Role of airline food quality, price reasonableness, image, satisfaction, and attachment in building re-flying intention

International Journal of Hospitality Management 80 (2019) 91–100

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Role of airline food quality, price reasonableness, image, satisfaction, and attachment in building re-flying intention Heesup Hana, Kai-Sean Leeb, Bee-Lia Chuac, Sanghyeop Leed, Wansoo Kime,

T

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a

College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwanjin-Gu, Seoul, 143-747, South Korea School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 365 Human Sciences, Stillwater, OK, 74078, United States c Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia d Major in Tourism Management, College of Business Administration, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeol-daero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 42601, South Korea e Department of Tourism Management, Dong-A University, 1 Bumin-dong (2 Ga), Seo-gu, Busan, 49236, South Korea b

A R T I C LE I N FO

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In-flight food and beverage Full-service airline Quality Passenger Re-flying intention

Quality of in-flight food and beverage is undoubtedly one of the most important requisites for passengers’ pleasurable flight experiences in the full-service airline industry. Nonetheless, little is known about its role in forming re-flying intention. The present research successfully addressed this omission by uncovering the positive relationships among multiple quality factors of in-flight food and beverage (core, external, and delivery), price reasonableness, airline image, satisfaction, and re-flying intention in an empirical manner. Specifically, our findings verified the effectiveness of the higher-order structure of in-flight food and beverage quality that significantly enhances passengers’ perceived reasonableness of price, airline image, and satisfaction in their reflying decision-making process. Our empirical result also identified the mediating impact of price, image, and satisfaction. Moreover, the result of the metric-invariance test demonstrated the significant moderating impact of passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage on re-flying intention formation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

1. Introduction The airline industry nowadays is challenged with various operational issues, such as managing fluctuating customer demand, maximizing business profit, and striving for service excellence (Baker, 2013). The worldwide competition in the airline industry has heightened the role of customer perception of service quality in airlines (Koklic et al., 2017), particularly full-service airlines. Full-service airline passengers are sensitive to the choice of airline as they demand not only reasonable airfares, but also are critical for the quality of products and services provided by the airlines (Kurtulmuşoğlu et al., 2016). Among the airline tangibles and intangibles, in-flight food and beverage is regarded as a very important part of the service quality for full-service airlines (Chou et al., 2011; Park et al., 2006). Indeed, recent studies showed that the quality of in-flight food and beverage is the key factor in selecting a full-service airline (Giritlioglu et al., 2014; Messner, 2016). In other words, in-flight food and beverage quality is becoming essential for airlines in the effort to attract customers and outperform airline competitors. In the highly competitive airline industry,

satisfying existing and potential passengers should be the priority of a full-service airline business that aims to stimulate repeat purchase. Because food and beverage is a central aspect of the full-service airline experience, there is no doubt that in-flight food and beverage will remain to have a significant impact on customers’ airline selection. In-flight food and beverage quality can be elucidated into three dimensions (Giritlioglu et al., 2014; Kim, 2010; Lee, 2011; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011). The first dimension is core quality, which constitutes the fundamentals of food and beverage quality, including taste, quantity, freshness, quality, temperature, health, and nutrition. The second dimension is external quality, which is comprised of the tangible aspect of food and beverage, including presentation, color, and menu variety. The third dimension is delivery quality, which explains how food and beverage is served to customers, including whether food and beverages are delivered to customers in a timely and accurate manner and whether service employees execute professional services when attending to customers. Previous studies have accentuated the importance of serving high quality in-flight food and beverages (Messner, 2016; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011). However, it is surprising that very scarce empirical

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Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Han), [email protected] (K.-S. Lee), [email protected] (B.-L. Chua), [email protected] (S. Lee), [email protected] (W. Kim). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.01.013 Received 11 September 2018; Received in revised form 15 January 2019; Accepted 24 January 2019 0278-4319/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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food quality dimensions across contexts (e.g., Giritlioglu et al., 2014; Namkung and Jang, 2007), this study categorizes in-flight F&B quality on the basis of three dimensions that best fits the context of meals onboard an aircraft: core quality, external quality, and delivery quality. The first dimension – core quality – encapsulates the rudimental functions of F&B, by viewing in-flight F&B as nourishment. This dimension considers aspects such as taste, temperature, portion, freshness, nutritional value, ease of digestion, as well as perceived quality of ingredients used; all in which are built upon some of the existing literature’s well-established features of food quality (see Byun and Jang, 2018; Namkung and Jang, 2007; Ryu et al., 2012; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011). The second dimension – external quality – represents the ostensible features of F&B products. This dimension is particularly important given the complex atmospheric conditions onboard an aircraft that alters and confuses the food’s palatability during a meal experience (see Mouawad, 2012). Due to such concerns, we conceptualize this dimension on the basis that in-flight F&B offerings must be able to excite and entice passengers. Hence, this dimension encapsulates the aspects of temptation that in-flight F&B purportedly inflicts upon passengers, such as the variety of F&B offerings (Namkung and Jang, 2007) as well as appealing presentation and color of the food itself (Mohd Zahari et al., 2011), all with a primary goal of boosting one’s appetite and/or palatability. Lastly, the third dimension – delivery quality – highlights the aspects of efficiency and service delivery of in-flight F&B offerings. This includes the cabin crew’s speed, timing, care, and professionalism in delivering F&B services (Giritlioglu et al., 2014; Messner, 2016), not forgetting the essentials of cleanliness and sanitation of eating utensils provided (Mohd Zahari et al., 2011).

evidence is observed on the extent to which in-flight food and beverage influences airline passengers’ consequential outcomes. To echo the call for further understanding of in-flight food and beverage quality, this present study extends previous studies by broadening an understanding of the role of core, external, and delivery quality of in-flight food and beverage in affecting airline passengers’ perceived reasonableness of airfare, airline image, satisfaction with flight experiences, and eventually future repurchase intentions. It is crucial to draw a comprehensive model of in-flight food and beverage quality and its interactions with airline passengers’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. An understanding of the consequences of in-flight food and beverage quality would allow airlines to grasp a holistic picture regarding the role of perceived food and beverage quality in airline operations, and thus concentrating on the key decisive factors that trigger customer repurchase intentions. In order to get specific insight into the effect of in-flight food and beverage quality on price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction, it was important to examine the underlying mechanisms across different attachment levels. If a customer has developed a strong emotional attachment to a brand, he/she will be more likely to give positive responses to the brand (Bahri-Ammari et al., 2016; Hwang and Park, 2018; Hwang and Lyu, 2018; Mattila, 2001; Pedeliento et al., 2016). This study proposed that not all airline passengers are equally sensitive to food and beverage quality, especially in an airline setting. Unlike meal consumption experiences in restaurants where customers predominantly appreciate the functional and hedonic value aspects of dining experiences (Ryu et al., 2010), in-flight meal consumption is possibly driven by the desire to fill the basic need of food while onboard an airplane. High quality in-flight food and beverage was likely to appeal to airline passengers who have a higher level of attachment to the airline’s food and beverage than those passengers whose attachment level is lower. Thus, it made logical sense to hypothesize that passengers’ attachment levels moderate the influence of in-flight food and beverage quality on subsequent marketing outcomes. Taken together, the present study was designed to investigate the role of in-flight food and beverage quality encompassing three factors ([1] core quality, [2] external quality, and [3] delivery quality) in triggering price reasonableness, airline image, satisfaction with flight experiences, and re-flying intention by developing a theoretical model in the full-service airline context. Specifically, we aimed to assess the adequacy of the higher-order structure of in-flight food and beverage quality, to evaluate the relative importance of study variables in determining re-flying intention, and to unearth the mediating effect of price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction. Furthermore, we attempted to deepen the proposed theoretical framework by testing the moderating role of passenger attachment in the relationship between in-flight food and beverage quality and marketing outcomes (i.e., price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction).

2.2. Price reasonableness From a customer’s standpoint, price is best defined as a “sacrifice” (Zeithaml, 1988, p. 10), resembling a requisite in order to obtain a product or service during a purchase transaction. Past studies have denoted that price can easily become a sensitive construct that could influence customers’ purchasing decisions (Chua et al., 2015; Han and Hyun, 2015). Due to this, customers would hence search for an equilibrium along a price range in which they deem reasonable or unreasonable when making a purchase (Oh, 2000). On this note, the perception of price reasonableness could be viewed as a comparative process, between an actual price of produce and a reference price (Petrick, 2005). A reference price derives from a customer’s previous pricing encounter with a purchase, which in Han et al. (2001) quotes as a figure that is “stored in a consumer’s memory and serves as a point of comparison for future purchases” (p. 436). This is how much a customer perceives a product or service should cost. This can come in several forms, such as the price most recently paid, the most regularly paid price, prices of similar offerings, market prices, and also posted prices from the business itself (Kimes and Wirtz, 2002). Having laid out the concept of reference price, the price reasonableness is thereof a result from comparing one’s reference price to the actual price (Petrick, 2005). If customers are met with a price that is lower than his/her reference price, it is likely he/she would perceive it as reasonable; whilst if the opposite is presented, it is likely that he/she would perceived it as a loss.

2. Literature review 2.1. In-flight food and beverages and its quality In retrospect, many have classified in-flight food and beverages (F& B) to be part and parcel under the umbrella of in-flight services (e.g., Chou et al., 2011; Park et al., 2006). Whilst such conceptualization may appear appropriate, it however underplays the magnitude that in-flight F&B and its quality dimensions potentially have on passengers. In-flight F&B play roles beyond a mere remedy for hunger during hauling flights, they instead reflect an essential phase of the service experience that may leave a defining imprint on passengers’ overall flying experience (Laws, 2005). This is because, as Mohd Zahari et al. (2011) note, inflight F&B have the propensity to inscribe lasting “impressions” and “mental imageries” upon passengers (p. 1989), which may easily be the most recallable experience of a flight. Whilst there are various different categorizations encapsulating

2.3. Airline image An image of an airline, or as with any other organizations, is best described as an immediate mental picture that the public has about the organization (Gray and Balmer, 1998; Keller, 1993). In more vivid terms, an overall image is comprised of a combination of beliefs, impressions, and ideas of a particular organization (Kotler et al., 1993; Lee et al., 2010), which in the present study is stipulated towards airlines. Establishing favorable images have been reckoned to increase employee morale, productivity, retention, as well as achieving a sustainable 92

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H2. Quality of in-flight food and beverage is positively related to airline image.

competitive advantage (Gray and Balmer, 1998). More importantly, it has also emerged as an important predictor of various behavioral intentions in the service sector. Most notably affecting luxury hotel restaurant clients’ repurchase intentions formation (Han and Hyun, 2017), as well as potentially increasing word-of-mouth generation, revisiting intentions, and willingness to pay premium prices among green hotel goers (Lee et al., 2010). Given the aforementioned importance of image, the present study situates airline images as a set of beliefs and impressions that passengers have of a particular airline during a flight.

H3. Quality of in-flight food and beverage is positively related to satisfaction with flight experiences. 2.6. Effect of price reasonableness on satisfaction and re-flying intention Based on the concept of equity, which concerns the notion of fairness and equality in a transaction, we propose that price reasonableness influences satisfaction judgements (Bei and Chiao, 2001; Xia et al., 2004; Zeithaml, 1988). This is because at a lower price, the perceived sacrifice is decreased, hence optimizing greater prospects for favorable responses (i.e., satisfaction). Empirical results on this relationship have been most notably confirmed in the automobile industry (Herrmann et al., 2007), as well as in the restaurant sector (Han and Ryu, 2009). As such, this study hypothesizes a similar standpoint in the airline context. Past studies have also noted that price is the most important factor for passengers overall (Gursoy et al., 2005; Kurtulmuşoğlu et al., 2016). This implies that passengers are rational decision makers who are price sensitive, where price plays a dominant influence on re-flying intentions. Standing by these trains of thought, the following hypotheses are formulated:

2.4. Satisfaction with flight experiences Customer satisfaction, as most notably defined by Oliver (1999), is at its very core, a pleasurable fulfilment. A fulfilment in which “the consumer senses that consumption fulfills some need, desire, goal, and so forth and that this fulfillment is pleasurable” (p. 34). Similarly, Zeithaml et al. (2006) suggest that customer satisfaction reflects an evaluative judgment of a product or service feature that provides a pleasurable contentment. In the airline context, passenger satisfaction has been studied to have a relational impact derivative from the airline’s service quality (An and Noh, 2009; Saha and Theingi, 2009), perceived safety (Ringle et al., 2011), as well as other more subtle factors such as wait times at security screening points (Gkritza et al., 2006). Taking all into consideration, this study focuses on passengers’ satisfaction levels with the actual flight experience. In particular, we take on Oliver’s (1999, 2010) delineation where passengers are deemed pleasurably fulfilled upon witnessing favorable experiences that exceed initial expectations.

H4. Price reasonableness is positively related to satisfaction with flight experiences. H5. Price reasonableness is positively related to re-flying intention. 2.7. Effect of airline image on satisfaction and re-flying intention

2.5. Effect of in-flight food and beverage quality on price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction

The impact of a company’s image has also been well-documented to have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Brunner et al. (2008) reasoned this by stating that image resembles a vital variable affecting customer satisfaction, which is well cemented to have strong association with intention. Bloemer and de Ruyter (1998) found that department store image positively influences customers satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Similarly, Andreassen and Lindestad (1998) found similar results among tour operators. Apart from these two forerunning studies, a myriad of similar investigations regarding image’s impact on satisfaction and behavioral intentions (e.g., revisit intention, repurchase intention, word-of-mouth generation) were found across contexts. This included the field of telecommunication in China (Lai et al., 2009), the restaurant sector (Ryu et al., 2008), heritage tourism (Wu and Li, 2017), as well as the hotel industry (Liat et al., 2014). In sum, the present study hypothesizes that passengers with favorable airline image are likely to believe that the airline would deliver high satisfaction and trigger re-flying intentions. Thus, we present the following hypotheses:

Upon assessing the quality of consumption, price then becomes an inseparable construct. Price is after all, an indicator of quality and vice versa (Oh, 2000). On this note several studies have noted that price perception as an antecedent of quality (Dodds et al., 1991; Zeithaml, 1988), and others as a consequence (Ali et al., 2016; Hwang and Hyun, 2017). With these in mind, passengers who spend a certain amount of money to fly may judge whether the price is worth paying for by comparing it with their evaluations of in-flight F&B quality. As such, passengers’ perceived in-flight F&B quality may be a key perception for the judgment of price reasonableness. Moreover, in-flight F&B quality may also impact how passengers perceive an airline’s overall image. As Gray and Balmer (1998) suggest, an overall image as conceived by the general public includes “everything the company does,” which does not exclude what is being served on passengers’ tray tables. This notion was found accurate most notably in Ryu et al.’s (2012) study where food quality has a significant impact on restaurant image. Given that an overall image is developed through ultimately all acquired and processed information (Assael, 1984), the F &B quality of in-flight meals may have an influence on the overall airline image, despite not being a primary product (i.e., air transport). Despite studies that suggest in-flight meals as unimportant criteria for passengers when it comes to airline preferences (Kurtulmuşoğlu et al., 2016), previous works have posited that in-flight meals have shown to have a positive relationship with flight satisfaction (An and Noh, 2009; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011). As the primary service offering of airlines is to offer a mode of transportation, the question remains whether in-flight F&B quality, despite being a supplementary offering, would have an impact on the overall satisfaction of a flight experience. Nonetheless, the present study posits that in-flight F&B quality may be a key influence on flight satisfaction. All things considered, the following hypotheses arise:

H6. Airline image is positively related to satisfaction with flight experiences. H7. Airline image is positively related to re-flying intention. 2.8. Effect of satisfaction on re-flying intention Numerous studies have asserted and confirmed the positive association between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions (e.g., repurchase intentions and intentions to generate word-of-mouth). This is prominent across the foodservice sector where variables associated to dining satisfactions impacts post-dining behavioral intentions (Kivela et al., 1999; Namkung and Jang, 2007; Ryu et al., 2012). Similar results have also showcased that satisfaction has a positive impact across various contexts pertaining to behavioral intentions, such as hotel restaurants revisits among diners (Han and Hyun, 2017), upscale hotels revisits among patrons (Kim et al., 2009), destination revisits among

H1. Quality of in-flight food and beverage is positively related to price reasonableness. 93

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Fig. 1. Proposed research model.

contemplated that in-flight F&B quality is a key indicator of price (Oh, 2000), the present study argues that passenger attachment may potentially strengthen or weaken this relationship on the basis that emotional bonds with the meal experience could potentially influence passengers’ price perceptions. Furthermore, given that past studies have both conceptualized and tested that emotional attachment is a necessary condition to identify a company (Karaosmanoglu and Melewar, 2006; Wilkins and Huisman, 2013), which stems from one’s immediate mental picture that is corporate image (Gray and Balmer, 1998), this study hence posits that the level of attachment to in-flight F&B may moderate the effect that its in-flight F&B quality dimensions has on the overall airline image. Moreover, studies in the foodservice sector have found that emotions during the consumption experience play essential roles in affecting customer satisfaction in both the restaurant industry (Han and Hyun, 2017) and also amongst coffeeshops (Walsh et al., 2011). Nonetheless, whether the emotional bonds that in-flight F&B could potentially influence the relationship between in-flight F&B and the overall flight experience satisfaction remains a mystery, in which this study sets forth on uncovering. In essence, the present study hypothesizes that attachment to inflight F&B has the potential to either amplify or weaken the effect between in-flight F&B quality and its corresponding outcome variables of price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction with flight experiences. Having stated this, the following hypotheses were formed:

travelers (Hui et al., 2007; Jang and Feng, 2007; Petrick et al., 2001), cruise revisits among vacationers (Chua et al., 2015), as well as reflying intentions among flyers (Han and Hwang, 2017; Han et al., 2014; Saha and Theingi, 2009; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011). Building on these previous works, the following hypothesis is formulated: H8. Satisfaction with flight experiences is positively related to re-flying intention.

2.9. Passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage and its effect Attachment has often been applied in marketing research to explain the phenomenon of loyalty. Its origins, that is attachment theory, was initially coined through the works of Bowlby (1980), who explored the emotional bonds that ties one human being to another. Its core concept revolved around the notion that a person when attached to another person or object, is emotionally devoted and is hence likely to seek proximity and contact with that person or object (Bowlby, 1980, pp. 38–39). Applying this core notion to the realm of product or brand marketing, past studies have noted that it helps humanize a brand/ product, potentially allowing it to play a more important role in a consumer’s lifeworld (Aaker, 1997; Swaminathan et al., 2009; Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988). As such, attachments have been studied across various business valleys to be a predictor of loyalty (Alexandris et al., 2006; Pedeliento et al., 2016). With that stated, as we pertain this concept to in-flight F&B, the present study adopts that a connection between an individual and in-flight F&B may moderate the effect it has upon outcome variables (i.e., price reasonableness, airline image, and satisfaction), which to the best of our knowledge, remains scarcely explored. The ability to create emotional bonds between businesses and its customers has been suggested to be a key challenge in maintaining customer relationships (Han and Sung, 2008). On this note, studies have shown that emotions do play a pivotal role in eating experiences (see Canetti et al., 2002; Macht and Simons, 2000). As we previously

H9a. Passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between quality of in-flight food and beverage and price reasonableness. H9b. Passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between quality of in-flight food and beverage and airline image. H9c. Passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between quality of in-flight food and beverage and satisfaction with flight experiences.

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The questionnaire was delivered to general air travelers in the U.S.A. through a marketing research company’s survey system. Specifically, the company sent an e-mail invitation comprised of an introductory letter and screening questions (i.e., “Have you traveled with a fullservice airline within the last 12 months?” and “Have you tried an inflight airline meal served within the past 12 months?”). Only those travelers who had used a full-service airline and tried an airline meal within the last year were requested to participate in the survey by clicking the link included in the e-mail, which leads to the survey. In the beginning of the survey, the participants were asked to thoroughly read the description of the research. In addition, they were requested to write the name of the full-service airline where they tried an in-flight airline meal most recently. The participants filled out the questionnaire based on their experiences with the full-service airline that they indicated. The completed questionnaires were returned through this process. After the exclusion of the usable cases, a total of 302 responses were obtained. These cases were the final sample size of the present study, and thus used for data analysis. Of the 302 samples gathered, about 50.7% were women; and 49.3% of the participants were men. The participants’ age fell within 18–75 years old. Their mean age was 37.8 years old. Regarding the education level, about 56.3% indicated that they have a college degree. In addition, about 25.5% reported that they have a high school degree or less, and 18.2% indicated that they have a graduate degree. In terms of income level, about 44.0% reported that their annual income is between US$40,000–US$84,999, followed by US$39,999 or less (36.8%) and US $85,000 or higher (19.2%). Among the participants, about 36.4% indicated that they had used airplanes for travel within the last three years between 2–3 times, followed by 4–5 times (25.2%), 6–9 times (16.6%), 10 times or more (13.9%), and one time (7.9%). Lastly, about 34.1% of the survey participants reported that their most recent experience to try an in-flight airline meal was within the last three months, followed by within the last six months (24.5%), within the last one month (18.5%), within the last nine months (12.6%), and within the last year (10.3%).

2.10. Conceptual model and proposed associations The proposed conceptual model is exhibited in Fig. 1. The model included a total of eight research hypotheses linking the study variables (Hypotheses 1–8). Moreover, it contained three hypotheses pertinent to the moderating impact of passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage (Hypotheses 9a, 9b. and 9c). 3. Methods 3.1. Measures and questionnaire development To measure study variables, we adopted the validated measurement items from the existing literature (Ajzen, 1991; Giritlioglu et al., 2014; Kim, 2010; Lee, 2011; Lee et al., 2010; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011; Oh, 2000; Oliver, 2010; Pedeliento et al., 2016). The research constructs were evaluated with multi-items with a seven-point scale (“Strongly disagree” [1] to “Strongly agree” [7]). Core quality (e.g., “The airline food and beverages were tasty”) was evaluated with seven items (i.e., [1] taste, [2] amount, [3] freshness, [4] ingredients, [5] digestion, [6] food and beverage temperature, and [7] health and nutrition). External quality (e.g., “The presentation of the food and beverages was visually attractive”) was measured with three items (i.e., [1] presentation, [2] color, and [3] variety). Delivery quality (e.g., “The food and beverages were served in a timely manner”) was evaluated with five items (i.e., [1] speed of food and beverage delivery, [2] timing of food and beverage delivery, [3] sanitary-eating utensils, [4] delivery-staff neatness, and [5] customer care of delivery staff). In addition, price reasonableness (e.g., “The airfare I paid was reasonable”) was assessed with two items. Airline image (e.g., “My overall image of this airline is positive”) was also evaluated with two items. A total of three items were used to measure satisfaction with flight experiences (e.g., “Overall, I am satisfied with my experience when using this airline”). Passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage (e.g., “I love the in-flight food and beverages served when using this airline”) was assessed with three items. Lastly, re-flying intention (e.g., “I plan to use this airline when I travel in the future”) was measured with two items. The survey questionnaire encompassing these measures, introductory letter, and questions for participants’ demographic information was pre-tested with airline practitioners and hospitality academics. A minor improvement was made based on these participants’ feedback. Then, the survey questionnaire was further reviewed and perfected by academic experts.

4. Results 4.1. Reliability and validity assessment A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. The result of the CFA showed that the model included a satisfactory level of the goodness-of-fit statistics (χ2 = 669.809, df = 294, χ2/df = 2.278, p < .001, RMSEA = .065, CFI = .947, IFI = .947, TLI = .937). All standardized loadings between observed variables and latent factors were significant (p < .01). The details of the CFA results are displayed in Table 1. Values for composite reliability ranged from .783 to .929.

3.2. Data collection and sample characteristics In the present study, the online survey was used to collect the data. Table 1 The measurement model evaluation. CQ

EQ

DQ

PR

AI

Satis.

Attach.

RI

Mean

SD

CQ EQ DQ PR AI Satis. Attach. RI

– .804a .613 .594 .548 .577 .533 .450

.646b – .550 .562 .521 .521 .494 .393

.376 .303 – .562 .617 .598 .488 .527

.353 .316 .316 – .607 .623 .593 .577

.300 .271 .381 .368 – .794 .774 .765

.333 .271 .358 .388 .630 – .792 .784

.284 .244 .238 .352 .599 .627 – .777

.203 .154 .278 .333 .585 .615 .604 –

4.893 4.762 5.498 5.078 5.336 5.363 5.128 5.366

1.166 1.322 .974 1.274 1.234 1.159 1.212 1.257

CR AVE

.922 .629

.854 .662

.880 .594

.783 .643

.925 .861

.929 .815

.883 .716

.875 .777

Note 1: CQ = core quality, EQ = external quality, DQ = delivery quality, PR = price reasonableness, AI = airline image, Satis. = satisfaction with flight experiences, Attach. = passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage, RI = re-flying intention. Note 2: Goodness-of-fit statistics for the measurement model: χ2 = 669.809, df = 294, χ2/df = 2.278, p < .001, RMSEA = .065, CFI = .947, IFI = .947, TLI = .937. a Correlations between variables are below the diagonal. b Squared correlations between variables are above the diagonal. 95

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Fig. 2. Results of the structural model and invariance model.

associations among study variables were evaluated. As shown in Table 2, in-flight food and beverage quality exerted a significant and positive influence on price reasonableness (β = .799, p < .01) and airline image (β = .704, p < .01). Yet, satisfaction with flight experiences was not a significant function of in-flight food and beverage quality (β = .023, p > .05). Hence, while Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported, Hypothesis 3 was not supported. In-flight food and beverage quality explained about 63.8% and 49.6% of the total variance in price reasonableness and airline image, respectively. In addition, about 77.1% of the variance in satisfaction was accounted for by its antecedents. Hypotheses 4 and 5 were tested. As expected, price reasonableness was positively and significantly associated with satisfaction with flight experiences (β = .227, p < .01). However, price reasonableness was not significantly related to re-flying intention (β = −.012, p > .05). Thus, while Hypothesis 4 was supported, Hypothesis 5 was not supported. The proposed impact of airline image was evaluated. Our results showed that airline image exerted a positive and significant influence on satisfaction with flight experiences (β = .711, p < .01) and reflying intention (β = .264, p < .01). Thus, Hypotheses 6 and 7 were supported. Regarding the link from satisfaction to re-flying intention, the result of the SEM showed the significant and positive association (β = .680, p < .01). Accordingly, Hypothesis 8 was supported. An indirect impact of the study variables was examined. Our results showed that price reasonableness (β = .155, p < .05) and airline image (β = .484, p < .01) included a significant indirect impact on reflying intention. In addition, in-flight food and beverage quality exerted a significant and positive indirect influence on re-flying intention (β = .656, p < .01). Moreover, in-flight food and beverage quality significantly affected satisfaction with flight experiences indirectly

These values were all above the suggested cutoff of .700, thus indicating internal consistency of the within-construct items (Hair et al., 1998). Regarding the average variance extracted, values fell between .594 and .861. In addition, as shown in Table 1, these values were all greater than the square of between-variable correlations. Accordingly, the convergent validity and discriminant validity of the measurement items were evident (Hair et al., 1998). 4.2. Structural equation modeling Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted. A maximum likelihood estimation approach was used. The results of the SEM showed that the model contained an adequate level of the goodness-offit statistics (χ2 = 645.493, df = 239, χ2/df = 2.701, p < .001, RMSEA = .075, CFI = .933, IFI = .933, TLI = .923). As exhibited in Fig. 2, the result of the higher-order model for in-flight food and beverage revealed that the first-order latent variables ([1] core quality, [2] external quality, and [3] delivery quality) and the higher-order construct (quality of in-flight food and beverage) are positively and significantly associated (p < .01). The standardized coefficients for these links were .917 (core quality), .913 (external quality), and .714 (delivery quality), respectively. The three first-order dimensions of core quality (R2 = .840), external quality (R2 = .834), and delivery quality (R2 = .600) were in general sufficiently accounted for by the higherorder construct. It was therefore evident that the three first-order latent variables clearly belong to one global construct of in-flight food and beverage quality. Table 2 included the details pertinent to the results of the SEM. Overall, the proposed theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the total variance in re-flying intention (82.5%). The hypothesized 96

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Table 2 The structural equation model evaluation. Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis Hypothesis

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Variance explained: 2

R R2 R2 R2

(RI) = .825 (Satis.) = .771 (PR) = .638 (AI) = .496

linkage

Coefficient

t-value

Qual. → PR Qual. → AI Qual. → Satis. PR → Satis. PR → RI AI → Satis. AI → RI Satis. → RI

.799 .704 .023 .227 −.012 .711 .264 .680

10.272** 10.483** .267 2.683** −.203 11.882** 3.058** 7.144**

Total effect on re-flying intention:

Indirect effect:

β β β β

β β β β

**

= .680 = .142* ** AI = .478 ** Qual. = .656 Satis. PR

.155* = .484**

PR → Satis. → RI = AI → Satis. → RI

= .656** .682**

Qual. → PR&AI → Satis. → RI Qual. → PR&AI → Satis. =

Note 1: Qual. = quality of in-flight food and beverage, PR = price reasonableness, AI = airline image, Satis. = satisfaction with flight experiences, RI = re-flying intention. Note 2: Goodness-of-fit statistics for the structural model: χ2 = 645.493, df = 239, χ2/df = 2.701, p < .001, RMSEA = .075, CFI = .933, IFI = .933, TLI = .923. * p < .05. ** p < .01.

supported.

through price reasonableness and airline image (β = .682, p < .01). These results implied that satisfaction, price reasonableness, and airline image acted as significant mediators within the proposed theoretical framework. Hence, the insignificant direct relationship between inflight food and beverage quality and satisfaction (Hypothesis 3) was due to the perfect mediating role of price reasonableness and airline image. The insignificant direct association between price reasonableness and re-flying intention (Hypothesis 5) was also due to the complete mediating role of satisfaction. Next, the total impact of the study variables was assessed. As shown in Table 2, satisfaction included the greatest total influence on re-flying intention (β = .680, p < .01), followed by in-flight food and beverage quality (β = .656, p < .01), airline image (β = .478, p < .01), and price reasonableness (β = .142, p < .05).

5. Discussions and implications It is undeniable that in recent years, the full-service airline industry faces stiff competition derived from the rapid expansion of low-cost carriers and the emergence of new airlines around the globe. Full-service airline management also faces increasingly demanding and sophisticated passengers. In the severely competitive and challenging situation of the airline marketplace, this study sufficiently informed fullservice airline operators the criticality of improving in-flight food and beverage quality as it is one of the necessities in increasing price reasonableness, airline image, satisfaction, and re-flying intention. In addition, this study apparently offered the full-service airline management a clear understanding pertinent to the underlying mechanism of passengers’ re-flying intention generation process. The present research therefore successfully moved beyond the extant literature of passenger behavior in the airline industry. From a theoretical perspective, this research offered an integrated model for demonstrating why enhancing in-flight food and beverage quality in full-service airlines is critical to generating airline passengers’ re-flying intention with the airline. From a managerial perspective, the significant influence of in-flight food and beverage suggested that effective management of in-flight food and beverage could be an approach in the loyalty enhancement process for the full-service airline industry. Distinguishably, in-flight meals take place in a unique contextual environment that does not conform to those in other catering and restaurant settings. Not only do in-flight meals reflect a secondary service that supports the primary service (i.e., to provide a mode of transportation), they are also bound by a dining environment that does not come close to provide a dining experience. It is because of such viability issues, our conceptualization sheds light onto the unique dimensionalities of passengers’ meals up in the air, which constitutes the rudimental (core), ostensible (external), and humane (delivery) elements. And despite the complicated contextual settings, our results substantiate that in-flight food remain a powerful vessel that streamlines an increase in price reasonableness, airline image, satisfaction, and re-flying intention. Through this view, this study bridges our current understanding of the role of food and beverage and its relational impact in contextually complicated arenas. All in which suggests, that in-flight food and beverage should be considered an indispensable secondary arsenal that hints airline practitioners and academics to invigorate

4.3. Structural invariance model assessment To test the moderating impact of passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage, a test for metric invariance was conducted. First, a grouping was conducted with the use of K-means cluster analysis. A total of 175 respondents were clustered into a high attachment group, and 127 respondents were clustered into a low attachment group. A baseline model comprised of these two groups was generated. Results showed that the model had an acceptable level of the goodness-of-fit statistics (χ2 = 998.456, df = 495, χ2/df = 2.017, p < .001, RMSEA = .058, CFI = .891, IFI = .892, TLI = .878). Thus, a comparison between this baseline model and a series of nested models where a particular link is restricted to be equivalent across high and low groups of attachment to in-flight food and beverage. A chi-square test was used for this comparison. The summary of the baseline model assessment and the results of the chi-square test are exhibited in Table 3 and Fig. 2. Our result revealed that the path from in-flight food and beverage quality to price reasonableness was significantly different between the two groups (Δχ2 [1] = 4.082, p < .05). This result supported Hypothesis 9a. In addition, the result of the structural invariance assessment revealed that the linkage from in-flight food and beverage quality to airline image significantly differed between high and low groups of passenger attachment (Δχ2 [1] = 6.943, p < .01). Therefore, Hypothesis 9b was supported. However, the link from in-flight food and beverage quality to satisfaction with flight experiences was not significantly different across high and low attachment groups. Thus, Hypothesis 9c was not 97

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Table 3 The structural invariance model evaluation. Paths

Qual. → PR Qual. → AI Qual. → Satis.

High group of Attach. (n = 175)

Low group of Attach. (n = 127)

β

β

t-value

.648 .481 .072

5.458** 5.383** .589

.758 .626 .009

Chi-square difference test: a b c

Δχ2 (1) = 4.082, p < .05 Δχ2 (1) = 6.943, p < .01 Δχ2 (1) = .199, p > .05

t-value **

7.099 5.809** .066

Baseline model (freely estimated)

Nested model (equally restricted)

χ2 (495) = 998.456 χ2 (495) = 998.456 χ2 (495) = 998.456

χ2 (496) = 1002.538 a χ2 (496) = 1005.399 b χ2 (496) = 998.655 c

Hypothesis testing result:

Goodness-of-fit statistics for the baseline model:

H9a: supported H9b: supported H9c: not supported

χ2 = 998.456, df = 495, χ2/df = 2.017, p < .001, RMSEA = .058, CFI = .891, IFI = .892, TLI = .878

Note. Qual. = quality of in-flight food and beverage, PR = price reasonableness, AI = airline image, Satis. = satisfaction with flight experiences, Attach. = passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage. * p < .05. ** p < .01.

associated in the high group (β = .626, p < .01) than in the low group (β = .481, p < .01). These results implied that at a similar level of quality, airline customers who feel a strong attachment to in-flight food and beverage perceive stronger price reasonableness for an airplane ticket than those who feel a weak attachment and that passengers with a strong attachment have a more positive image of the airline than those with a weak attachment. Findings of the present research offered theoretically meaningful information that the magnitude of the relationship strength among the quality of in-flight food and beverage, price reasonableness, airline image depends highly on the level of passenger attachment. The utilization of the concept of passenger attachment as moderator can be thus essential for better comprehending passengers’ post-purchase decision formation for airline products. Our findings also provided important insights for airline operators. Our results informed that airline practitioners should vigorously make diverse endeavors in improving existing and potential customers’ level of attachment to in-flight food and beverage that the airline provides. Advertising campaigns, including pictures/video of in-flight meals through various channels (e.g., airline homepage, print media, mobile SNS, television), would be one effective way to boost customers’ attachment level. The mediating role of price reasonableness and airline image implies that effectively managing these two mediators would maximize the effect of in-flight food and beverage quality on airline passenger satisfaction with flight experience. When considering the predictive role of in-flight food and beverage quality as an essential element of the flight experience, airline practitioners should not underestimate highquality food and beverage that a full-service airline has to offer. In addition, the study evidently supports satisfaction as a key variable explaining how price reasonableness and airline image lead to airline passenger’s intention to re-fly with the airline. To make the best use of in-flight food and beverage quality in achieving re-flying intention with the airline, passenger perceptions of price reasonableness and airline image must be taken into account. Airline practitioners must regularly improve airline passenger perception of price reasonableness and airline image, which leads directly to satisfaction – the direct predictor of re-flying intention. This present study has several limitations that warrant further investigations. First, this study examined only full-service airlines. Because in-flight food and beverage quality may differ depending on the segment of the airline, the inter-relationships among the constructs of this study might differ if the structural model is tested in a different airline segment. Thus, it would be meaningful to examine the role of inflight food and beverage quality in limited-service carriers. The second limitation is related to the sample size. A total of 302 responses were used for data analysis. According to the ratio of the sample size (N) to the number of parameters (q), N/q ≥ 5 (Comrey and Lee, 1992; Myers

interest and effort in. The significant association between the first-order latent variables (core quality, external quality, and delivery quality) and the higherorder construct (quality of in-flight food and beverage) helps airline practitioners better understand how airline passengers perceive the quality of in-flight food and beverage. Food and beverage is pivotal to in-flight experience enhancement for a full-service airline. This finding lends support to the view regarding the significance of food quality on customers’ subsequent outcomes in the hospitality industry (Ha and Jang, 2010; Han and Hyun, 2017; Mohd Zahari et al., 2011; Namkung and Jang, 2007). In-flight food and beverage, which are prepared in the way that airline passengers enjoy, can influence individual’s perception of its quality. In this vein, practitioners should pay attention to the core quality, external quality, and delivery quality of in-flight food and beverage. First, providing tasty, appropriately portioned sized, fresh, good quality ingredients, easy-to-digest, right temperature, and healthy and nutritious food and beverages would be fundamental for increasing airline passenger perception of in-flight food and beverage quality. Second, creative changes in in-flight food and beverage’s presentation, color, and variety could make the airline more appealing to passengers. Third, recognizing the importance of food and beverage delivery systems in full-service airline operations, efforts should be taken to prevent or minimize service delivery errors, including speed and timing of delivery, and delivery staff neatness and customer care. The results revealed that high quality in-flight food and beverage played an important role in increasing airline passengers’ perceived price reasonableness and airline image, which in turn enhanced their satisfaction with the flight experience. This finding helps full-service airlines comprehend how in-flight food and beverage quality perception contributes to airline passenger satisfaction. The findings, which reinforced the results of previous studies (Han and Hwang, 2017; Koklic et al., 2017), imply that airline passengers’ satisfaction is an important variable in explaining their decision-making process. In this regard, airline practitioners should, first and foremost, focus on improving the overall perception of in-flight food and beverage quality. When passengers perceive the quality of in-flight food and beverage to be high, it would in turn increase their perceptions of price reasonableness and airline image. An investigation of the structural invariance assessment revealed that the linkages from the quality of in-flight food and beverage to price reasonableness and to airline image were significantly influenced by passenger attachment to in-flight food and beverage. The strength of the associations was greater in the high group of passenger attachment than in the low group. Specifically, in-flight food and beverage quality and price reasonableness was more strongly related in the high group (β = .758, p < .01) than in the low group (β = .648, p < .01); and inflight food and beverage quality and airline image was more strongly 98

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et al., 2011), this sample size was acceptable since it exceeds the minimum threshold of 135 (27 parameters × 5 observations for each parameter). Yet, considering the complexity of the proposed model, our sample size of 302 cases was not sufficient enough. Thus, future research is suggested to include a higher number of responses for the replication/extension of the proposed theoretical framework. Despite its limitations, this present study takes one step toward an empirical study on in-flight food and beverage in the airline industry. The proposed structural model should be regarded as a starting point towards the predictive power of in-flight food and beverage quality in re-flying intention in an airline context.

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