The Effect of Customer Relationship Management Practices on Airline Customer Loyalty

Purpose: Customer satisfaction and loyalty are important concerns for travel providers. Αdopting the activities of customer relationship management could help them building strong relationships with customers. This study explores the opinions of EgyptAir passengers on customer relationship management activities adopted by the company and how this affects their satisfaction and loyalty.Methods: A questionnaire, developed from previous studies, was used for data collection, to measure the causal relationships developed in the research framework and structural equation modelling was employed for rigorous findings. 215 questionnaires valid for analysis were collected by EgyptAir passengers.Results: Findings revealed a positive significant effect of shared values, bonding, commitment, trust, tangibility, and handling customer conflicts on passenger satisfaction and loyalty. Relational marketing dimensions are positively affecting passenger satisfaction. Based on findings, it is worth to pay attention to such practices to enhance the passenger satisfaction and loyalty to the airline.Implications: The study adds to the extant knowledge in airline sector and provides a research model that can be used to investigate the activities of customer relationship marketing in the sector. Testing the causal relationships between constructs of the model could help increase the understanding of the factors affecting passengers of airlines and their loyalty to specific ones