In a dynamic environment, a firm must place the loyalty customers at the center of their operations for competitive advantage and superior performance [1]. Moreover, service quality is associated with consumer loyalty [2]. Though the primary goal of a company is enhancing its competitive edge, customer loyalty is vital since customers prefer firms that meet their satisfaction levels through the provision of quality goods and services. According to Oliver customer loyalty is "a deeply held commitment to re-buy or re patronizing a preferred product or service in the future despite situational influence and marketing efforts are having the potential to cause switching behavior [3]." Equally, Rizka and Widji view customer loyalty as a tendency or behavior of preferring the same firm in purchases which has attitudinal and behavioral dimensions [4]. This is specifically an exhibition of the attitude and behaviors associated with the customers. The principle of customer loyalty is aptly depicted in the fact that organizations should strive to give focus on their marketing practices and processes on existing customers and struggle to create and maintain positive relationships between them and their customers [5]. This means that the aspect of loyalty becomes a two-way notion in which customers’ loyalty is in turn rewarded by the company being loyal to its customers through enhanced relationships that make the customer more endeared to the organization.

Researchers have singled out service quality as a key factor in establishing and maintaining a healthy and competitive market position and organizational longevity [6]. Abedin posits that service quality facilitates the creation of customer satisfaction, and it is intertwined with customer perceptions and customer expectations [7]. Thus, service quality is critical to service industries, and in particular the Airline industry, where competition is pegged on customer satisfaction. According to Grönroos, service quality is of two forms; functional service quality which relates to the nature of the interaction between the service provider and customer and the process by which the core service is delivered, and technical service quality that refers to the quality of the service output [8]. Within the current business disposition, service quality is not only the rhetoric of virtually every business enterprise but also a fundamental view in customer service research. Essentially, an organization can't survive without having a firm foundation in which customer satisfaction and brand loyalty are key aspects. Moreover, previous studies have shown that service quality influences organizational outcomes such as; financial performance, market share, corporate image and customer loyalty [9,10]. Presently, the search for quality is perhaps the most important consumer orientation because consumers are increasingly demanding for quality products and services besides the increased consumer protection. Modern-day customers are more informed, thus more powerful in agitating for an acceptable level of service quality. Given the important intersection between service quality and customer loyalty, this relationship has been subjected to empirical studies. Bielen and Demoulin found that poor service quality has a negative effect on customer loyalty, implying that with each decrease in the level of service quality, there is a boomerang negative effect on the level of customer loyalty [11]. Whilst, a few researchers contend that service quality has a positive effect on customer loyalty [12,13]. Whilst, service quality is vital to customer loyalty in service organizations, limited studies are focusing on Africa. Moreover, this is true for the African airline sector considering the rising concerns on safety, service quality and sustainability of several of these airlines. Thus the specific objective of this study is to examine the effect of the various dimensions of service quality; reliability, empathy, tangibility, assurance, and responsiveness on customer loyalty among selected African Airlines. Further, the article is organized as follows: the next section is a review of existing literature, followed by study methodology, data analysis, and results and finally conclusions, implications and research recommendations.

Theoretical underpinnings

The theoretical foundation of this study is the Theory of Reasoned Action advanced by Ajzen and Fishbein [14]. This theory postulates that human beings are sensible and they systematically use the information available to them to make critical decisions that have a profound impact on their future [14]. Furthermore, the theory suggests that behavioral intention is a function of the attitude towards certain behaviors, thus provides a means of understanding and predicting consumer behavior [15]. Within this context, an individual's evaluation of the expected consequence determines his/her course of action. Furthermore, the notions of subjective norms are an individual's perceptions of what people think about a specific behavior. The aspect of the subjective norm explains individual beliefs on the specific behavior that he/she should display as weighted against the expectations of a given group of people [16]. The proponents of the theory suggested that individual behavior can be forecasted by two important factors; attitude towards the behavior and the subjective norm, which are likely to vary with circumstances under which specific and particular behavior will be performed. In terms of the link between with the concept of loyalty, this theory posits that loyalty intentions have a direct effect on the consumer's behavior especially in terms of their willingness to buy [17]. In this case, this willingness is attached to the consumer's need to search for better offers even though it would in many cases attract considerable effort from the consumer. When this behavior is explained from the point of the theory, it means that competitive offerings or counteroffers, though better, are not considered alternatives and the consumer is inclined to stick to what they receive. In the expansion of this, Ajzen proposes that the consumer's past behavior can explain their present behavior [18]. This implies that the consumer will have a higher propensity to choose the same store they have visited in previous purchasing instances even though the customer may be inclined to perceive that other stores provide the same benefits or even better. This notion can also be explained based on the psychological commitment of the consumer to previous choices as well as their willingness to avoid the cost of decision making by having to take the task of searching for a better alternative to what they are currently receiving [19]. The theory of reasoned action provided a guide for this study because it is acknowledged that the customers' behavior is a function of the attitudes towards performing behaviors. This essentially means that customers may be inclined to be loyal or disloyal after their interaction with the firm through its employees within certain key situations and they may ultimately form an attitude that may be positive or negative towards the services or products offered by the company or firm.

Review of previous studies

Though the relationship between service quality and customer quality has elicited a lot of research, empirical studies show mixed findings. Al-Rousan and Mohamed, the study conducted 322 surveys on tourists who were staying at three branches Marriott hotel in Jordan [19]. The findings of this study indicated that the main dimensions of service quality that influenced customer loyalty were empathy, reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, and assurance as key determinants of customer loyalty. Similarly, Saleem and Raja, who assessed the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction, customer loyalty in Pakistan using primary data that was collected from 5 and 8-star hotels through 250 questionnaires, found that high quality of services improves customer satisfaction, which eventually strengthens the customer loyalty [20]. Prentice investigated service quality, player segments and customer loyalty in Asian casinos by adopting a focus group research [21]. The author found mixed results that were attributed to the difference in customer perceptions based on the segment. The study concluded that customers evaluated service quality differently, and different dimensions of service quality had differing impacts on their loyalty and future patronage. Bell, Auh, and Smalley, The retail financial services industry were chosen for this study, self-administered questionnaires were sent by mail to a sample of 1,977 respondents, the study found that technical and functional service quality had a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty [22]. Mahmud and Jusoff studied the effect of service quality and price on customer’s satisfaction and loyalty in Indonesia [23]. Their research used primary data that was collected through a survey of 310 respondents, who were passengers on the route Jakarta - Makassar. The study found that service quality had an insignificant influence on customer’s loyalty. The findings suggest that dissatisfied customers are disloyal due to unmet expectations. In the same view, Hwang, Choi, Na, and Kim, the effect of airline service encounter quality on customer loyalty in the Korean airline industry, found that personal service encounter quality did not have a significant effect on customer loyalty but non-personal service encounter quality had a significant effect on customer loyalty [24].

Geraldine investigated the impact of individual service quality attributes on passengers’ loyalty in Nigeria [25]. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed to a randomly selected sample out of the average weekly passenger volume of 2465 passengers that utilize the Arik air carrier. The study revealed that service quality variables and the airline image had a positive and significant association with the airline image and that the airline image positively impacted customers' loyalty. Rizan conducted a study on airline passengers in Indonesia to establish the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty [26]. The researcher used a sample of 160 passengers, drawn from the ten profitable domestic routes of full-service airlines companies. This study found that service quality and customer satisfaction had a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty. The findings of these studies indicate that the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty is largely contentious. However, there is a consensus that customer loyalty is a major determinant of performance in service industries such as airlines. Furthermore, customers who utilize particular airline services consider switching as a threat. Also, customers are more well informed and knowledgeable and their demands and expectations are also on an increasing trend globally even in markets where the initial airline industry was not that significant. However, there remains a deep concern about what kind of strategies that these airlines can influence upon their customers to entice and retain their customers. Previous research has suggested that the quality of the customer's service experience aids them to develop positive value perceptions about the service provider. Carrillat, Jaramillo, and Mulki argue that this means that the intellectual evaluation of the different service quality dimensions will lead to a favorable behavioral response from the consumer [27]. It has been observed that there is a changing trend and respondents did not treat tangibles as an important measurement anymore due to the availability of self-service terminals in which there was reduced contact between the employees and the customers to warrant an influence of the tangibles. Therefore, the airlines must look into upgrading the proficiency of their self-service terminals rather than their interior which clearly shows that aspects of tangibles are not that influential on the levels of customer loyalty. Furthermore, airline customers do not view tangibles as an important factor for them especially in determining their level of loyalty to a given airline. Even though major benefits that emanate from customer loyalty, there is little information about the real influence of the foundations of the link between airline performance and the level of customer loyalty.

The study adopted an explanatory research design. The study used structured and self-administered questionnaires that were filled by 256,254 customers, selected randomly, representing 9 selected African airlines; Kenya Airways, Ethiopia Airlines, Egypt Air, Rwanda Air, South African Airways, Mozambique Airlines, Air Zimbabwe, Air Tanzania, and Air Namibia. From the 9 airline databases, there is a total using these airlines per month which was taken as the study target population.

Measurement of variable

In this study, the measurement scales and indicators were adopted from previous studies [28,29]. Modifications and translations were made to transform the measurement scale to be readable for the average reader. In general, the respondents were asked to state their agreement or disagreement with the statements stated. Respondents gave their opinion for each statement using a 5-point Likert scale with 1 to indicate "strongly disagree", 2 to indicate "disagree", 3 to indicate "a neutral position", 4 to indicate " agree" and 5 to indicate "strongly agree".

Customer Loyalty (Dependent Variable): The study adopted five items from Cronin, Brady, and Hult to measure the customer loyalty which includes telling positive things about the airline, recommending family, friends, and relatives, recommending to someone who seeks airline services, intention to continue using the airline [30]. 

Service Quality (Independent Variable): The study independent variables were based on SERVQUAL scale contain five dimensions of service quality namely tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy [31]. Each of these, and the indicators used to assess them can be summarised as follows: Tangibility was measured using five items related to physical facilities, appearance of personnel and the equipment of the airline, stated as, “neat appearance of employees”, “visual appealing facilities”, “neat appearance of airlines service”, “professional appearance”, and “modern equipment". Assurance was measured using 4 items related to the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence, stated, “constantly courteous”, “able to instill confidence in customer", "knowing to answer customer' questions", and "ability to handle customers’ problems”. Empathy utilized 3 indicators related to the caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers, stated “given individual attention”, “convenient booking hours”, and “understand the specific needs of customer”. Reliability utilized 3 indicators of the variable, which are related to the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately, stated “a sincere interest in solving problem”, “maintains error-free records” and “Providing services as promised”. Responsiveness utilized 3 indicators of the variable, which are related to the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service, stated “offering prompt services to the customer", "responding quickly", and "willing to help customers". Content Validity Index (CVI) was used to quantify the content validity. An expert panel was purposefully selected, using the supervisors and experts from the department. Construct validly was tested using factor analysis. The variables were tested for reliability by computing the Cronbach alpha where reliability coefficients around 0.90 were considered excellent, values around 0.80 as very good and values of around 0.70 as adequate.

Data analysis method and procedure covers, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) statistics, Test of Sphericity, Factor Analysis, Correlation Coefficient, and Regression Model. Descriptive analyses were used to describe the demographic profile of target respondents in frequency and percentage of the sample characteristics in the form of tables and written explanations as well as central tendencies measurement of constructs that included mean and standard deviation. These demographic profiles consist of gender, age, and race, flight experience, and frequency. The structure model equation was used to give correlation coefficients between the five independent variables measured using seven-item Likert scales. Moreover, if the p-value of multiple linear regressions is less than 0.05, then the relationship between the selected independent variables and the dependent variable was significant. Thus, the alternative hypothesis should not be rejected. If not, vice versa. The sample population consisted of customers of selected African airlines. AMOS was employed to analyze the confirmatory factor analysis and regression. A sample of 750 questionnaires was distributed, data was successfully selected from 634 respondents representing a response rate of 85%. This was deemed adequate for customer-related studies of this nature. 

Sample characteristics

The study sought to establish the personal characteristics of the respondents to assist the researcher in understanding the findings. Variables included here are age, gender, nationality and years as airline customers. As far as age of respondents is concerned, 14.8% of the respondents are in the range of 36- 40 years, 16.4% of the respondents are below 25 years, 18.3% are above 40 years, 20.5% are in the range of 31-35 and 30% are in the range of 26-30 years. Male respondents represented 59.1%, on the other hand, 40.8% were female. As evidenced in (Table 1), 53.5% of them are Africans, 23.2% are Asians,15% are Europeans and 8.4% are Australians. The results revealed that 73.2% of the respondents have been customers with the airline for 1 to 5 years,18.3% for 6 to 10 years,3.8% for 11 to 15 years, 3.8% for 16 to 20 years and the least being 0.9% of them that have been customers with the airline for over 21 years.

Table 1: Sample Characteristics.

Descriptive statistics

Findings on tangibility summed up to a mean of 3.8459, standard deviation 0.63601, skewness -0.39 and kurtosis -0. 495. On the other hand, the Cronbach value of 0.825 is higher than 0.70 indicating that the gathered data on tangibility are reliable as they have a relatively high internal consistency and can be generalized to reflect the opinions of all respondents regarding the study problem. The results on reliability summed up to a mean of 3.727, a standard deviation of 0.75007, skewness -0.483 and Kurtosis 1. 917. In general, results on responsiveness summed up to a mean of 3.9185, standard deviation 0.64339, skewness -0-.132 and kurtosis 2.007. The Cronbach alpha value (0.826) is above 0.7 indicating that the results on responsiveness are reliable as they have high internal consistency thus can be generalized to reflect the opinions of all respondents about the study problem. The findings on assurance summed up to a mean of 4.0831, standard deviation 0.84288, skewness 3.161 and kurtosis 20.407. The Cronbach's Alpha value (0.91) is more than 0.7 an indication of high internal consistency hence the results can be generalized to reflect the opinions of all respondents about the study problem. The results on empathy summed up to a mean of 3.6494, standard deviation 0.78148, skewness 0.994 and kurtosis 4.296. The Cronbach's Alpha value (0.921) is more than 0.7 an indication of high internal consistency hence the results on empathy can be generalized to reflect the opinions of all respondents about the study problem. Results on customer loyalty summed up to a mean of 3.9065, standard deviation 0.59503, skewness -0.352 and kurtosis -0. 632. The Cronbach alpha value of 0.882 is above 0.7 meaning that there is high internal consistency hence the results on customer loyalty can be generalized to the general population.

Factor analysis

Factor analysis is a technique that is used to reduce a large number of variables into fewer numbers of factors. This technique extracts maximum common variance from all variables and puts them into a common score. As an index of all variables, this score is used for further analysis. Factor analysis is part of the general linear model (GLM) [32]. This study employed the Confirmatory factor analysis technique. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA): Used to determine the factor and factor loading of measured variables, and to confirm what is expected on the basic or pre-established theory. CFA assumes that each factor is associated with a specified subset of measured variables. In the SEM approach; CFA is an alternative approach of factor analysis which can be done in SEM where all straight arrows are removed from the latent variable, and adds only that arrow which has to observe the variable representing the covariance between every pair of latent variables [33]. Here the straight arrows are left in error-free and disturbance terms to their respective variables. If standardized error term in SEM is less than the absolute value two, then it is assumed good for that factor, and if it is more than two, it means that there is still some unexplained variance which can be explained by factor. Factor loading was used to determine the correlation coefficient for the variable and factor. Factor loading shows the variance explained by the variable on that particular factor. In the SEM approach, as a rule of thumb, 0.7 or higher factor loading represents that the factor extracts sufficient variance from that variable. According to the variance extraction rule, it should be more than 0.7. If the variance is less than 0.7, then we should not consider that a factor [33]. The results of the confirmatory tests reveal that the following items from tangibility as a construct of service quality were retained for the study Toilets on board the aircraft are clean and easy to use and Inflight entertainment is Full High Definition resolution with wireless streaming as they had a factor loading of above the recommended 0.7. From reliability the following items were retained for further analysis; When I face problems, the airline staff is reassuring, the airline staff is dependable, the airline performs its services without errors, airline employees show sincere concern in solving problems relating to my air travel, the Airline correctly performs a service from the very first time and passengers' luggage is handled with care as they had a factor loading of above 0.7.

From the responsiveness construct of service quality, the following items were retained for further analysis; I receive prompt service from the airline staff and airline staff does not appear to be too busy in responding to customer requests having fulfilled the criteria of having a factor loading of above 0.7.

From the assurance construct of service quality, the following items were retained for further analysis; I can trust the airline staff, the customer service staff is polite, the airline employees are knowledgeable enough to reliably respond to my questions, I feel safe in my transactions with the Airline, the airline personnel are well trained and the behavior of employees of the airline instills confidence. This is because they attained the required criteria of having a factor loading of above 0.7.

From the empathy construct of service quality, the following items were retained for further analysis having attained the required criteria of a factor loading of above 0.7; the airline staff understands me emotionally, I have interest in the services provided by the airline, the airline employees show understanding of my needs and my feedback is considered.

From customer loyalty, the following items were retained for the further analysis; I recommend my family, friends to this airline, I have no intention of switching the airline, I will always come back for the services of the airline and I will never hesitate using this airline services because they fulfilled the criteria of factor loading above 0.7 (Table 2). 

Table 2: Descriptive statistics for Service quality and customer loyalty.

Testing assumptions of regression analysis

Several regression assumptions were tested before analysis. The assumption of normality was tested through skewness and kurtosis analysis [34]. Based on the results, the values of skewness and kurtosis the data was found as being normally distributed. This assumption was further tested through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test. The results of Levene’s test indicated that the assumption of homoscedasticity was not violated. The VIF values in (Table 3) were less than ten meaning that there was no multicollinearity.

Table 3: Confirmatory factor analysis.

Hypothesis testing

The study tested five hypotheses and the results provided in (table 4). Accordingly, the first hypothesis of the study stated that there is no significant effect of tangibility on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. The findings proved the hypothesis by indicating that tangibility had coefficients of the estimate which was not significant (ρ-value = 0.853 < 0.05). Thus, the null hypothesis was not rejected, implying that tangibility did not have a significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines.

Table 4: Regression Weights: (Group number 1 - Default model).

Therefore, tangibles as a dimension of service quality among the African airlines did not exhibited a positive or significant effect on customer loyalty this could be attributed to the fact customer of the African airlines are more interested in the intangible aspects of customer service which are influenced by culture other than the tangibles since in comparison to other international airline; African airlines have lesser quality and class of airlines. These findings concur with study on airline customers in Malaysia that found that among the five dimensions used in the SERVQUAL model, tangibles had no significant influence on consumer loyalty. However, these findings differ from the study by Tax and Brown, who found that tangibles and intangible aspects of service quality were key in enhancing customer loyalty and influencing the overall organization performance [35]. Additionally, the findings conflict with Zineldin and Philipson who found that by combining both tangible and intangible attributes of premium quality in products and services provided by airlines, they have a high propensity to create a strong and long-term relationship with their customers [36].

The second hypothesis stated that; reliability has no significant effect on customer loyalty in African Airlines. The resulted indicated that reliability had a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty (ρ-value = 0.021 < 0.05), inferring that reliability had a significant effect on customer loyalty. Corresponding to this result, Jamal and Anatassiadou's study on airline customers in Greece showed that reliability, tangibility, and empathy are positively related to consumer loyalty [37]. In a similar vein, Arasli reported that assurance, reliability, empathy and tangibles dimensions of service quality were predictors of consumer loyalty [38]. The results are also in conformity with that of Siddiqui, that asserted that service quality such as reliability, empathy, and service quality was found to be positively correlated with customer loyalty [39]. Besides, the findings are in support of a study by Khenget carried out a study on airline customers in Malaysia that found out that reliability has a positive association with customer loyalty [6].

Similarly, the third hypothesis of the study stated that; responsiveness has no significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. However, the study findings showed that responsiveness had coefficients of the significant estimate (ρ-value = 0.004 < 0.05), suggesting that the null hypothesis was rejected stating that responsiveness has no significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. In corroboration with the above findings, a study conducted by Al-Rousan and Mohamed in the hotel industry in Jordon found out that empathy, reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, and assurance significantly forecast customer loyalty [19]. As well, Arasli reported that tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness were significant predictors of customer loyalty [38]. Besides, Liang study found out that service quality has a positive influence on consumer loyalty. Further, the fourth hypothesis of the study stated that; assurance has no significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. This was however refuted since assurance has a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines with (ρ-value = 0.005 < 0.05). Thus the null hypothesis was rejected and the conclusion was that assurance had a significant effect on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. These findings are supported by earlier studies; Poku, Ansah, and Lamptey who studied Ghanaian telecommunication companies and Kheng, who focused on Malaysian airlines [6,39].

The fifth hypothesis stated that; empathy has no significant effect of reliability on customer loyalty in selected African Airlines. However, the study’s findings showed that empathy had a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty (ρ-value = 0.001 < 0.05), which implies that empathy had a significant effect on customer loyalty. Empathy is a key dimension of service quality has been found to have a significant positive association with customer loyalty. The results corroborate with that of Iglesias and Guillén, which found out that there is a positive and significant relationship between empathy and customer loyalty [40]. Akin to the above findings, Ndubisi & Wah echo that customer satisfaction and in turn, loyalty can be achieved by offering personalized, flexible and adjustable services that are in line with the expectations of the customers. The results suggest that empathy impacts positively on customer loyalty [41].

Furthermore, Wieseke, Geigenmüller, and Kraus established that consumers that were treated emphatically were more loyal even when mistakes are made during service provision [42]. Also, Jamal and Anastasiadou, studied the correlation between service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction and found that customer loyalty can be won through empathy [37]. Besides findings by Karatepe showed that empathy can change the behavior of the customer ultimately and in the long-run, the level of their loyalty to a particular firm [6]. The extant literature is in support of the view that empathy as one of the service quality dimensions impacts positively on customer loyalty. It can, therefore, be concluded that empathy is an important predictor of customer loyalty among the selected African airlines. To sum up, findings from the table revealed that responsiveness predicted greatly the customer loyalty of the customer with a coefficient of S.E 0.063, followed by 47.2% variation of customer loyalty is predicted by tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy (R2 = 0.472). Their joint prediction was significant as shown by the F value of 112.133, ρ<0.05. Furthermore, the VIF values were less than 4 indicating the absence of multi-collinearity and thus the variation contributed by each of the independent variables was significant.

The main hypothesis of the study was to investigate the effect of service quality on customer loyalty on selected African airlines, which was tested using a sample of 256,254 customers drawn from 9 selected African Airlines. The findings of the study revealed that the various dimensions of service quality had a varied effect on customer loyalty. Based on the results, the relationship between tangibility and customer loyalty was insignificant for the selected airlines, suggesting that the industry’s clientele who opt for the certain airlines bypass other service providers, with better and more luxurious planes, implying that tangibles of the airlines is not what made these customers loyal but rather other aspects such as trust the services offered and waiting time. The findings can also be attributed to staff ability in handling customers’ issues, satisfactory response to customer concerns and payment of equitable damages arising from service disruption in the shortest time possible.

Equally, the results showed that empathy had a significant effect on customer loyalty, inferring that the failure to accord sufficient empathy to airline customers is likely to deteriorate their loyalty. Arguably, empathy is effective in creating an emotional relationship with airline passengers. Hence, African airlines should concentrate on providing its passengers with a touch of importance and a sense of belonging to build patronage.

Additionally, this study found that assurance had a significant influence on customer loyalty. The assurance dimension enables the airline to inspire trust and confidence thus leading to customer loyalty. The implication is that the airline staffs delivery service to customers that are believable and can be trusted. Consequently, the passengers shall recommend their families and friends to the airline. Thus, airlines should train their staff to equip them with skills and knowledge to effectively enhance customer loyalty within the selected African airlines. Further, the findings revealed that responsiveness and customer loyalty in selected African airlines. As a result, it can be said that whenever customers' requests are quickly responded to and are assisted in the shortest time possible, the implication is that they will be satisfied with the service delivery and become loyal customers. Additionally, convenient operating hours, reliability, together with commitment to on-time services is crucial in enhancing customer loyalty. Because of this, airlines should endeavor to deliver services within the charted times and handling customer’s complaints effectively, having a “do-it-right-first” attitude. Future research should, therefore, have to draw a sample of respondents on more number of airlines for the sake of generalizing the results of the study.

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