Customer value of purchasable supplementary services : The case of a European full network carrier's economy class

There is a general trend in the airline industry to try to find ways to generate ancillary revenue by offering additional or unbundled services. Low-cost carriers in particular are known to offer unbundled services, but only a few network carriers have started to unbundle their services and seek ancillary revenues. Meanwhile, others do not attempt this, due to a possible negative impact on customer perception and their brand image.

The goal of this study is to determine the viability and customer value of purchasable supplementary services for economy class passengers of European full-service network carriers. The focus of the study lies in determining specific characteristics of the customer value concept in the context of purchasable supplementary services. By conducting a choice model the implicit preferences in regard to purchasable supplementary service of economy class passengers were analysed. A survey was conducted at Zurich Airport in Switzerland and the results and analysis were built on the data of 249 respondents. The results show that economy class passengers do perceive value in purchasable supplementary services and display a general intention to purchase such services provided they give the passenger added value and utility.