Perception of service quality: a case of Jomo Kenyatta International airport

Abstract

This study looked at the issue of service quality delivery at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as perceived by airline passengers using the airport.. The study had two objectives, namely: 1. To determine the level of service quality as perceived by airline passengers at JKIA. 2. To establish challenges the Kenya Airports Authority faces in order to ensure high quality service delivery to airline passengers using Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The researcher examined the SERVQUAL model as developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry in 1985 (Figure 2, page 16). The conceptual framework they developed helped to elucidate the various gaps that can exist in the service delivery process. GAP 5, which is the gap between the customer's expectations and perceived service quality, was the main theme of interest in this research (as explained in Figure 1, page 14). The review also looked at other paradigms that have been developed in the area of service quality measurement. A survey research design was used. The population of interest was seen to be composed of airline passengers using the J. K. 1. A. airport. A convenient sample size of 90 passengers was randomly selected on the basis of whether they were arrivals, transit and departures, with 30 respondents for each category. The research instrument was a questionnaire that consisted of open-ended questions, closed-ended questions and five-point Likert scales. Data analysis using descriptive statistics that involved measures of central tendency, measures of spread and graphical methods was used. The simple disconfirmation model as originally elucidated by Parasuraman et al. (1985) was adopted This model looked at perceived service quality (Q) as being the difference between perceived service (P) and expected service (E) or Q=P-E. A negative value of P-E was observed for all the eight variables under investigation. This was due to congestion, too many regulators who are poorly trained in customer service, old and plastic passenger seats, poor toilet infrastructure, congested departure lounge, cumbersome procurement procedures, poorly scheduled airline arrival and departures, too many taxi and tour operators and inefficient complaint handling were noted.