Branding Satisfaction in the Airline Industry: a Comparative Study of Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia

African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5(8), pp. 3410-3423, 18 April, 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM ISSN 1993-8233 ©2011 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Branding satisfaction in the airline industry: A comparative study of Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia
Kee Mun, Wong* and Ghazali, Musa
Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Accepted 23 March, 2011

Brand is crucial in differentiating the superiority of products or services over others. This is an exploratory study examining the differences in brand satisfaction between Malaysian Airlines (full service airlines) and Air Asia (low cost airlines) in Malaysia. 350 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondents in the two main airlines terminals in Kuala Lumpur. Exploratory factor analysis revealed seven brand satisfaction dimensions which are tangibles, price, core service, reputation, publicity, word-of-mouth, and employee. Generally, respondents were not satisfied with all brand dimensions of both airlines. The level of brand dissatisfaction is also higher for Malaysian Airlines compared with Air Asia. Air Asia was perceived better than Malaysian Airlines in price, publicity, and word-of-mouth. On the other hand, Malaysian Airlines was perceived better in tangibles, core service, reputation, and employee. The paper highlights some of its theoretical, managerial and marketing implications to the development of airline industry. Key words: Airlines, branding, satisfaction, Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia. INTRODUCTION The world airline industry has gone through a rollercoaster ride for the past few years. Among factors contributing to the situation are, increasing fuel prices, escalating security insurance, rapid deregulation of the industry, as well as natural disaster, ranging from the outbreak of diseases to eruptions of volcanoes that hinder the air travel growth. As reported in the recent World Airline

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