep 2011 01 Sep 2011 15 Sep 2011 08 Nov 2011 19 Jan 2012 13 Mar 2012

Sources: British Airways (2008 to 2012)

109

Destination(s) Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide Europe Worldwide Worldwide Europe Worldwide Worldwide USA Worldwide Worldwide Europe USA Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide

Appendices

Sale Club World and Club Europe Sale Business Class Flight Sale Business Class Flight Sale First and Club World Sale Worldwide Sale Luxury Flights and Holidays Sale The Late Escape The Great Big Sale 3-2-1 Europe Sale The Very Very Big Sale The Luxury Sale 3-2-1 Europe Sale 3-2-1 Beach Holidays Sale Big Sale. Small Crowds.

3-2-1 USA Holidays Sale Big Sale. Small Crowds.

Holidays Going Going Gone 3-2-1 Autumn Break 3-2-1 USA City Break The Winter Blues Sale Goodbye Winter Sale Luxury Seat Sale

110

Appendix M

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Sample of World Traveller Plus New Menu

Taken from a participant observation flight from London Heathrow to Nairobi (05 Jan 2012)

110

111

Appendix N Questionnaire Results

Appendices

PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY [ Please see overleaf ]

111

Constant Contact Survey Results Survey Name: Premium Consumer Satisfaction on British Airways Response Status: Completed Filter: None Mar 10, 2012 9:38:10 PM

1. Are you...

Female?

Male?

Total

Number of Response(s) 112 88 200

Response Ratio 56.0% 44.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 104 56 16 16 8 0 0 0 200

Response Ratio 52.0% 28.0% 8.0% 8.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100%

2. What age range are you in?

15 - 24 45 - 54 25 - 34 55 - 64 35 - 44 Under 15 65 - 74 75 or over Total

3. Do you work, or have you worked for an airline, airport, or ground handling agency?

No Yes (please detail below) Total 2 Comment(s)

Number of Response(s) 184 16 200

Response Ratio 92.0% 8.0% 100%

4. What is your PRIMARY country of residency?

United Kingdom Germany The Netherlands Switzerland France Total

168 8 8 8 8 200

5. What is your PRIMARY departure airport?

86 66 8 8 8 8 8 8 200

London Gatwick (LGW) London Heathrow (LHR) London City (LCY) Münich (MUC) Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS) Geneva (GVA) Montpellier (MPL) Birmingham (BHX) Total

6. What is your PRIMARY travel purpose?

Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Business Visiting Friends and/or Relatives Study / Education Total

Number of Response(s) 144 32 8 8 8 200

Response Ratio 72.0% 16.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 100%

7. What is your SECONDARY travel purpose? If you do not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 8.

Visiting Friends and/or Relatives Business Leisure Part Business, Part Leisure Study / Education Total

Number of Response(s) 104 16 16 8 8 152

Response Ratio 68.4% 10.5% 10.5% 5.2% 5.2% 100%

8. How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your PRIMARY travel purpose?

1-4 5-9 None 10 - 20 21 - 30 Over 30 Total

Number of Response(s) 128 40 16 8 8 0 200

Response Ratio 64.0% 20.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 100%

9. How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled for your SECONDARY travel purpose? If you do not have a secondary travel purpose, please go to Question 10.

1-4 None 5-9 21 - 30 10 - 20 Over 30 Total

Number of Response(s) 112 24 8 8 0 0 152

Response Ratio 56.0% 12.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100%

10. Which is the airline that you travel with most frequently? Please select only one.

British Airways (BA) 'The airline that offers me the best deal' Cathay Pacific (CX) Air France (AF) bmi - British Midland International (BD) Lufthansa (LH) Virgin Atlantic Other American Airlines (AA) Delta Airlines (DL) Emirates (EK) Qantas (QF) Singapore Airlines (SQ) United / Continental (UA) Total

Number of Response(s) 96 48 16 8 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 200

Response Ratio 48.0% 24.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100%

11. How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled with this airline? 1 return flight = 2 flights

1-4 5-9 None 10 - 15 Over 20 16 - 20 Total

Number of Response(s) 112 48 24 8 8 0 200

Response Ratio 56.0% 24.0% 12.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 100%

Number of Response(s)

Response Ratio

12. Which cabin do you travel in most frequently?

Economy Business Class Premium Economy First Class Total

120 48 24 8 200

60.0% 24.0% 12.0% 4.0% 100%

13. How many times (within the past 12 months) have you travelled in this cabin? 1 return flight = 2 flights

1-4 5-9 None 10 - 15 16 - 20 Over 20 Total

Number of Response(s) 128 40 16 8 8 0 200

Response Ratio 64.0% 20.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 120 48 24 8 200

Response Ratio 60.0% 24.0% 12.0% 4.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 144 24 16 8 8 0 0 200

Response Ratio 72.0% 12.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100%

14. How close to departure do you usually book your flight?

More than one month, but less than five months in advance A week to a month in advance Five months or more in advance Less than one week in advance Total

15. Who is the primary decision-maker in booking flights?

Myself My spouse / partner My family It is a group decision Other My company My travelling companion Total

16. Which Frequent Flyer Programme(s) are you part of? Please select all that apply to you.If you are not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programme, please select "Not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programmes", and go to Question 18.

British Airways Executive Club Not a member of any Frequent Flyer Programmes

Number of Response(s) 104 72

Response Ratio 52.0% 36.0%

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Air France-KLM Flying Blue Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Lufthansa Miles & More Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United / Continental Mileage Plus AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards Qantas Club Other Total

40 16 16 16 16 16 8 8 8 8 8 8 344

20.0% 8.0% 8.0% 8.0% 8.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 100%

17. Which Frequent Flyer Programme(s) do you utilise most frequently? Please select only one.

Number of Response(s) 96 64 16 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 200

British Airways Executive Club No Responses Lufthansa Miles & More Air France-KLM Flying Blue Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Other AAdvantage bmi Diamond Club Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Delta Airlines SkyMiles Emirates Skywards Qantas Club Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer United / Continental Mileage Plus Total

Response Ratio 48.0% 32.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100%

18. What do you believe has the greatest influence upon your buying decisions?

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

A price initiative Advertising: Online Media Redesign of a product or service (e.g. upgraded service) Advertising: TV Advertisements Advertising: Newspapers Advertising: Other Print Media Advertising: Radio Advertisements

Greatest Influence 1 176 88% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Least Influence 2 8 4% 72 36% 88 44% 24 12% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0%

* The Ranking Score is the weighted average calculated by dividing the sum of all weighted ratings by the number of total responses

3 16 8% 32 16% 16 8% 48 24% 48 24% 40 20% 0 0%

4 0 0% 40 20% 24 12% 24 12% 56 28% 32 16% 24 12%

5 0 0% 8 4% 16 8% 40 20% 32 16% 56 28% 48 24%

6 0 0% 24 12% 24 12% 32 16% 40 20% 32 16% 48 24%

7 0 0% 16 8% 24 12% 24 12% 16 8% 40 20% 80 40%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

1.2

200

3.5

200

3.6

200

4.3

200

4.5

200

5.0

200

5.9

19. What best describes your flying style?

Occasional upgrade Middle of the road On a tight budget Nothing but the best Roughing it Total

Number of Response(s) 112 40 40 8 0 200

Response Ratio 56.0% 20.0% 20.0% 4.0% 0.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 80 64 64 48 32 24 312

Response Ratio 40.0% 32.0% 32.0% 24.0% 16.0% 12.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 136 64 200

Response Ratio 68.0% 32.0% 100%

Number of Response(s) 104 88 88 80 16 8 8 8 8 408

Response Ratio 52.0% 44.0% 44.0% 40.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 100%

20. I think flying is... Please select all that apply to you.

Time-Consuming Enjoyable Exciting Boring Expensive Fun Total

21. When travelling, I...

Try to blend in with the locals Want all the comforts of home Total

22. I usually travel with...Please select all that apply to you.

Friends Myself Spouse / Partner Family with older children Family with teenagers Family with young children Extended Family Large Tour Group Business Colleagues Total

Constant Contact Survey Results Survey Name: Premium Consumer Satisfaction on British Airways Response Status: Completed Filter: None Mar 10, 2012 9:38:10 PM

23. To what extent do you agree with these statements? I believe...

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Passengers should be processed through the airport experience as quickly as Service expectations are affected by the price you pay for your ticket.

Maximum waiting times for check-in, security, boarding, and immigration should Airlines can better differentiate their service by offering lounges and premium check-in Airlines that have a good reputation offer a better standard of service.

Airlines offer a premium service and product to their premium passengers.

Strongly Disagree 8 4% 0 0% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Disagree 8 4% 24 12% 16 8% 8 4% 16 8% 16 8%

Neither Agree or Disagree 16 8% 24 12% 24 12% 48 24% 32 16% 32 16%

Agree 96 48% 64 32% 64 32% 88 44% 104 52% 120 60%

Strongly Agree 72 36% 88 44% 88 44% 56 28% 48 24% 32 16%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.1

200

4.1

200

4.0

200

4.0

200

3.9

200

3.8

Neither Agree or Disagree 24 12% 40 20% 48 24% 48 24% 32 16% 80 40%

Agree 112 56% 112 56% 104 52% 112 56% 72 36% 8 4%

Strongly Agree 64 32% 48 24% 40 20% 8 4% 24 12% 8 4%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.2

200

4.0

200

3.9

200

3.5

200

3.2

200

2.5

Neither Agree or Disagree 72 36%

Agree 88 44%

Strongly Agree 40 20%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

3.8

24. To what extent do you agree with these statements about check-in? I believe...

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Airport accessibility is a vital part of the flying experience.

Adoption of new technology can help speed up the passenger check-in process.

British Airways should provide passengers with alternative methods to check-in for Passengers should be given a specific time for checking-in for their flight.

Queues at check-in are too long.

British Airways should be fined if their check-in queues are too long.

Strongly Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 16 8% 16 8%

Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 32 16% 56 28% 88 44%

25. To what extent do you agree with these statements about the airport experience? I believe...

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

British Airways staff are helpful and have a friendly attitude towards passengers.

Strongly Disagree 0 0%

Disagree 0 0%

Flight information is effectively communicated.

Departure delays are effectively communicated by the airline.

There is a good amount of seating available landside (before security) and

0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

24 12% 24 12% 56 28%

40 20% 96 48% 64 32%

112 56% 72 36% 80 40%

24 12% 8 4% 0 0%

Dissatisfied 0 0% 8 4% 16 8% 16 8% 24 12% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0%

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 56 28% 40 20% 16 8% 24 12% 56 28% 40 20% 48 24% 40 20%

Satisfied 96 48% 96 48% 88 44% 64 32% 72 36% 64 32% 24 12% 120 60%

Very Satisfied 32 16% 24 12% 40 20% 48 24% 16 8% 24 12% 8 4% 24 12%

200

3.7

200

3.3

200

3.1

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.6

200

4.3

200

4.2

200

4.0

200

4.0

26. To what extent are you satisfied with the following criteria with regards to check-in experience for your flight?

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Accessibility of the airport (by any transportation-means) Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight online Baggage allowance Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a self-service check-in Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight at a standard airport desk Time and ease it takes to drop your baggage off at the fast bag drop desk Time and ease it takes to check-in for your flight on your mobile application Overall, how satisfied were you with the check-in process?

3 Comment(s)

N/A 16 8% 32 16% 16 8% 48 24% 16 8% 48 24% 112 56% 16 8%

Very Dissatisfied 0 0% 0 0% 24 12% 0 0% 16 8% 16 8% 8 4% 0 0%

200

3.6

200

2.4

200

4.6

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

168

4.9

160

4.8

160

4.8

152

4.7

160

4.6

27. To what extent do you agree with the statements about the airport DEPARTURE lounge(s)?If you have never utilised a BA departure (Concorde / First / Galleries / Terraces) or third-party lounges, please go to Question 31.

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

There was good seat availability.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The lounge was spacious.

The Internet / Wi-Fi available was of a suitable connection speed.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways departure lounge?

N/A 8 5% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 40 25% 0 0%

Very Dissatisfied 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 5% 0 0% 8 5%

Dissatisfied 0 0% 8 5% 16 10% 24 16% 192 15% 40 25% 24 15% 32 20% 0 0% 16 11%

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 16 10% 24 15% 40 25% 16 11% 192 15% 16 10% 56 35% 24 15% 40 25% 24 16%

Satisfied 120 71% 112 70% 72 45% 96 63% 768 60% 88 55% 56 35% 80 50% 56 35% 88 58%

Very Satisfied 24 14% 16 10% 32 20% 16 11% 128 11% 128 11% 128 11% 128 11% 128 11% 16 11%

160

4.5

160

4.5

160

4.4

160

3.9

152

4.6

3 Comment(s)

28. To what extent are you satisfied with the following criteria with regards to the airline's service quality?

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Welcome and friendliness of the cabin crew Enthusiasm and attitude of the cabin crew Interaction of the cabin crew with passengers Presence of the cabin crew during the flight Service consistency amongst cabin crew The way the cabin crew handled any requests or problems Cabin crew linguistic skills Overall, how satisfied were you with the service quality 3 Comment(s)

N/A 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 32 16% 0 0%

Very Dissatisfied 8 4% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 0 0% 8 4%

Dissatisfied 0 0% 24 12% 16 8% 24 12% 40 20% 8 4% 8 4% 16 8%

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 24 12% 32 16% 72 36% 48 24% 32 16% 56 28% 56 28% 40 20%

Satisfied 144 72% 112 56% 96 48% 112 56% 104 52% 96 48% 88 44% 120 60%

Very Satisfied 24 12% 24 12% 16 8% 16 8% 16 8% 16 8% 16 8% 16 8%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.9

200

4.6

200

4.6

200

4.6

200

4.6

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 40 20% 32 16% 32 16% 40 20% 56 28% 40 20% 48 24% 40 20%

Satisfied 128 64% 136 68% 96 48% 88 44% 56 28% 64 32% 56 28% 32 16%

Very Satisfied 16 8% 8 4% 16 8% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4%

200

4.5

200

4.1

200

4.6

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.7

200

4.4

200

4.2

200

4.0

200

3.9

29. To what extent do you agree with the statements about the cabin environment?

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

The airline provides me with the facilities to RELAX on-board, within the confines of my The seat configuration allowed me to sit with my travelling companion / party.

I was able to sleep easily on-board the flight.

I was able to get undisturbed sleep onboard the flight.

I felt as though I was enclosed in my own personal space.

I felt refreshed and revitalised when I land at my destination.

The airline provides me with the facilities to WORK on-board, within the confines of my I was able to stay connected (via in-seat phone or Internet) with the outside world 2 Comment(s)

N/A 0 0% 16 8% 8 4% 8 4% 0 0% 8 4% 56 28% 104 52%

Very Dissatisfied 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 16 8% 8 4% 16 8% 8 4% 8 4%

30. To what extent are you satisfied with the following criteria with regards to the cabin environment?

Dissatisfied 8 4% 0 0% 40 20% 40 20% 72 36% 64 32% 32 16% 16 8%

200

3.8

200

3.2

200

2.4

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Cabin interior condition Cabin interior cleanliness on boarding the aircraft Toilet facilities cleanliness Toilet facilities condition Toilet facilities space Overall, how satisfied were you with the cabin environment?

1 Comment(s)

N/A 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4%

Very Dissatisfied 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Dissatisfied 16 8% 24 12% 24 12% 32 16% 72 36% 32 16%

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 16 8% 16 8% 56 28% 56 28% 48 24% 40 20%

Satisfied 144 72% 136 68% 104 52% 96 48% 72 36% 112 56%

Very Satisfied 16 8% 16 8% 8 4% 96 48% 72 36% 112 56%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.7

200

4.6

200

4.4

Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 64 32% 48 24% 72 36% 24 12% 40 20% 64 32% 48 24% 56 28%

Satisfied 88 44% 104 52% 104 52% 112 56% 96 48% 88 44% 48 24% 112 56%

Very Satisfied 24 12% 24 12% 8 4% 24 12% 24 12% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4%

200

4.3

200

3.9

200

4.4

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.6

200

4.6

200

4.5

200

4.5

200

4.5

31. To what extent are you satisfied with the following criteria with regards to the seat environment?

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Comfort of your seat Available storage space Comfort of blankets / pillows Range of In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) channels / options Amount of personal space Ability to sleep or rest during your flight Ability to work during your flight Overall, how satisfied were you with the product?

1 Comment(s)

N/A 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0% 64 32% 0 0%

Very Dissatisfied 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4% 8 4%

Dissatisfied 24 12% 24 12% 16 8% 24 12% 32 16% 32 16% 24 12% 16 8%

200

4.3

200

3.2

200

4.5

32. To what extent do you agree with the statements about transiting within the airport? I believe...If you have never transited through a British Airways hub airport (London Heathrow, London Gatwick, or London City), please go to Question 36.

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Flight transfer information is communicated clearly and effectively.

It is easy to transfer through the airport; from the aircraft (through security) to the My bags are checked-through and arrive at my final destination without any problems.

1 Comment(s)

Strongly Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Disagree 0 0% 8 6% 8 6%

Neither Agree or Disagree 32 21% 24 18% 16 12%

Agree 112 74% 88 65% 104 76%

Strongly Agree 8 5% 16 12% 8 6%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

152

3.8

136

3.8

136

3.8

33. To what extent do you agree with the statements about baggage reclaim? I believe...

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

Strongly Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4% 0 0%

It is easy to make my way from immigration to baggage reclaim.

There is a suitable amount of trolleys available in baggage reclaim.

Information is effectively communicated by the airline as to which carousel my My baggage is delivered quickly and efficiently.

My baggage is handled with care and consideration for its contents.

1 Comment(s)

Disagree 0 0% 16 8% 8 4% 72 36% 88 44%

Neither Agree or Disagree 24 12% 24 12% 56 28% 40 20% 56 28%

Agree 152 76% 152 76% 136 68% 80 40% 48 24%

Strongly Agree 24 12% 8 4% 0 0% 0 0% 8 4%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

200

4.0

200

3.8

200

3.6

200

3.0

200

2.9

Neither Agree or Disagree 16 20% 16 20% 16 20% 16 18% 24 30% 32 40% 24 30% 8 10% 24 23% 32 40%

Agree 32 40% 40 50% 40 50% 32 36% 32 40% 24 30% 16 20% 32 40% 32 31% 24 30%

Strongly Agree 8 10% 0 0% 0 0% 8 9% 0 0% 0 0% 8 10% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

80

3.7

80

3.6

80

3.6

88

3.5

80

3.5

80

3.4

80

3.4

80

3.1

104

2.9

80

3.4

Neither Agree or Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Number of Response(s)

Ranking Score*

34. To what extent do you agree with the statements about airport ARRIVALS lounge? I believe... If you have not utilised a BA Arrivals lounge, please go to Question 39.

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

The lounge was spacious.

There are suitable facilities available in the lounge.

There was good seat availability.

The lounge was in a clean condition.

There was a varied choice of food and drink available.

The seating was comfortable to work or relax in.

The food and drink available was of excellent quality.

The Internet / Wi-Fi available was of a suitable connection speed.

The lounge reception staff were welcoming and friendly.

Overall, how satisfied were you with the British Airways arrivals lounge?

0 Comment(s)

N/A 24 30% 24 30% 24 30% 32 36% 24 30% 24 30% 24 30% 32 40% 48 46% 24 30%

Strongly Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

Disagree 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 8 10% 8 10% 0 0% 0 0%

35. To what extent do you agree with the statements about customer relationship management? I believe...

Top number is the count of respondents selecting the option. Bottom % is percent of the total respondents selecting the option.

N/A

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

The airline has an excellent customer contact base.

Any problems I have are dealt with by British Airways effectively.

It is easy to contact and discuss issues I have with British Airways.

If there is an operational change with regards to my flight, British Airways 1 Comment(s)

48 24% 56 28% 64 32% 64 33%

0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

0 0% 8 4% 8 4% 16 8%

40 20% 40 20% 24 12% 32 17%

104 52% 88 44% 88 44% 80 42%

8 4% 8 4% 16 8% 0 0%

200

3.9

200

3.6

200

3.6

192

3.3

124

Appendix O

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

Sample of Field Notes (made through Participant Observation) Date From To Flight

05 Jan 2012 London Heathrow (LHR) Nairobi Jomo-Kenyatta (NBO) BA 0065

Background British Airways flies from London Heathrow to Nairobi daily at 10:15. Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Airways also operate this route.

Check-In I arrived bright and early into Terminal 3 on a connecting flight from Melbourne (via Sydney and Singapore) at 05:25am, and made full use of the Arrivals Lounge upon clearing customs and immigration. I then took the Heathrow Express from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 for my 10:15 flight BA065 to Nairobi, having checked in online and selected my seat whilst still in Singapore. It was a good job I was in plenty of time as the queues awaiting me were painful.

Fortunately, I had a BA Executive Club Gold card, so under normal pretences, be able to utilise the First check-in desks. However, for the purposes of the research, I stayed in the WT/WTP queues, which took about 15-20 minutes to clear. Shame.

My bag was duly dropped and I proceeded to security. The queues were busy, about 40strong, but it only took a short while (no more than 15 minutes to clear security).

Unfortunately, being a WTP passenger, you do not get fast-track security channel entry.

Boarding It was a tight call, but I was slightly late to boarding. This is because the flight was departing from the new T5C satellite terminal, and even at a brisk pace, it takes a good 20 minutes to get from T5A (the main terminal) to T5C. There was no queue, so I breezed through – there was no priority boarding for premium economy – and was ushered down a ramp and onto the aircraft. I finally made it to my seat at 1005.

Seat BA’s Boeing 777s come in a number of configurations, and this one had a four-class, 30-row layout.

My class, World Traveller Plus (premium economy), comprised of five rows, numbered 2125, in a 2-4-2 formation (AB-DEFG-JK). I was in aisle seat 21A. My seat was comfortable and upholstered in blue fabric with plastic and leather armrests, and I could adjust the headrest, leg rest and level of lumbar support via buttons in the armrest. The recline was 18cm, while the width was 47cm. Seat pitch was 97cm, 18cm more than in economy.

There was a small individual IFE screen on an arm that folded out in the seat – all other excluding the front row, were on the back of the seat in front. A table folded out from my left-hand armrest and a handset to control the IFE system was fitted into the right-hand one.

There was a magazine rack on the back of the seat in front, where I could store small items, and storage space underneath for my handbag. All seats in the class had access to the overhead lockers. Premium economy was about 80-90% full. Pretty good.

124

The Flight The safety instructions were shown onscreen whilst the aircraft was taxiing. This helped to delay take-off. We pushed back at 1025, taxied for on-and-off for a further 10 minutes, then stopped again before eventually taking off at 1040, 35 minutes behind schedule. It was a little scary taking off, because of severe winds. This meant the captain had to take-off at an increased level to try and get above the clouds quicker. However, it didn’t feel too bad; you didn’t really notice much turbulence.

125

I was provided with a blanket and pillow and an amenity kit containing an eye mask, socks, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste and a pen.

Water and juice were offered periodically throughout the flight and an hour before landing I was served a snack box containing a chicken salad sandwich, some fruit salad, a mini Kit Kat, a tub of traditional lemonade and tea or coffee.

The in-flight entertainment consisted of a variety of AVOD channels which included a wide choice of films, documentaries, children’s programmes, and audio. This was operated via the handset and there on the touchscreen facility. Call-making facilities were also available via the handset. The large headphones provided were comfortable and helped to block out external noise.

Arrival Due to the flight taking off late, the flight arrived at 22:07 Kenyan time. We disembarked ten minutes later. It was a shame that it took upwards of an hour to get a visa from the immigration desks. Fortunately, by the time I had cleared security, my baggage had already arrived.

Verdict Other than the lengthy queues at T5, this was an enjoyable flight with good service and a better than expected food and beverage offering. The IFE system could do with upgrading though.

Satisfaction level: Increased Theory: Expectation disconfirmation (T5) and assimilation (meal service)

125

Appendices

About half an hour after take-off drinks were served – the selection included a choice of two red and two white wines, soft drinks and a small pack of Worcestershire sauce pretzel bites.

I was quite looking forward to sampling the new Club World sample menu. Lunch was served at 1205 and consisted of seared fillet of Herefordshire beef or Loch Fyne lightly smoked salmon. I chose the beef which (same as the salmon) with a red cabbage, cranberry, and date coleslaw, and a chocolate and caramel mousse. My beef came with a Parmesan cheese crust, and was on a bed of wilted cabbage, dauphinoise celeriac, and carrots. It was very tasty, and was accompanied with a glass of Argentinian 2009 Malbec. It was enjoyable but served a little cold for a red. Plastic cutlery was provided but the proper glass for my wine was welcome. Throughout the flight the service was friendly and helpful – I couldn’t fault the service.

Customer Satisfaction of BA Premium Passengers

126 7

126