Airline passengers perceived value

The aim of this paper is to analyze the value of airline companies as perceived by passengers, by studying the differences existing between airlines with different business models. The most recent bibliographical review identifies three major dimensions of perceived value: functional value, emotional value and social value. An empirical study was carried out with a total of 1700 personal interviews with users of different airline companies. In the analysis of the data, first a study of the dimensionality, reliability and validity of the perceived value scale was carried out by means of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis using the Structural Equations Models technique. Next, a descriptive analysis was carried out applying the ANOVA technique, allowing identification of any significant differences between the means of several independent samples. This paper shows airline companies how passengers perceive the functional aspects - installations, staff professionalism, timetables,punctuality, attention to complaints, price and non-monetary costs – as well as social and emotional aspects, all of them important dimensions for improving the management of airline companies, a sector that has recently been undergoing profound changes motivated by an ever more mature and competitive market.