Managing airport service quality – the impact of self-service technologies

The impact of self-service technologies on service quality at a major international airport in South Africa, was determined using an adapted SERVQUAL instrument, which focused on Reliability, Convenience, Ease of Use and fulfillment, by developing and testing three hypotheses, which postulated relationships between the aforementioned. The data from a systematic random sample of 318 passengers collected during peak hours at the international departures terminals was analyzed using inferential statistics, confirmed that there is an association between convenience and fulfilment; between ease of use and fulfilment, and between reliability and fulfilment, although some relationships were not very strong. SSTs have addressed the long queues at the airport and improved passenger service experience. The findings must, however, be interpreted with caution as there are inherent limitations and opportunities for further research. Keywords: service experience, self-service, technology, airport service. JEL Classification: M31