Ponce, Cyrelle Joy G.

BSAM- 1 March 20, 2019

MWF 9-10

Article Review

Airport Level of Service: A Model according to Departing

Passenger’s Perceptions at a Small-sized Airport

Summary

This study presented a conceptual model of level of service evaluation

to a small-sized Brazilian airport with a focus on departing
passengers. The model was composed of 24 selected variables that
were chosen according to their adequacy to departing passengers and
the airport’s characteristics. A survey was conducted; data were
collected through questionnaires. Each questionnaire was divided into
two parts; the first one had questions addressing the characteristics
of the sample and the second one had questions that sought to
evaluate the level of service of each variable of the proposed
conceptual model, also evaluating the overall level of service of the
airport. Results show that the level of service of the airport is
composed of three dimensions: first is airport characteristics, followed
by passenger processing, and prices. The application of the study’s
model to the airport’s departing passengers resulted in an evaluation
of the overall level of service of the airport wherein the mean overall
level of service rating received by the airport was 3.37 on a scale out
of 5. Both the airport and the passengers can benefit from the
development of the conceptual model, identifying areas with poor
performance and therefore applying corrective actions in order to
increase the overall level of satisfaction and service of the airport. The
model can also be used for future service evaluations.

Evaluation

The key arguments addressed in the article are the use of a

conceptual model for evaluating the level of service of departing
passengers of a small-sized airport as well as the importance of
quantitative and qualitative models in which passenger’ perceptions
of level of service are the main focus. Findings show that the level of
service of the airport is composed of three dimensions: airport
characteristics, passenger processing, and prices. The relative
importance of the dimensions according to their contribution to the
composition of the airport’s overall level of service was also
determined. majority of the respondents were male (63%) and 73%
had an undergraduate degree or higher. Regarding trip purpose, more
than half were on a leisure travel or had other reasons for traveling.

Response

The author presented the study in a neutral and as a matter-of-fact

manner. Data analysis and findings were laid out clearly and free of
biases. The article was informative and objective. This research
contributes to the existing literature of airports’ level of service with
focus on departing passengers, since a conceptual model was
proposed, tested and revised. During this research, the importance
and necessity of studies in the area of airports classification was
perceived, since it would maximize the comparability of airports’ level
of service, once an airport could be compared to another of its same
category.The author was transparent regarding the limitations of the
study and was clear in pointing out the relatively small number of
valid observations used in the data processing.

The intended audience for this research study includes those who
comprise the airline community as well as airport passengers since
both parties can benefit from the development of the conceptual
model; identifying attributes with poor performance and posteriorly
applying corrective actions in order to increase the overall level of
service of the airport which could lead to higher customer satisfaction
and a more effective exchange.