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How Can Lufthansa Airlines Improve Their Customer Satisfaction in Comparison with Singapore Airlines - Case Study Example

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The paper "How Can Lufthansa Airlines Improve Their Customer Satisfaction in Comparison with Singapore Airlines" is an outstanding example of a marketing case study. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and analyse customer satisfaction of the Lufthansa and Singapore airlines…
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How can Lufthansa Airlines improve their satisfaction in comparison with Singapore Airlines? Executive Summary The aim of this paper is to evaluate and analyse customer satisfaction of the Lufthansa and Singapore airlines. The paper provides a broader perspective towards the needs and requirements of customers from the airline industry. The objective is to provide customer satisfaction in order to retain loyal customers for the sustainability of the organisation. Various models regarding customer satisfaction have been used in the paper such as Kano’s Model and Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory. Furthermore, to derive better results regarding the airlines various secondary sources such as annual reports and Skytrax customer reviews have been used. It is revealed that quality services from the staff and the companies leads to better customer satisfaction. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Aim and Objectives 5 1.2 Customer satisfaction in airlines 5 1.3 Factors affecting customer’s satisfaction 9 1.4 Competition 10 1.5 Method of investigation 11 2. Data Analysis and Presentation 12 2.1 Customers review analysis 12 2.3 Staff service 13 2.4 Seat Comfort 16 2.5 Catering 17 2.6 Entertainment 19 2.7 Growth strategies of Lufthansa group 20 2.8 Challenges faced by Lufthansa Group 22 3. Conclusion and Managerial Implications and Applications 23 References 25 Bibliography 29 1. Introduction 1.1 Aim and Objectives The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that influence customer satisfaction through airline services. The paper focuses on how Lufthansa Airlines can improve customer satisfaction in comparison with Singapore Airlines for greater sustainability. The objective of the paper is to identify the reasons behind customer dissatisfaction using annual reports of the respective companies and other relevant theories. 1.2 Customer satisfaction in airlines Service quality is a vital issue for the success of the airline industry. The major challenge faced by the airline industry is to provide excellent service and value to its passengers. The quality of service provided by the business is the factors that can satisfy or dissatisfy the demand of customers. The rapid development in the airline industry and the increase in competition in both developed and the developing economies have made it essential for airline companies to evaluate the services provided by them. Major problems faced by the airline industries are regarding managing the fluctuating demands because of the introduction of various low cost airlines providing similar kind of services. Other challenges are maintaining the superior quality of service in order to maintain customer loyalty (Baker, 2013). The paper focuses on the services provided by Lufthansa and Singapore airlines. Lufthansa being a five star airline company considers customer satisfaction as its key corporate strategy. The company maintains a customer feedback system in order to manage customer relations effectively. To improve customer satisfaction, online surveys are conducted where the customers can share their personal experience and accordingly changes are made to improve the quality. Lufthansa does not use the feedback system effectively to reduce the negative customer experiences (Lufthansagroup, 2014). On the other hand, Singapore Airlines is one of the awarded airlines of the world for providing top class customers services. The customer service plan flowed by the Singapore Airlines according to the ‘U.S. Department of Transportation’ focused on protection of the airline passengers. Special cares are provided to persons with disabilities, which add value to create a strong brand image. All these services provided by the company results in increased customer satisfaction (Singapore Airlines, 2015). For airline companies it is very essential to retain the existing customers rather than attracting new potential passengers because retaining involves more costs. Therefore, it is essential for the service sector to identify the present stage of satisfaction in which the customer exists and to implement strategies to bring them to higher level of satisfaction. For this purpose, the Kano Model can be used to determine the satisfaction level of customers. The model classifies the product factors according to the way they are perceived by customers. The product requirements are categorised, as ‘must-be requirements’, ‘one dimensional requirements’ and ‘attractive requirements’. The ‘must-be requirement’ are the basic requirements those are generally considered and granted by customers. The basic requirement does not result into increased satisfaction but are like the pre conditions those are to be fulfilled in order to develop the interest about the product. One-dimensional need is to be generated by customers themselves. Customer satisfaction is linked with the fulfilment of demand and the value provided. The more the demands are fulfilled it results to higher satisfaction. On the other hand, the ‘attractive requirement’s are the special product features that greatly influence the level of satisfaction. These requirements are not expressed by the supplier of the service and are neither expected by customers. Moreover, when such kinds of services are provided to customer it gives them unexpected satisfaction (Sauerwein, Bailom, Matzle, & Hinterhuber, 1996). Hence, the three products requirement of the Kano’s Model is depicted by figure-1 below. Figure-1 (Sauerwein, Bailom, Matzle, & Hinterhuber, 1996) The development of products and services requires the fulfilment of the ‘must-be requirement’. These requirements are the functions that each product or service must have in order to satisfy customers. However, in case if ‘must be requirements’ are fulfilled at a satisfactory level the supplier of the product or services should focus on other requirements. Individuals tend to attract to additional services easily so the aim of the supplier should be to offer additional and new improved services. The application of the Kano Model in airline industry makes it easier to identify and analyse the type of products and services that greatly influences the passenger’s level of satisfaction. The model is also applicable to other market segments that assist the company to differentiate the products and services offered by other airline companies. The customer-oriented variable of the Kano’s model may be used as the basis for the differentiation of the services offered by other airline companies (Qiting, Uno & Kubota, n.d.). Improving the customers experience is the main objective of the service providers for the well-being of the company and increase profitability. For this purpose, a framework is designed using SERVQUAL and Gronroon’s model of service quality, which can be useful for improving customer satisfaction. The framework is based on the variable those are positively related to customer’s satisfaction. The framework is depicted in the figure-2 below. Figure-2 (Rahman, Khan, & Haque, 2012) The technical quality of the airline industry is also essential for deriving customer satisfaction. The corporate image of the industry is also dependent on the technical services provided to customers. The internal service provided to the customers like the cabin members dealing with the issues of customers may also lead to customer satisfaction. It is important for the airline industry to provide adequate support to customers and guide them at every step so that they are satisfied with the experience they have. Apart from the internal services the external services provides to the passengers also influences the customers satisfaction level. For example, when there is a delay of a flight or the flight is cancelled due to some technical or weather disturbance then the team members plays a crucial role in arranging alternative facilities for the passengers. The functions performed by ground members are very crucial for deriving satisfaction of customers. The corporate image and the quality service offered are both tangible features but are essential for improving customer’s satisfaction and also for enhancing the market of the airlines in the global platform (Rahman, Khan, & Haque, 2012). 1.3 Factors affecting customer’s satisfaction The goal of the service sectors is to make its customers satisfied through valuable services. It is observed that customers if are satisfied with the services provided to them by the employees of the industries and other members repeat their visit. Contextually, customer satisfaction can also be viewed as a tool to reduce marketing expenses. The passengers who are satisfied with the services provided by the airline industry will share their positive experiences with their friends and family members and this in turn will increase the number of passengers willing to take aircraft services. Two factors that influence the satisfaction level are perceived expectation and practical experiences. The expectation of an individual develops a base with respect to which the comparisons between expected and experienced services are made. For example, if we consider two airlines, one five star and the other being three star then the customer’s expectation is higher for five star airlines. The passengers expecting higher quality of service from the five star if receives lower quality then the individual may feel disappointed resulting into negative experience or dissatisfaction, as the airlines have not been able to meet the expected or perceived expectation. Subsequently, it is worth mentioning that person has three kinds of expectations ideal, pre-expectations and minimum expectations. Considering the airline industry the ideal expectation of passenger can be related with cost involved in journey, friendly services offered by the airline staffs, the quality of products and many more. Pre expectation that a passenger develops from the brand or company image is influenced through marketing promotion of services and publicity. On the other hand, the minimum level of expectation is the standard set by individuals, according to their own requirements (Tuomi, 2009). 1.4 Competition Passenger transportation is the core business of Lufthansa airline. The goal of the airline industry is to increase the profit margin by retaining its position in the market and improve customer’s satisfaction. In Europe, the three airline networks that is Lufthansa, Air France and IAG with some other low cost airlines holds nearly 40% of the total market share (Lufthansa Annual Report, 2013). Each individual player in the market has different range of products and their profitability depends on their own cost position. The competition between the airline industries of Europe and Asia is based on the number of the competitors in the market and their cost structures. The growth and the competition in the airline industry also depends on the overall performance of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries and the emerging new airlines companies. The Lufthansa Airline faces increasing challenge from the Asian countries because of the negative currency movement between the nations. Apart from this, the rapid growth of the local Asian and Middle East airlines is also posing threat to the European airlines. Figure-3 Lufthansa (Annual Report, 2013) The figure-3 shows the revenue earned by the passenger airline group of Lufthansa since 2009 until 2013. The revenue earned by the business has shown a slight fall by 0.1% as compared to 2012 in the year 2013. The fall in revenue was because of the ‘low cost’ and the effect of ‘negative exchange rate’. The passenger airline is also facing increasing competition from ‘state owned airline from the Gulf region’. Moreover, partnership between the small airline companies and joint ventures as well as reduction in costs and capital expenditure strengthens the competitive position of the airline companies. On the other hand, Singapore Airlines experienced a net profit of 12.8% in year 2013. However, the performance of the airline industry has reduced considerably because of fall in the fuel prices. With the increase in competition in the global platform, various airline companies implemented the low fare strategy to attract customers. Despite this fact, Singapore Airlines demonstrated a steady growth in the passenger revenue by 1.6% in 2013 as per the report generated (Singapore Airline, 2013). 1.5 Method of investigation Various methods have been used to analyse customers satisfaction with respect to the services offered to them. For the purpose of investigation customers, review available in Skytrax is considered a rich source of data and so is used in this paper to analyse the level of customer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The annual reports of Lufthansa Airlines and Singapore Airline are also used as a source of information regarding various services like entertainment, catering, staff services and many more offered to the passengers. 2. Data Analysis and Presentation 2.1 Customers review analysis In order to achieve long-term success in business it is essential for the airline companies to analyse customers experience throughout the journey. Customer’s satisfaction is the key to success for any service industry as mentioned above. Providing valuable and quality services to customers leads to sustainable growth of the airline industry. The analysis of the experiences of the passengers helps the company to identify the expectations of customers to retain them. The fulfilment of the passenger’s expectation gives them full satisfaction and assists the service sector to retain the existing customers as well to attract the potential customers. For any industry or service sector customers relationship management is very crucial factor for the success of the business. Managing customers by offering them quality services and creating value are helpful in providing success to companies. Satisfaction identifies whether customers expectation are fulfilled or not and loyalty implies whether the customer will repeat the behaviour or not. It is very essential for a company to differentiate between the satisfied and loyal customers in order to avoid the shift in company preferences. A customer may shift to other brand if they are offered better quality of services due to immense competition (Ahadmotlaghi & Pawar, 2012). Customers provide their viewpoints as well as review regarding the services offered to them by the airlines inb the website Skytrax. This websites help the companies in understanding the expectations of customers and thus helps in meeting the desired level of satisfaction. The difference between the expected and experienced service determines the loyalty of the consumer toward the company. 2.3 Staff service The overall customer satisfaction depends on the services provided by the staff member of the airline industry. The employees represent the company are the link between the management and the passengers. The evaluation of the customer’s satisfaction depends not only on the experience gained by customers but also the quality of service offered by the staff members of the airline industry. Lufthansa Airlines provides special services to the children travelling alone in the airlines. Special care is provided to the children both before the flight and before landing by the staff. Special arrangements are available at the Frankfurt and the Munich airports as a value added service for customer satisfaction. The welcome service provided by the crewmember and other staffs also plays a crucial role in influencing the customer’s satisfaction. The personnel’s working at local offices of Lufthansa Airport are always available to provide customer services to the passengers and provides guidance to them while booking tickets, for changing bookings before departure. The ground staffs are responsible for handling the passenger’s issues and satisfy their query. In order to face the increasing challenges the Lufthansa Group initiated new strategies with regard to structural changes along with infrastructural. The HR department handles the strategic and functional responsibility related to the staff. It is the responsibility of the HR department to identify the potential skills of employees and to motivate them to improve their performance level. The personnel who are engaged in their work and are satisfied can provide improve customers satisfaction. On the other hand, the success of Singapore Airline is the result of complete dedication to customer service. Singapore Airlines has won “Worlds Best International Airline” award for almost 16 consecutive years for the care and attention they provide to every customer. They also provide compensation for the expenses associated with any delay of services according to the customer service plan followed by Singapore Airline. Any kind of loss to customer like loss of baggage is also reimbursed by the airline for their mistake. These additional services provide by the airline industry increase the satisfaction of customers. Special accommodation is provided to the disabled persons especially during delay of a flight or any other issues as a form of additional services (Singapore Airlines, 2015). Another theory that can be used to derive or gain understanding regarding customer satisfaction is the ‘Expectancy disconfirmation theory’. According to the ‘Expectancy disconfirmation theory’, customer’s satisfaction is the difference between the ‘expected’ and the ‘perceived’ performance of the personnel of the organization. In such case, positive satisfaction occurs when the service provided is better than the expectation. On the other hand, dissatisfaction is the result of negative performance of the staff members (Kaur, n.d.). The theory is depicted below using figure-4. Figure-4 (Kaur, n.d.) According to customer reviews of Lufthansa airlines in 2014, customers were not satisfied with service provided by the check in counter staff. In some cases, it was found that the staffs were neither friendly nor helpful to the passengers, which led to dissatisfaction. The airline staff also managed the re-booking system but some reviews suggest that the passengers had to face delays even in case of change in booking (Skytrax, 2013). Nevertheless, Lufthansa annual report (2012) reflects the facts that the enhancement of products and services by the company has helped customers in gaining satisfaction. The airline industry measures customer satisfaction by the means of Customer Profile Index (CPI). The reviews of Skytrax on the other hand states that the customer service provided by the personnel of the airline industry sometime deteriorates and in some cases shows improvements. For further improvements of the customer services, Lufthansa Airline passenger airline has expanded their product range by introducing premium economy class. The developments in the product assist in removing the gap between business class and the economy class. This improvement in the product quality is for both travellers seeking extra comfort in the seating arrangements and for the business travellers travelling in the economy class (Lufthansa, 2013). Singapore Airline has introduced ‘SilverKris Lounge’ in recent year that is based on residential concept of people that provides exceptional customer satisfaction. The level of comfort provided to the passengers is very similar to the home environment. Singapore Airline has launched Customer Experience Management (CEM) system in 2014. The system has implemented various soft skills training programmes for the ground staffs that improves the quality of services provide by them. The ground staffs are provided with equal opportunity to improve their skills and enhance the productivity. This in turn will improve the quality of service provided to the passengers and enhance the satisfaction level. The personnel are provided training in different fields of sales and marketing, operational and technical areas and many more (Singapore Airlines, 2014). 2.4 Seat Comfort Customers play an important role in the organizational process. Customers always expect to derive maximum satisfaction from the goods or services they buy. “Customer’s relationship management” plays an important role in delivering better-quality service to customers. The ‘additional services’ play an important role in influencing customer’s satisfaction. The economy class of Lufthansa has a combination of affordability with greater seating comfort. The new improved seating facility is 50% broader than the economy class and so improves the position of the airline in the competitive environment. The improvement in the products meets the demands of the private as well as the business class passengers. The introduction of full business class has resulted in a gap between the economy class and business class. The company has improved the design and features of the seat, based on the passenger’s surveys and it is expected that the step will be effective towards becoming the five-star airline (Lufthansa group, 2014). According to the air travel and reviews of Skytrax (2014), the passengers travelling in Lufthansa airline faced difficulties due to the seating arrangements. The seats of the flights are quite attractive and comfortable but the passengers are not satisfied with the seat layout. The distance between the seats is too short and this creates trouble for the passengers while seating. Most of the passengers had faced difficulties because of the shortage of space in legroom (Skytrax, 2013). In order to solve the issues related to the seating the airline company has made an agreement with seat manufacturer ZIM Flugsitz. Depending on the type of airplane, the widths of the seats have been increased that provides additional privacy and comfort to the passengers (Lufthansa group, 2014). The Skytrax review of the Singapore airline states that the seats of the economy class are very comfortable and well cushioned for the comfort of the passengers and the legroom is designed according to the requirements of people (Skytrax, 2014). 2.5 Catering Service quality is one of the essential issues for the success of the airline industry to retain the image of the brand in the passengers mind. An improvement in the service offered by ground staff and cabin members is necessary to satisfy customers and to retain them in long run. Apart from this, the meal or food service is also an important aspect of the operation department of airline industry. The catering services can be viewed as a marketing strategy in order to attract the leisure travellers. By providing better quality of meals to passengers increases the chances of repeated journey. This can be an opportunity for the airline industries to attract and retain the passengers for longer period (Zahari, Salleh, Kamaruddin, & Kutut, 2011). The airline industries are facing growing challenges because the passengers are demanding more at a lesser cost. The menu design and the type and quality of meals offered by the airlines also assist in creating a strong brand image. The catering service is also dependent on the transportation facilities available at the airports. Transportation is essential for movement of the meals from the manufacturing units to the airline. The ground staffs play a crucial role in handling the transportation services (Travel Impact Newswire, 2015). The food quality of the airline in terms of quality is high as compared to others. They follow innovative and appealing menu design that not only attracts customers but also controls their repeated behaviour of journey. The passenger who are satisfied with the service provide by Lufthansa Service Holding are expected to travel again. The catering service offered by Lufthansa involves premium meals to cost effective snacks (Lufthansa Service Holding, 2015). According to the Lufthansa customer review of 2015, the passengers are satisfied with the catering service offered to them. The customer’s reviews revels that the services offered in the ‘premium class’ are different from the ‘economy class’. It can be revealed from the customer reviews of 2015, that the services offered by airline industry have improved to far extent (Skytrax, 2013). The increase in cost pressure and competition from other airline companies has resulted changes in the strategic operations of the airline catering of Lufthansa airline. The LSG Sky Chefs follows a standard process according to the ongoing improvements in the airline industry. The airline company is expected to enter into partnership with other firms in order to enter the growth markets. According to the annual report of Lufthansa (2013), the Chef group has earned a revenue of 2.5 billion EUR and by the end of 2013 the company has employed about 32,307 personnel’s and so the production of the meals also rose to 532 million by the year (Lufthansa group, 2013). Singapore Airline offers ‘special services’ to the children’s aged up to 11 years. Meals are specially prepared for them and they are allowed to change or cancel their preferences from the in-flight menus. They also offer special meal for the individuals with dietary needs such as medical or religious causes. The passengers are required to place their orders at least one day before commencement of their journey. The online booking of tickets also provides additional services like making a special meal request. They offer variety of foods ranging from baby foods to vegetarian meals and seafood and many more (Singapore Airlines, 2015). According to the Skytrax customer review of 2015, the meals provided by Singapore Airline are of best quality and this has resulted in customer satisfaction. The wide variety of meals offered by the catering service seems to be very attractive that also supports in retaining the customers in the long run (Skytrax, 2014). 2.6 Entertainment Customer’s satisfaction plays a vital role in willingness of the passengers to pay for the services offered to them by the airline industry. ‘In-flight entertainment’ is the entertainment services offered to the passengers during their journey. By providing this service customer will work as a motivating factor and may encourage the passengers to travel in same airline once more. Lufthansa In-flight Entertainment ensures that the passengers are entertained throughout their journey. Apart from this Lufthansa maintains an entertainment app that also provides entertainment to the customers. Special programmes are arranged for the passengers on long-haul flights. The passengers can enjoy audio books and CDs while their journey and the app service developed can be accessed through smartphone or notebook of an individual (Lufthansa, 2014). The variety of entertainments in the flights has rapidly increased because customer satisfaction is the main objective of the service industry. The entertainment facility offered by the airline industry is related to the ‘attractive requirements’ of the Kano’s model. Providing the attractive services like entertainment facilities is expected to raise the value of the service provided to the passengers. On the other hand, the absence of the attractive requirements may dissatisfy the passengers and affect the loyalty towards the airline industry. Some of the Singapore airline like Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and A330-300 are maintaining special entertainment devices. The noise free headphones are designed in such a manner that passengers can enjoy the in-flight audio without any disturbances. The introduction of the KrisWorld generation allows the passengers to have experience of touch screen handsets as well (Singapore Airlines, 2015). Moreover, person wanting to be in communication with their family and friends wherever they move, so keeping this in mind the airlines provides additional service of internet access to their passengers and a ‘personal in-seat telephone’ service through ‘global satellite network’. A selected range of airlines also provides facilities of in-seat power supply in first and business class (Singapore Airlines, 2015). 2.7 Growth strategies of Lufthansa group A number of factors have resulted in increased competition in the aviation industry. One of the key factors identified by the Lufthansa group is the shift in the economic power to Asia that is the result of high Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The outcome of this was change in the centres of power to Asian countries and so emergence of the new consumer group. The shift in power with changes in consumer group also influences demand and supply. The shift in demand means consumers expect more innovative products and quality services. This in turn raises the level of competition among the companies. The Average annual GDP growth across the world has been show in figure-5. Figure-5 (The Lufthansa Group, 2014) Lufthansa group aims at developing and implementing new ideas in order to raise productivity and improve safety measures for the passengers with the increase in competition. The airline group aims at becoming the five star companies in Western Hemisphere to improve its quality of service and become leader in the business area. Figure-6 (Lufthansa Group, 2014) With the increase in competition in the aviation sector, the market is continuously expanding and so for this the company needs to expand beyond European regions. However, the growth of the business is limited because of its core business within Europe. However, the company aims at rising, the share from 30% to 40% by the end of 2020 as shown above in the figure-6. The growth strategies planned by the Lufthansa Group includes the expansion of the business in Asia and America and growth in the related business areas. Implementation of new business models like ‘point-to-point’ strategy is expected to assist in further growth of the aviation industry. Lufthansa has established an ‘Innovation Hub’ in Berlin in order to get information’s regarding the latest changes in technologies and accordingly implements the changes in the aviation industry. Customer feedbacks are used by the aviation industry for further development of services. In order to strengthen the internal innovation, strategies have been developed to raise the awareness among the personnel’s of the company about the ongoing innovative projects. Moreover promotional activities are undertaken in order to continuously inform the staffs about existing projects like ‘Lufthansa Technical Innovation Fund’ ‘eCargo’ and many more (Lufthansa Group, 2014). 2.8 Challenges faced by Lufthansa Group With the increase in competition in the airline industry, some of the companies are offering low cost journey to their passengers that further assist to retain customers. Lufthansa is facing increased challenges from the low cost carriers and the state-owned Gulf –based airlines. In order to regain the position in the market Lufthansa requires change in the organizational structure for delivering satisfaction. The strength factors of the company can be utilized to overcome the challenges. Lufthansa is the Europe biggest aviation group and a leader in air cargo and airline IT markets. The company comprises of highly skilled and fully dedicated staff members and so to improve customer’s satisfaction they must be given proper training in their respective areas. Further initiatives have been taken by the airline industry to develop ‘Quality Circle’ The member of the quality circle may discuss the work related issues among themselves and so they can also contribute their recommendation in the decision making process. To face the increasing competition and the reduced fares the aviation sectors is continuously implementing new technologies to develop fuel-efficient aircrafts and further initiatives are taken to improve the services offered to the passengers by 2020. To improve the performance staff’s rotation principle is followed and a compensation system is designed based on group targets achieved by the management staffs. The group has plans for home markets that are to offer customers multidirectional products with the developments of multi-hub for Frankfurt, Munich and other areas offering point-to-point travelling service. To enhance the competitive strengths Lufthansa Group has framed initiatives for joint ventures with the leading economies of the world that is the USA, China, Japan, and Canada (Lufthansa Group, 2014). 3. Conclusion and Managerial Implications and Applications Customer’s satisfaction is the prime objective for service sectors. It is a tool for the business owners and the marketers that can be used to manage the decisions regarding improvements in the company and the quality of services provided. The paper evaluates a comparison of the services offered by Lufthansa Airlines and Singapore Airlines. The importance of customer satisfaction and the factors influencing it has been discussed in this paper. It is reflected from the paper that the services provided by Lufthansa is less lucrative as compared to Singapore Airlines. Customer review of Lufthansa Airline suggests that the passengers are dissatisfied with the various services of airline like the seating arrangements and delayed schedules. The customer’s satisfaction in the airline industry is explained using the Kano’s model. The model describes the various requirements of customers. The services offered by the Singapore airline is different from the one offered by the Lufthansa group. Apart from the differences in services, Lufthansa Airline is facing increasing challenges due the low cost fares of the other airline industries. The annual report of 2014 of Lufthansa Group presents various plans of the company for growth. In order to face the increasing challenges from other nations Lufthansa plans to enter into joint ventures with the other economies of the world. Various growth strategies have been implemented by the management such as ‘point-to-point airline service’ and other. The ‘Expectancy disconfirmation theory’ is used to understand the differences between the expected and actual performance of the staffs of the airline industries. Singapore Airline provides various additional services to its passengers as special care is provided to the disabled persons and the children are given special offers to choose the type of meals. The type of additional services offered by Singapore airline is a factor that influences the customer’s loyalty and further helps to retain the exiting customers. Therefore, it can be concluded that Lufthansa Airlines can improve their customer satisfaction by following and maintaining the growth strategies planned by the company in the annual report of 2014 that is expected to be achieved by 2020. References Ahadmotlaghi, E., & Pawar, P. (2012). 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Innovations in onboard meal menus drives global in-flight catering services market. Retrieved from https://www.travel-impact-newswire.com/2012/09/innovations-in-onboard-meal-menus-drives-global-in-flight-catering-services-market/ Tuomi, M.H. (2009). Customer satisfaction. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/6433/Tuomi_Marjo.pdf?sequence=1 Zahari, M., Salleh, M.S., Kamaruddin, N.K., Kutut, M.S.Y. (2011). In-flight meals, passengers’ level of satisfaction and re-flying intention. Retrieved from http://waset.org/publications/8350/in-flight-meals-passengers-level-of-satisfaction-and-re-flying-intention Bibliography Grigoroudis, E. & Siskos, Y. (2009). Customer Satisfaction Evaluation: Methods for Measuring and Implementing Service Quality. Germany:Springer Science & Business Media. Hayes, B.E. (2008). Measuring Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: Survey Design, Use, and Statistical Analysis Methods. USA: ASQ Quality Press. McNealy, R.M. (1994). Making Customer Satisfaction Happen. Germany: Springer Science & Business Media. Nordic Council of Ministers. (2005). The Nordic Model for Consumer and Customer Satisfaction: Policy Report. Europe: Nordic Council of Ministers. Oliver. R.L. (2010). Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer. Russia: M.E. Sharpe. Rust. R.T. & Zahorik, A.J. (1993). Retailing. Journal of retailing, 69 (2), 193-215. Cronin, J.J., Brady, M.K. & Hult, G.T.M. (2000). Retailing. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193–218. Szwarc, P. (2005). Researching Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty: How to Find Out what People Really Think. London:Kogan Page Publishers. Vavra, T.G. (1997). Improving Your Measurement of Customer Satisfaction: A Guide to Creating, Conducting, Analyzing, and Reporting Customer Satisfaction Measurement Programs. USA:ASQ Quality Press. Read More

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