CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Nowadays people hardly imagine their life without traveling

in spite of the fact that mass tourism is relatively new industry which

has been actively growing merely since the middle of the 2Oth century.

For many people traveling has become not only a way of spending their

leave, but a lifestyle.

Each passenger must spend in the terminal at least few hours

before his departure. Preparations and waiting for the flight are pretty

nerve-racking process, which claims for specific conditions that should to

be offered to each traveller in the terminal. This research is focused on

integral part of air traveling process.

Facilities ofNinoy Aquino International Airport – terminal 1 serve

as subject for this research. Some people say that “traveling is one of the

exquisite experiences that a person might have in their extent of living”

but how can a tourist enjoy traveling if they cannot have satisfaction in

their travel? The researcher aims to find out if what brought the title

“world’s worst airport terminal” to Ninoy Aquino International Airport -

Terminal 1. These past few years the Terminal 1 in Ninoy Aquino

International Airport is getting worst and now it has the distinction of

being judged as the world's worst airport terminal. Nowadays, the said

airport terminal has the destitute customer service to tourists who go

inside and outside the boundary of the Philippines. Both local and

international passengers have the identical degree of perception to NAIA -

Terminal 1.

There are many problems, complaints, resentment that are

arising against the airport terminal such as; poor infrastructure, long

queues, delays in flights, not efficient transit procedures. There are many

issues that the said airport is facing now and the government of the

Philippines is taking action on the said problem.

Tourists are really essential to the economy of a country that is

why quality service to them should be the top priority of the government

and the departments that are accountable for tourism. Airport should be

one of the fascinating places that a country should have because this is

the initial place that the tourist will see once they arrive in a country.

And as they said “first impression lasts”. It is said to be that having a

great airport is one of the factors that affect the tourism of a country.

These situations prompted the researcher to conduct a study

about the customer satisfaction of airport services at NAIA – terminal 1.

In that matter, they will have the idea on how to deal with the existing

problems and also they will be capable to give credible suggestions to the

management of NAIA – terminal 1 that may be used to identify the most

common airport services that is encountered inside the airport terminal

that greatly affect the customer satisfaction. Once the management

recognize these factors it can help them to improve and enrich their
airport services with the aim of not encountering or even minimizing the

probability of being considered as the worsts airport terminal in the

world. By avoiding such negative airport services, Ninoy Aquino

International Airport can be one of the finest airport terminals in Asia

and in the world.

Statement of the Problem

The study determined the customer satisfaction of airport services

at Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 1.

Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2Gender and

2. How does Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 1 give

customer satisfaction in airport services in terms of the following:

2.1 Accessibility;

2.2 Amenities;

2.3 Cleanliness;

2.4Customer service;

2.5Comfort and

2.6 Safety?

3. Do the following airport services significantly affect the customer

satisfaction given by NAIA - terminal 1?

4. What proposed implemention program may be drawn from the

findings of this study?

Hypotheses of the Study

Null hypothesis: The airport servicesnamely accessibility,

amenities, cleanliness, customer service, comfort, safety have no

significant effect in the customer satisfaction given by Ninoy Aquino

International Airport – Terminal 1.

Alternative hypothesis: The airport services namely accessibility,

amenities, cleanliness, customer service, comfort, safety have a

significant effect in the customer satisfaction given by Ninoy Aquino

International Airport – Terminal 1.

Significance of the Study

This part of the study conferred the vitality of knowing the

customer satisfaction of airport services given by NAIA - Terminal 1 to air

passengers. The result of this study hopefully benefits the following:

Airport Organization. This study is denoted to the airport

organization because this will help them to improve the management and

identify the disfigured facilities of the airport terminal. Moreover, this will

help them to focus on the objectives of the organization which is to give

the tourists the best quality service that they can offer.
 Future Researcher.This study will benefit the future researcher in

a way that they will be able to know the necessary information that they

need for their research in case that it is related to this study. It will help

them to get materials needed for their research. They can also get history

out of this study. This research can serve as a reliable data for their

research.

Scope and Delimitation

The scope of this study is to determine the customer satisfaction of

airport services at Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 1. This

study aims to know the problems behind the airport services of the

airport terminal which at times are being hidden to public, mainly to

tourist. The airport services include the accessibility of the airport which

involves the availability of public transportation and the road traffic, the

available and well functioned amenities of the airport terminal, the

maintenance of cleanliness of every area inside the airport terminal, the

passenger’s satisfaction in their customer service, the level of comfort

that they give to passengers, the assurance of safety of every travelers

whose port of entry is Ninoy Aquino International Airport – terminal

1.Customer satisfaction is one of the hardest jobs for it needs an

impeccable and suitable procedure because safety and satisfaction of the

passengers should be their number one priority.

 The limit of this study includes the efficiency of flight schedules

because in the tourism industry it is not rest assured that there will be

no air traffics and weather disturbances that might cause delayed,

rescheduled and cancelled flights. Second, the future status of Ninoy

Aquino International Airport - terminal 1 because the researcher cannot

hold the airport organization’s decision in improving the quality of service

that they give to every passengers. Third, this study is limited only to the

concerned participants which are the airport organization and the

passengers wherein the local community does not include the scope of

this study because it is outside the control of the airport organization in

which this study was conducted in the controlled environment of Ninoy

Aquino International Airport - Terminal 1.

Definition of Terms

The following terms used in this study are defined operationally and

lexically for better understanding of this research:

Accessibility – this refers to being capable or easy to reach, to use or to

obtain. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Airport – this refers to the NAIA terminal 1 located in Andrews Avenue

Pasay, 1300 Metro Manila year 2017-2018.

Amenities– this refers to Facilities, Luggage Carts and Luggage Carousel

of NAIA terminal 1.
Anonymity – this refers to the quality of being unknown to most people.

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Cleanliness – this refers to fastidious; habitually kept clean and neat.

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Comfort – this refers to someone to feel less worried and upset.

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Confer – this refers to decision to discuss very important. (Merriam-

Webster Dictionary)

Congest – this refersto overfill or overcrowd; to concentrate in a narrow

space. (Google/Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Customer – this refers to the passengers of NAIA terminal 1 who

experienced their airport services within the last 3 months.

Denote – this refers to mean or to mark something. (Merriam-Webster

Dictionary)

Destitute –this refers to lack of something (resources) or suffering

poverty. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Dilapidated –this refers to lack of care; in a very bad condition.

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Dubious - this refers to fraught with uncertainty or doubt; undecided; or

questionable. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Feasible – this refers to possible to do. Capable of something to be done

or to carried out; dealt with successfully. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Furnish – this refers to supply or to give; to provide something that is

needed or wanted. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Impeccable - this refers to having no flaws; perfect; free from blame.

Implications – this refers to future effect.

Intermodal – this refers to involvement of transportation by more than

one form of carrier during a single journey.

Leisure – this refers to freedom to do whatever you want; enjoyable

activities.

Monetary – this refers to money which is used by the government to be

able to control inflation and stabilize currency.

Perception – this refers to using one of senses to understand; the ability

to notice.

Poll – this refers to the number of votes that were made in an election.

Queues - this refers to a line or sequence of people or vehicles awaiting

their turn to be attended to or to proceed.

Reiterate - this refers to say or do again or repeatedly; to emphasize.

Renovate - this refers to restore; to repair; to remodel.

Resentment – this refers to the feeling of being unfair with regards as a

wrong or insult.

Rickety - this refers to likely to break or fall apart; lacking stability and

firmness.

Safety – this refers tobeing free from harm, trouble. Having protection

and security.
 Satiate – this refers to satisfy a need or desire; to excess.

Transient – this refers to not lasting long; stays only for a short period of

time.

Travel – this refers to move; to go through or over (a place), especially far

away.

Vast – this refers to huge in something; enormous.

Vicinity – this refers to the area around or near a particular place.

Vitality – this refers to be successful; continuous lively quality

Conceptual Framework

Input Process Output

1.Demographic 1. Research on 1. Effect on

profile of the the information airport services
respondents: background and of NAIA terminal
related studies. 1 to air
-Age 2. Limiting the passengers.
-Sex
variables
2. Conclusion of
2.Customer 3. Making of
the study
satisfaction of instruments
airport services 4. Descriptive 3.
at NAIA terminal survey Recommendation
1. 5. Tabulation s
6. Data analysis
7. Statistical 4. Proposed
Treatment implementation
program
.

.
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter contains a review of related literature and studies

consisting the main topics on which this research has focused. It

discusses the different international and local literature and studies that

contains related information about the problem being studied in this

research.Ninoy Aquino International Airport, formerly known as Manila

International Airport is serving the Metro Manila area as the main

international gateway to Philippines.

NAIA being the main international gateway to Philippines is a huge

accountability to the airport as it serves the passengers considering the

airport services which include: accessibility, amenities, cleanliness,

customer service, comfort, and safety. Based on these airport services,

the Terminal 1 of NAIA that hosts all the international flights of

international airlines, which have long been complained about lack of

space, rickety facilities, and other problems of an old and congested

terminal, was badly entitled by a travel site, “The Guide To Sleeping

Airports” as the World’s Worst Airport in 2013. NAIA – Terminal 1 got the

same title in 2011 and ranked 5th-worst in 2010.

Efforts to upgrade NAIA – Terminal 1 commenced two years ago as

a response to criticisms rose by travelers who voted in polls conducted by

The Guide to Sleeping in Airports as well as other sites. These efforts

were delayed however as the agency in charge of airports – the

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) – underwent

a change in leadership. There were also delays in the process of choosing

the designers, engineers and architects for the planned upgrade.

Nowadays, the construction of NAIA – Terminal has been done and

finished before November 2014 in time for the Asia Pacific Economic

Cooperation ministerial meetings, as the new DOTC Secretary Jose

Emilio Abaya said. He said that the rehabilitation includes major

upgrade of the structural, mechanical and electrical components of the

airport facility.

According to a travel site named “Guide to Sleeping in Airports”,

Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 1 in Philippines was again

rated as the world's worst airport for 2013. It has been criticized by

travelers for its dilapidated facilities, long waiting times, and even rude

airport employees. Visitors of the travel site selected the congested NAIA-

1 facility located within the Philippines main gateway as the worst in

Asia and in the world. The travel site released the latest rankings last

October 15, 2013. NAIA-1 was also No. 1 in the list in 2011, and it

ranked 5th-worst in 2010. The rankings were based on the following

factors: Comfort, which includes lack of metallic seating and armrests,

crowded terminal and limited seats, delays or layovers. Conveniences,

which include bad signage in terminals, difficult transfers, lack of 24-

hour food service chains, and nothing to do in transit. Cleanliness, which

includes dirty floors, bathrooms and food courts. Customer service,

which includes unfriendly staffs, airport scams, anti-airport sleeper

policies, immigration officers who prefer to play Angry Birds rather than

process travelers. The top ten worsts airport terminal in the world for

2013 is also cited by the sleeping in airports wherein Ninoy Aquino

International Airport – terminal 1 is on the top rank followed by

Bergamo, Calcutta, Islamabad, Paris Beauvais, Chennai, Frankfurt

Hahn, Mumbai, Rome Fiumicino, Los Angeles chronologically.

Krista Rhoades (2000) stated that, one of the most critical issues

facing the airport system today is ground access. Nearly every airplane

trip begins and ends with the use of an automobile. It is estimated that

over ninety percent of airline passenger trips to or from the airport are by

private automobile or taxi. This estimate is almost 100 percent at the

medium or smaller airports since these communities tend not to have

comparable alternatives to the automobile. It is recognized that airport

ground access is a major issue and in some cases a constraint to airport

development or airside capacity. In order to accommodate the future

growth of the air transportation industry, innovative approaches to

moving passenger to and from airports should be explored. A partial

solution to the airport ground access problem could be through the

airline industry itself. For most trips, the airlines responsibility only

includes the air segment of the journey. The surface transportation

portion is left for others. This may not, however, be an optimal

arrangement. On the one hand, significant opportunities to coordinate

the delivery and marketing of ground access and air transport services

may be lost. In addition, the current system may not sufficiently

encourage airlines to consider the impacts of their service and

scheduling decisions on the ground transportation system.

The International terminal is also known as Terminal 1 or NAIA-1

where most of the international airlines operate from this terminal. Most

airports in the world have air-side bus transfer services or have special

transfer terminals. Ninoy Aquino International Airport – terminal 1 does

not offer such services. In Manila, you have to go through immigration

and customs, fetch your luggage and ride on your own to one of the other

three terminals. You need at least three hours to transfer from one flight

to another one. The time consumed in transferring from NAIA 1 to the

other three terminals is one of the major problems encountered in NAIA 1

according to a travel site named silent gardens. Cited by the same travel

site, heavy traffic is encountered in transferring from one terminal going

to other terminal for flight transfer. In addition, passengers will have to

wait for a minimum time of twenty minutes to a maximum time of thirty

minutes for shuttle buses and at times there are simply no shuttle buses

available for transfer.

According to James Wilding (2008), Airport terminal landside

facilities evolved in response to changes in travelers needs and industry

development and regulation. New functions or purposes, services, and

processes must be accommodated as they appear even when the facility

was not originally designed for the purpose. Increases in passenger and

baggage screening, provisions for self-service check-in, blast protection,

an aging population, persons with disabilities, and the need to improve

intermodal connections are among the various functions, services, and

processes that are currently necessitating design invention. To address

such demands, some airports have moved functions from their

traditional locations, reallocated space within the terminal, converted

and reconstructed facilities, or created new types of facilities. Such

changes have varied impacts on passenger’s experience, airlines

relationships with their customers, and airport revenues and costs.

Research is needed on the interface between various airport terminal

landside elements to identify improved ways of accommodating new

airport terminal functions. However, Ninoy Aquino International Airport –

terminal 1, which has been tagged as “world’s worst airport” by a travel

website named sleeping in airports, is operating eight million passengers

which are beyond its original capacity of 4.5 million a year which made

the facilities over used and cannot be controlled. Transportation

Secretary Jun Abaya said that Ninoy Aquino International Airport -

Terminal 1 is currently being rehabilitated, but the on-going construction

has triggered another problem which is poor air conditioning. NAIA-1 has

five chillers, but only three are currently operational. Renovation should

not be an excuse in giving properly working amenities. Nevertheless,

NAIA 1 is attempting to make a comeback offering "day rooms" that can

be rented for as little as P840 for a 24 hours period, this idea can be

considered as an improvement of amenities in NAIA-1. According to

Raisa Tan (2017), airport officials promised to clean up NAIA-1 toilets

and provide running water and soap after a spot of bad press yet none of

these has been accomplished. Furthermore, the terminals are lacking

facilities such as left luggage and pay-in lounges for transit passengers.

According to Dr.Sasse (2016) In an airport, there is much to clean

everyday which includes terminal cleaning and removal of inappropriate

signage, event cleaning, cleaning of buildings, offices, corridors and

stairs, facade cleaning and window cleaning, industrial cleaning like

machines and equipment, property maintenance, road and pavement

cleaning and landscape maintenance, hygiene service with disinfection

and pest control. Cleanliness is a key driver of passenger satisfaction. An

airport’s cleanliness can be a strength or a weakness. Passenger’s

satisfaction can be understood and monitored with airport’s cleanliness.

It is important to identify areas to improve, assessing the impact of

factors such as the design and feel of the airport on

cleanliness,understand what different passenger groups expect from the

airport’s cleanliness. Airdrie (2011) stated that, people who work in a

clean and orderly environment are less likely to have accidents or to be

exposed to other hazards. People tend to take more pride in their

workplace and be more productive and more particular about safety. A

clean and orderly environment promotes a safe workplace and gives a

professional image and will project an image of a tidy, productive and

accomplished workplace. According to Daniel Yee (2016), airports

constantly struggle with the task of keeping their terminals clean,

especially during the summer months, which they say are the busiest

time of the year. Airport officials say they are always challenged with the

task of keeping clean nearly constantly crowded bathrooms and food

courts, which quickly accumulate trash however this should not be a

hindrance in keeping cleanliness. Every airport’s goal is to maintain the

highest standards of cleanliness without disrupting passengers or

inconveniencing them in any way. Keeping a clean airport will give

passengers a better impression of the city beyond the airport, which

some busy travelers never get a chance to see, this is the first place you

see when you come to a world-class city and it's the last place you see as

you are departing. Given the cleanliness standards, Ninoy Aquino

International Airport fails to meet the ethical way of cleanliness

maintenance. According to Kevin Connolly (2014), there is no enough

trash bins for throwing waste. The maintenance personnel or garbage

collector does not go around to collect all the trashes from time to time

resulting to overstuffed garbage bins and passengers tend to leave their

wastes anywhere instead of disposing it properly. Moreover, each section

of a comfort room has only three cubicles which are below the standard

of an international airport, the toilet rooms are quite far and at times
some sections are closed and you need to walk farther. Maintenance

personnel prefer to watch a basketball match rather than do their jobs.

James Ingram (2012) stated that, increasing staff training and

refining the airport ambiance is the best way to improve service quality.

Each airport is different and faces its own set of unique challenges and

solutions must be tailored to the individual airport’s strengths and

weaknesses and based on a deep understanding of its passenger profile.

Research has shown that the major factor that influences satisfaction in

customer service is airport organization’s focus on staff courtesy which is

considered as global influencing factor. Making customers feel valued

and in a friendly environment is a core principle of customer service, but

in the average airport, passengers rate their passport inspection and

their ease of finding their way around the airport higher than their

overall contacts with airport staff. These are the fundamentals of

providing good customer service. Efforts should be made to ensure that

the airport is performing well for the reason that the global influencing

factors will be in vain if the basic airport processes are not well managed

and generate stress to the passengers. To illustrate this, think of an

ambience. Great ambience arises from all aspects of the airport working

in harmony with architecture that has been thought out with the

passenger in mind and a pleasant atmosphere that the airport has

chosen to create as well as the quality of staff and their attitude towards

service. It is only when the airport has ensured that they are performing
well for global influencing factors and basic airport processes that it will

be able to reap the benefits from providing additional services. According

to Ching-Cheng Chao (2013), Passenger satisfaction in customer service

is a key performance indicator for airport operations. International

airports located in different regions or countries by and large do not

compete with one another. Passengers often do not have a choice

between airports, regardless of price and quality levels of airport services.

In other words, passenger demand for airport services is likely to be

relatively inelastic. However, international traveler’s impressions of a

particular country are frequently affected by their first and last

encounter at the gateway airport. Thus, the evaluation of passenger

satisfaction levels on airport services has become an important issue in

airport management. Customer service is perceived by customers as a

comparison between expectation and performance. The overall perception

of customer service is the gap between customer’s expectations and

actual experiences. Customer service is perceived as being good when a

customer's experience equals their expectation. In summary, customer

service is a comparison between customer’s expectations and experiences

and is measured by the performance of service delivery in an airport.

Customer service quality framework developed by Parasuraman,

Zeithaml, and Berry (2000), is measured by five aspects of service quality

and remains widely used because of its good reliability and validity and

low repetition. These five aspects are tangibles, reliability,

responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Tangibles refer to visible

modern facilities and equipment as well as the appealing, neat, and clean

appearance of buildings, decorations and staff. Reliability means the

ability to provide reliable and accurate services as promised.

Responsiveness refers to staff's willingness to help customers and

provide services with quick responses. Assurance indicates that the

staffs have the professional knowledge of services and behave kindly and

courteously to win passenger’s trust and confidence. Empathy means

that the staff pays attention to, and takes care of, individual passengers.

In contrast with this, based in an article of Philippines Star news,

travelers have complained of discourteous airport staff despite the

Filipinos being known for their hospitality.The airport staffs are rude,

one proof is this passenger named Monette and the researchers quote, "I

lost my cellphone between the drop-off at the entrance and the security

check! The phone was in my side pocket of my handbag and this side

pocket was slashed with a sharp knife! I mentioned it to the PNP officer

and he referred me to an airport policeman. This guy had the guts to

suggest that I go to the lost and found office and check if they found it.

To make the long story short, he didn't even get my name and address to

file an incident report and was just saying: ma'am there are many thieves

in this airport. Just look after your belongings!" this implies that NAIA-1

do not practice well founded customer service.

 According to A.D. Mambo (2017), Air transport infrastructure is

made up of three components: the airspace, the airfield, and the airport

terminal. The airspace is occupied by aircraft in flight and airfield by

craft on the ground; stationary and in motion. The airport passenger

terminals are buildings in airports where passengers transfer from other

ground mode of transportation to the facility that allows them to embark

and disembark from an aircraft. It divides the airside and landside and

provides facilities that make this transition possible. Airport passenger

terminal is an essential unit of the airport estate, the reputation of an

airport depends greatly on the quality of its terminal building. Although

the air transport industry is of little stability, the airport passenger

terminal in one of its permanent features. Airport terminals are

characterized by their large open spaces and high ceilings with not only

diverse transient population but the space occupied by people. The high

ceilings result in large vertical temperature distribution and

stratification. Comfort condition in indoor spaces is affected by thermal,

visual, and air quality. Comfort is a state of mind which expresses

satisfaction with the indoor environment. It is a subjective response

which although may be influence to some extent by contextual, cultural,

physiological, psychological and behavioural factors. It is primarily of a

strong relation with balance between the body and the environment.

Visual comfort depends on the adequacy of beneficial working facilities.

Ventilation is the means through which outside air is deliberately

introduced indoors and is the most important factor that is reflected in

an airport passenger terminal comfort aspect.

According to C. Young (2017), Ninoy Aquino International Airport-

terminal 1 has collapsing ceiling which is not safe for passengers inside

the airport terminal, there are some smelly sofas which lessen the

wellbeing of stand-by travelerswho wait for their flight, and there is poor

ventilation which tolerates the poor competence of the airport terminal.

The terminal has been a frequent target of criticism with travelers who

say it is congested and messy and there are other disturbances of being

in the airport.

According to Dublin Airport Management (2017), one fundamental

factor of airport safety is airport security which is referred to the

techniques and methods used in protecting passengers, staff

and aircraft which prevents the airports from accidental/malicious harm,

crime and other threats. Safety and security is a priority of airport

management. When travelling by plane it is required to go through

Passenger Security Screening for a security check. This security check is

related to what is allowed to take in boarding an aircraft. Both carry-on

luggage and check-in baggage will be checked by means of detection

equipment and may also be subject to a hand search. This is to ensure

that there are no any potentially dangerous substances or items that

could pose a risk to the passengers and crew or to the security and

safety of the aircraft.According to Monte R. Belger (2017), large numbers

of people pass through airports every day. This presents potential targets

for terrorism and other forms of crime because of the number of people

located in a particular location. Similarly, the high concentration of

people on large airlines, the potential high death rate with attacks on

aircraft, and the ability to use a hijacked airplane as a lethal weapon

may provide an alluring target for terrorism, whether or not they succeed

due their high profile nature following the various attacks and attempts

around the globe in recent years.Airport security attempts to prevent any

threats or potentially dangerous situations from arising or entering the

country. If airport security does succeed in this, then the chances of any

dangerous situations, illegal items or threats entering into aircraft,

country or airport are greatly reduced. As such, airport security serves

several purposes: To protect the airport and country from any

threatening events, to reassure the traveling public that they are safe

and to protect the country and their people.

According to Sleeping in airports travel site (2013), Ninoy Aquino

International Airport – terminal 1 ranks the world's least favorite

airportbased on poll votes and user reviews for reasons such as safety

concerns and hostile security. Unfortunately, NAIA-terminal 1 has fallen

into disrepute due to and security distresses which involve theft. Efforts

to upgrade NAIA – Terminal 1 commenced two years ago as a response to

criticisms rose by travelers who voted in polls conducted by The Guide to

Sleeping in Airports as well as other sites. Malacanang said that the

concerns regarding the problems in NAIA - Terminal 1 are already being

addressed.

With the renovations about to begin during the busy holiday travel

season, passenger should prepare themselves for further congestion and

delays. The capacity of the terminal was increased to just over 6 million

annually with improvements made during the 1990’s but it has been

forced to handle close to 8 million passengers leading to severe

congestion. It is expected that the excess passenger traffic at NAIA

Terminal 1 will gradually be reduced to just 4.5 million passengers as

flights are transferred over to NAIA Terminal 3. “The plan is to reduce

passenger load of NAIA 1 to the original design capacity.” said Abaya.

“We are now at 8 million. We plan to bring down to 4.5 million.”

Internationally renowned designers Kenneth Cobonpue and

BudjiLayug, and architect Royal Pineda were formally announced as

among those involved in the beautification efforts on the airport that over

56% of passengers arriving from or departing for abroad go through.

Their pro-bono design work on the terminal was bitterly set aside in

November 2011 when then Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas chose

Leandro V. Locsin and Associates, the original builder of the over 30-

year-old structure. This time, a plan that highlights the two groups has

been reached: Cobonpue's team will design the interior areas, while the

Locsin firm will take care of the architectural backbone of the terminal

building.
The objective is to have an 'aha' effect when passengers, Filipinos and

internationals, go through the airport, Transportation Secretary Joseph

Emilio Abaya told Rappler in an interview. "Lighter materials will be

used. NAIA-1 will soon have a more modern and have a Filipino, tropical

feel," he added.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Attainment of providing a good service to air passengers comes

along with setting standards into customer satisfaction of every airport.

These standards include the following airport services: accessibility,

amenities, cleanliness, customer service, comfort, safety.

According to Ian Humphreys (2002), accessibility or the location of

the airport terminal determines the market strength as well as it has a

direct bearing to the traffic profile and the level of demand for services. In

relation to this, Marco Kouwenhoven(2008) said that accessibility

measures that also take other characteristics into account, such as

travel costs, parking costs, reliability of travel times, service level. In

these measures, these characteristics are usually monetized using a

value of travel time, value of reliability, value of service level, etc. In this

way, all components are converted in monetary values and can then be

added together. The sum of all these values is called the “generalized

travel costs”.
 Based on the Travel & Tourism Market Research Handbook.

(2013), Major airports around the country have made great strides in

making their terminals more appealing to travelers with a wide range of

amenities. Moreover, Gene Richards (2014) said "We're trying to be

creative with the things we offer the public,” “It is essential that airports

do these things even when there isn’t any financial return. It lets our

customers know that they’re important and that the airport is more than

just a means of transportation. Adding these amenities lets the public

know you understand what they're going through and what they need

while traveling.”

According to Chris Mayhew (2000), Hygiene and cleanliness are

important in many areas of business, but are perhaps most pertinent in

the hospitality industry. Places such as hotels, airports and restaurants

are constantly under public examination and risk losing everything if

they fail to pass regular checks from the relevant authorities. There are

not many other industries in which the standard of cleanliness is judged

to be an integral part of the experience, but in hospitality a large amount

of repeat business relies on the fulfilment of these high expectations.

Likewise, cleanliness is the number one concern for guests and

customers, as well as a driver of income for establishments such as

airports and hotels. In addition to this, cleanliness is most often the

primary indicator of how well your business is received by the customer.

According to a recent AAA survey, cleanliness is the main feature that

travelers look for.

According to Ma et. al. (2005), Customer Service is one of the most

important notions of service marketing. Moreover, Clottey and Collier

(2008) stated that, service quality has consequently been identified as

one of the most important issues in the service management. Customer

satisfaction is an important construct that is often the focus of marketing

studies. Customer satisfaction is seen as a major contributor in

guaranteeing a company’s long-term profitability, and customer loyalty

(Zeithaml&Bitner, 2003). Thus, the successful delivery of customer

satisfaction is an essential determinant for an organization’s survival and

long-term profitability. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is very

important to the relative cost and returns of keeping existing customers,

compared with the high costs of recruiting new customers.

According to Capt. E.W. Percival (1939), comfort during the early

days passenger comfort was the last thing to be considered. In

contradiction to this, Mr.Garcke boldly said that comfort is a property of

the individual. It is that what makes your passengers happy and

contented. In addition to this, comfort in travel must not merely be

serviceable, but something more than that. Passengers must feel that an

airport is more than just an airport. Basically, this pertains to the

management on how they value their concessioners.

 According to Enz and Masako (2002), safety involves protecting

employees and customers within the property from potential injury or

death, while hotel security deals with preserving guests possessions and

the property. In other words, safety relates to human life while security

deals with guests and hotel’s assets. Effects of accidents, hazardous

materials, and fire, for example, are fitted within the safety dimension,

while security issues involve such matters as theft and violent crime.

Indeed, some experts treat safety as a particular form of security that

focuses on the protection of guests and employees from injuries, whether

from accidents or criminal activity I, Mensah (2009) added that the

security section of airport has the duty of care to protect guests, staff,

and facility from embezzlement, theft, arson, robbery and

terrorism. Similarly,Miles(2002) claims that Safety refers to the threat to

staff of physical or emotional harm as a result of such issues as medical

complications, road traffic accidents, fire, electrics etc.; Security is the

threat to staff of physical or emotional harm as a result of violence

(conflict, violent crime etc.). Other researchers also threated security

as an element of supply tourism and a fundamental condition for hosting

guest. From the above, it can be concluded that safety is concerned

especially with the protection of human lives and health while security

adverts to the protection against criminal activities

.
 Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

This chapter contains the research methods and procedures that

the researchers utilized in conducting the study. This chapter interprets

the research design which focuses on the subject of the study, the

respondents of the study, the instrument used in gathering data.

The Research Design

This study utilized the descriptive survey method of research. The

researchers used this kind of research method because it is a purposive

process of gathering data, analyzing, classifying, and tabulating data

about prevailing conditions, practices, beliefs, processes, trends, and

cause-effect relationships and making adequate and accurate

interpretation about the data gathered with the aid of statistical

methods. The descriptive method of research was applied to this study

because it is the most appropriate with regards to the purpose of the

research which is to determine the factors affecting the travel operations

of Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Terminal 1.

In connection with this, the purpose of this kind of method is to

identify what are the dynamics that affect the services given by Ninoy

Aquino International Airport-Terminal 1 to passengers specifically to

tourist who travel inside and outside the vicinity of Philippines. The

researchers chose Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Terminal 1

which is known for being the top ranking worst airport terminal when it

comes to services, facility advancement, cleanliness and so on.

Locale and Population of the study

The respondents of this study were the passengers in Ninoy Aquino

International Airport-Terminal 1 who experienced the service given by the

said airport terminal. The respondents were given enough liberty to

answer the questionnaire given to them. They were given anonymity for

their own convenience and confidentiality. The researchers chose thirty

(30) randomly selected participants and gave a questionnaire to be

answered.

Research Instruments

The researchers used questionnaire checklist to meet the desired

objectives of the study. The questionnaires require inquiry about how will

Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Terminal 1 satisfy the passengers

through improvements. The questionnaire checklist is clear, concise, and

uses words which are easy to understand. The advantage of using

questionnaires is that it is easy to construct and distribute, the

responses are easy to tabulate and most especially they were given a free

will with their responses and it was kept confidential.

The researchers also used observation for deeper understanding of

the study and for more precise results of this research. By means of
observing,the researchers were able to come up with conclusions that

greatly helped in constructing contents of this study. Moreover, it was

used to supplement additional information and to validate the data that

was gathered during the time of research and survey.

After the self-made questionnaire were constructed and has been

approved. The questionnaires were distributed personally to thirty (30)

respondents who experience the services of NAIA terminal 1 within the

last 3 months. The researcher asked for the permission of the

respondents to be participants of the study. The researchers introduced

the study and explained the study’s purpose to the participants and gave

clarifications about the instructions.

The respondents were asked to answer the questionnaire

with supreme honesty according to their authentic profile, own

perception and observation. The researchers emphasize that their

answers and identification will be kept confidential. The researchers

retrieved the questionnaire to the respondents and acknowledge them

personally fortheir support and participation to the study.

Potential Ethical Issues

To avoid the participants from not answering the questionnaire

given to them, the researchers reassured the isolation of their names,

status, income and other personal questions that might look offending to

them.
Statistical Treatment Used

The data gathered were analyzed, tallied, calculated, and

interpreted. To be able to formulate the interpretation, the researchers

have used these statistical formulas:

𝑓
1. 𝑃= X 100
𝑁

wherein:

P =total percentage

F = frequency (number of respondents)

N = number of total respondents

Here, the researchers will be using a graph to present the data.

The commonality of answers will represent the frequency which will be

divided to the total number of respondents and the quotient to be

multiplied to 100 to get the overall percentage, which will then be

interpreted.

∑ 𝑤𝑥
2. 𝑥= ∑𝑤

wherein:

𝑥= weighted mean

X = represents the value of each item

W = weight of each item

 Here, the researchers will be using a table to present the research.

The commonality of answers will represent the summation of the product

of the weight of each item to be multiplied to the value of each item

which will be divided to the summation of the weight of each item to get

the weighted mean, which will then be interpreted.

3. Likert scale is used to interpret the weighted mean.

4.50 ― 5.00 Strongly Agree

3.50 ― 4.49 Agree

2.50 ― 3.49 Moderately Agree

1.50 ― 2.49 Disagree

1.00 ― 1.49 Strongly Disagree

 Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter contains the presentation of data results that were

gathered by the researchers from the respondents of this study. The

following results were analyzed, tabulated and interpreted.

Demographic profile of the respondents

Chart 1

Age of passengers in NAIA-terminal 1 in Pasay City

AGES OF RESPONDENTS

18 and below

3% 7% 19 - 25 years old

26 - 30 years old
20% 23% 31 -40 years old

41 and above

47%

Chart 1 presents the distribution of the respondents according to

their age. Ages 18 years old and below occupy seven percent (7%) of the

total number of respondents, Ages 19 – 25 years old occupy twenty-three

percent (23%), Ages 26 – 30 years old occupy fourty-seven percent

(47%), Ages 31 – 40 years old occupy twenty percent (20%) and ages 41

years old and above occupy three percent (3%) of the total number of

respondents. It is shown in chart 1 that the respondents whose age

bracket is from 26–30 years old got the highest percentage of passengers

who travel every day in NAIA –Terminal 1. They are frequent travelers

because these are the passengers who are professionals as well as they

are receiving monthly salaries which they can use to travel. These

passengers might be seeking for a job in Manila or probably for leisure.

The respondents whose age bracket is from 41 years old and above got

the lowest percentage because most likely they are the ones who wanted

to stay home longer rather than to travel.

Chart 2

Gender of passengers in NAIA-terminal 1 in Pasay City

GENDER OF RESPONDENTS

30% MALE

FEMALE
70%
 Chart 2 presents the gender of respondents. Females occupy sixty-

nine percent (70%) while males occupy thirty-one percent (30%) of the

total number of gender of the respondents. It is shown in chart 2 that the

highest percentage of the gender of respondents is female. Female are

most likely attracted to travel deals because they are far more

adventurous than male. On the other hand, male are the ones who are

seldom to travel because they wanted to work and stay to gain more

income. They travel once but they do not spend a lot.

Table 1

Customer satisfaction of airport services at NAIA-terminal 1 in

Pasay City

FACTORS WEIGHTED VERBAL

MEAN INTERPRETATION

2.1 ACCESSIBILITY

2.1.1 Public Transports Are Nearby 3.50 Agree

2.1.2 Heavy Traffic Are Encountered 3.67 Agree

2.1.3 Reliable and Accredited Airport 3.13 Moderately Agree

Taxis Are Visible
 Total Weighted Mean 3.43 Moderately Agree

2.2 AMENITIES

2.2.1 Facilities Are Well Maintained 3.43 Moderately Agree

2.2.2 Luggage Carts Are Available 3.63 Agree

2.2.3 Luggage Carousel Are Functioning 3.52 Agree

Well

Total Weighted Mean 3.53 Agree

2.3 CLEANLINESS

2.3.1 Maintenance Personnel Are Visible 3.23 Moderately Agree

2.3.2 Cozy Departure and Arrival Area 3.00 Moderately Agree

2.3.3 Clean Comfort Rooms Are Being 2.93 Moderately Agree

Observed

Total Weighted Mean 3.05 Moderately Agree

2.4 CUSTOMER SERVICE

2.4.1 Attendants Address Customers 3.63 Agree

Properly

2.4.2 Personnel Can Handle Difficulties 3.60 Agree

2.4.3 Airport Personnel Are 3.53 Agree

Approachable

Total Weighted Mean 3.59 Agree

2.5 COMFORT

2.5.1 Provides Comfortable Cushioned 3.00 Moderately Agree

Seats For The Passengers

2.5.2 Airport Terminal is Properly 3.03 Moderately Agree

Ventilated

2.5.3 There Are Pharmacies and Medical 3.13 Moderately Agree

Clinics Available

Total Weighted Mean 3.05 Moderately Agree

2.6 SAFETY

2.6.1 Safety Officers Are Properly 3.53 Agree

Dispersed

2.6.2 Scanning Devices Are Fluently 3.30 Moderately Agree

Working

2.6.3 Security Monitoring Devices Are 2.83 Moderately Agree

Available

Total Weighted Mean 3.22 Moderately Agree

GRAND MEAN 3.31 Moderately Agree

 Table 1 presents the customer satisfaction of airport services at

Ninoy Aquino International Airport – terminal 1 and their corresponding

computed weighted mean with verbal interpretation.

On the first factor which is the accessibility, it is shown in the total

weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual responses of the

respondents is “moderately agree” which can be interpreted that there

accessibility is an element that contributes to the factors that affect the

travel operations of NAIA – terminal 1.

On the second factor which is the amenities, it is shown in the

total weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual responses of

the respondents is “agree” which can be interpreted that the facilities of

NAIA – 1 is nearly satisfying.

On the third factor which is the cleanliness, it is shown in the total

weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual responses of the

respondents is “moderately agree” which can be interpreted that the

sanitation of the airport terminal is closely maintained.

On the fourth factor which is the customer service, it is shown in

the total weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual

responses of the respondents is “agree” which can be interpreted that

most of the airport employees possess good social relation to passengers.

 On the fifth factor which is the comfort, it is shown in the total

weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual responses of the

respondents is “moderately agree” which can be interpreted that NAIA –

terminal 1 can someway provide the passengers a comfortable

environment while the passengers are inside the airport.

On the last factor which is the safety, it is shown in the total

weighted mean of the three categories that the mutual responses of the

respondents is “moderately agree” which can be interpreted that safety

inside the airport terminal is only observed moderately.

 Chapter 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter contains the summary of the research work

undertaken, the conclusions drawn and the recommendations made as

an outgrowth of this study.

Summary of Findings

The salient findings of this study are as follows:

1. The demographic profile of the passengers in terms of their age,

gender and nationality.

Majority of the passenger’s age bracket ranges from 26 ― 30

wherein, 70% of the respondents are female which occupy the highest

percentage for gender.

2. Customer satisfaction of airport services at Ninoy Aquino International

Airport – Terminal 1 in terms of:

2.1 Accessibility

Accessibility is an airport service that affects the customer

satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers responded

Moderately Agree with a weighted mean of 3.43.

2.2 Amenities

Amenities is an airport service that affects the customer

satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers responded

Agree with a weighted mean of 3.53.

2.3 Cleanliness

Cleanliness is an airport service that affects the customer

satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers responded

Moderately Agree with a weighted mean of 3.05.

2.4 Customer Service

Customer Service is an airport service that somehow affects the

customer satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers

responded Agree with a weighted mean of 3.59.

2.5 Comfort

Comfort is an airport service that somehow affects the customer

satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers responded

Moderately Agree with a weighted mean of 3.05.

2.6 Safety

Safety is an airport service that somehow affects the customer

satisfaction of NAIA – terminal 1 wherein the passengers responded

Moderately Agree with a weighted mean of 3.22.

3. Is there a significant effect on the customer satisfaction of airport

services of NAIA - terminal 1 to the passengers using the above

mentioned variables?

The overall computed weighted mean for each airport services were

sum up to get the average of means which has the grand mean of 3.31

that is taken as Moderately Agree. It was interpreted that there is a

significant effect in the customer satisfaction of airport services at NAIA –

terminal 1. Therefore, the Alternative Hypothesis is accepted.

Conclusions

The overriding purpose of this study is to determine the airport

services that have an impact on the customer satisfaction of Ninoy

Aquino International Airport – terminal 1. Considering it is known as the

“worst airport terminal in the world”. This status initiated the

researchers to carry on a study about the customer satisfaction of airport

services of the said airport terminal. Accessibility, amenities, cleanliness,

customer service, comfort and safety are the airport services determined

by the researchers.

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher was able to

arrive at these conclusions:

1. The researchers concluded that the age of most of the passengers

arriving and departing in NAIA – terminal 1 is ranging from 26-30.

And the frequent travelers are female.

2. The researchers concluded that the airport services customer

service and amenities have the most significant effect on the

customer satisfaction of passengers at NAIA – terminal 1 wherein

majority of the respondents answered agree. On the other hand,

the airport services accessibility, safety, comfort, and cleanliness

 by some means affect the customer satisfaction of NAIA – terminal

1 wherein majority of the respondents answered moderately agree.

Recommendations

Based on the foregoing findings of the study, the following are

recommended for the future enhancement of the airport services of Ninoy

Aquino International Airport – Terminal 1 in Pasay City:

1. The airport management must add more personnel around the

vicinity of Ninoy Aquino International Airport – terminal 1 to avoid

unauthorized vehicles to pick up passengers. This is to avoid

potential crimes that the passengers may possibly encounter.

Another way to avoid this is the management to hire an authorized

taxi company to provide trusted taxi drivers.

2. Surroundings of the airport should be considered to meet the

passengers’ convenience and needs. In order for that, the airport

organization must guarantee that the facilities are well maintained,

availability of luggage carts is there and also the luggage carousel

is well functioning.

3. The airport management should be focused in monitoring the

visibility of the personnel who are accountable in providing a

pleasant departure and arrival area for the passengers and strictly

observe the cleanliness of comfort rooms.

4. The organization must pay attention on the quality of customer

service that they give to the passengers, they should observe if the

attendants address the passengers properly, difficulties in the

airport are well handled by the personnel and furthermore, if the

airport employees are approachable.

5. The airport management should focus on the things that will cause

comfort to the passengers. It is advised that they should provide

comfortable cushioned seats in the waiting area of the airport.

Moreover, the management should keep an eye on the ventilation

of the area. The availability of pharmacies and medical clinics

should be observed as well.

6. Proper distribution of safety officers in order to make the

passengers feel secured should be observed. The maintenance of

the scanning devices should be examined to achieve the assurance

that it is working appropriately. Availability of CCTV cameras

should be prominent as well.

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