Exploring multi-quality attributes of airports and the asymmetric effects on air traveller satisfaction: The case of Thai International Airports

Abstract

Within the context of Thai international airports, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, to examine the asymmetric effect of airport quality attributes in the airport terminal on passenger satisfaction from the perspective of Thai travellers. Second, to prioritise the attributes into categories on the basis of impact–range performance analysis (IRPA) and impact asymmetry analysis (IAA). An online survey (n = 879) was conducted via convenience and snowball sampling. The findings indicate that an airport has multiple attributes that yield dynamic effects on air traveller satisfaction. In addition, IRPA and IAA enable researchers and industry practitioners to classify these attributes into five categories, namely frustrator, dissatisfier, hybrid, satisfier and delighter. The findings also suggest that seven out of 10 attributional domains, derived from the selected Thai international airports, reflect both asymmetric and symmetric characteristics, whilst only three domains, namely flight information screens, passenger facilities and immigration, show only asymmetric effects. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.