FACTORS AFFECTING PASSENGERS’ PURCHASE DECISION IN AN AIRLINE INDUSTRY: THE CASE OF ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES MEKELLE ALULA ABA-NEGA BRANCH

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to find out the factors that affect passengers ‘purchase decisions of Ethiopian airlines for their Mekelle Alula aba Nega air ticket purchase. It tried to study the factors according to their significance effect on the passengers ‘purchase decisions. The paper also covered to see if the factors have any different effect across the demographic profile of respondents. The study examined seven factors that were taken from prior research works. All responses were collected by using a structured questionnaire through convenience sampling (n=370). The data was collected from primary and secondary data. The research design was both descriptive and explanatory research deigns. The target population was the passengers of Mekelle Alula Aba Nega. Data was analyzed using SPSS software to obtain descriptive statistics, comparing mean scores (i.e. independent t-test and ANOVA) and other analyses (i.e. correlation analysis and multiple linear regressions). According to the study findings, three factors: loyalty program, ground and inflight services and safety record identified as the main factors that customers of Ethiopian airlines perceive to be important in influencing their purchase decision. The finding of the study showed that there is a significance difference in perceiving the seven factors between and among the customers of Ethiopian airlines with different demographic profiles. Therefore, Ethiopian shall work more on its brand equity specially to penetrate the rest of the market besides the African market.