Customer experience bottlenecks in the customer journey for airline customers with disabilities: Recommendations and implications

Abstract

According to the statistical report released by the World Health Organization, there has been a constant increase in the global population of disabled individuals, currently accounting for approximately one-sixth of the world's total population. The challenges faced by disabled passengers during air travel have emerged as a significant concern within the aviation industry. In order to assist airlines in enhancing the customer experience for disabled passengers and ensuring their comfort and dignity throughout their journey, this paper aims to address various barriers that different types of disabled passengers may encounter. By employing a mixed research method that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, researchers will conduct an in-depth questionnaire survey to thoroughly investigate the customer journey of disabled passengers. After conducting a validity test on the questionnaire, the researchers conducted an analysis of the obtained results and identified that the bottlenecks in the customer journey of disabled passengers primarily stemmed from challenges related to accessing information about wheelchair facilities' availability and difficulties encountered during disability services application. Furthermore, it was observed that different types of disabled passengers faced distinct problems. Based on an examination of satisfaction survey outcomes among disabled passengers, this study proposes solutions in three key areas: digitizing disability services, upgrading disability equipment, and establishing a reasonable supervision mechanism to address all issues highlighted in the questionnaire survey. The objective of this paper is to provide practical recommendations for enhancing airlines' customer experience for disabled passengers and facilitating sustainable development within the aviation industry.