Determinants of Airline Selection at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria –A Researchers’ Perspective

Abstract

In 2016 the contribution of the air transport industry to the world economy is aboutUSD$7.6 trillion, this accounts for over10%of global gross domestic product. It is projected that the value of the overall travel industry will grow at an annual compound rate of 3.9% reaching USD $11.5 trillion between 2018–2017. This will represent more than 11% of globalGDP.At the continental level, aviation sector contributes about USD $10 billion to the African economy. Furthermore, about 2000 airline operators with over 23,000 aircrafts are known to serve over 3,700 airports across the world. These developments continually stimulate airline operators towards increasing their market share on the global air transport landscape. Arising from these, the study examines the factors that determine passenger’s airline selection decision taking at the Nnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport, Abuja-Nigeria. The methodology of study involved structured questionnaire in which data was collected on passengers’ attributes suggested by Ajzen theory of planned behavior and airline service qualities. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and regression method were used in data analysis. Result shows that attitude, customer satisfaction scale and airline service reliability with mean score of: 4.42, 4.16, 4.13 respectively were the most significant variables influencing passengers’ choice of airlines. The study recommends improvement of airline operation in the critical areas of service quality, reliability and strong public image to enhance current customer attraction and retention.