Marketing Management

7 Ps Analysis of Kingfisher Airlines with respect to

customer satisfaction
The 7 Ps of Services Marketing

Product: Services are tangible in nature and can’t be touched or seen. They can’t be evaluated
before purchase or consumption. Hence, customers before making buying decision rely upon
past purchase experience, publicity, brand name and promotional activities.

Pricing: Service providers try to attract their customers by setting flexible prices, but it is
essential that they take into consideration the cost of providing the service before setting their
prices.

Promotion: Service providers look for ways and means to improve the ambience and also
provide training to their staff to improve the service delivery.

Place: Marketers devise various strategies to attain the firms selling objective and gain customer
loyalty. To this end, the service providers train their dealers to sell their products. The most
desirable and convenient places are chosen for the service delivery.

People: Service organizations gain a competitive advantage through their service personnel. The
personnel in a service organization can have an impact on the service delivered in many ways.
Customers often judge the performance of a service organization by associating it with the
behavior and attitude of its service personnel.

Process: Marketing of services depends on meeting customer expectations. Many service

organizations have made customers an integral part of the service delivery process so that the
benefit can be passed on to the customers.

Physical Evidence: Service customers experience greater difficulty in assessing a service as

they cannot rate it until it is consumed. Therefore, service providers try to attach an element of
tangibility to their service offers. This is physical evidence and can be used in any form.
Objective & Methodology

The aim of this study is to understand the customer satisfaction levels of Kingfisher Airlines
from a 7 Ps perspective. For this purpose, we undertook a customer survey with a sample size of
34 respondents who have flown Kingfisher Airlines. The respondents are the students of ICFAI
Business School, Hyderabad.

Introduction

Kingfisher Airlines is a UB Group company, a USD 2 billion diversified conglomerate,

comprising of over 60 companies in major industries. The airline launched its much awaited
services on 7th May 2005. Kingfisher Airlines has grown rapidly over a few years and has in a
short span gathered a significant market share.

At present, Kingfisher operates only domestic routes operating 218 flights a day and a network
of 38 destinations. It's main bases are Bengaluru International Airport (Bangalore), Chhatrapati
Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai), Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Indira Gandhi
International Airport(Delhi).It has announced plans to start flights to the USA with Airbus A340-
500 and Airbus A380-800 aircraft.

In its three years of operations, Kingfisher Airlines has redefined the way the Indian air traveler
perceives flying. They have not positioned themselves as merely into the business of transporting
people from point A to point B, but have positioned themselves as a part of Aviation Hospitality
by making service and quality their main focus.

Skytrax, the world’s leading independent research and quality evaluation body for airlines,
conferred the prestigious ‘5-Star Airline Status’ on Kingfisher Airlines in the beginning of 2008.
A 5 – Star status recognizes an airline with the highest standard of product across several
stringent quality assessment categories and one that consistently delivers high standards of
service in on-board and airport environments. This honor makes Kingfisher Airlines one of only
6 airlines in the world to have a 5 Star rating. Kingfisher Airlines is the only 5 Star certified
airline in India and it’s the only domestic airline in the world to receive a 5 Star rating.
7 Ps Analysis of Kingfisher Airlines

Product

Kingfisher Airlines offers unparalleled service to its guests. The success of this airline in a very
short period of time can be attributed to the novel services introduced by it. Following are some
of the differentiating features:

 Roving agents: A roving agent is a check – in counter on the move. The guests with
hand baggage are not required to stand in the queue at the check – in counters. The roving
agents come to the customers and assist them.

 Different check – in options: The airlines allows it customers to do a web check – in

from its website apart from the option of the airport check – in.

 Special care for unaccompanied minors, senior citizens and those with reduced
mobility: The airline takes the responsibility of escorting the children safely to their
destination. The ground crew assists in check-in and boarding process. The flight
attendants take care of the child to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight. At the
destination, the staff escorts the child to the arrival terminal and meets the person named
earlier. Only after checking the credential of the assigned person is the child released.

Guest with disabilities can expect a personalized and caring treatment. An escort with a
wheel chair can be assigned to the Guest. Help in check-in, boarding and disembarkation
can also be availed by guests.

 In – flight entertainment: Every seat is treated to an individual TV with Live TV as

well as well as pre recorded in-flight entertainment channels and Radio.
Place

 Connectivity: Kingfisher Airlines flies to 38 destinations across India. These 38

locations cover a wide geography of the country and connect all the metros and the major
cities. It also has connectivity among the tier 2 cities of the country.

 Frequency of flights: The airline currently operates 218 flights everyday across its 38
domestic destinations. The frequency between the four metros and other major cities such
as Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune accounts for the maximum number of
take – offs every day.

 Booking of tickets: The customers have an option of booking tickets at the airport, by
calling the customer care, through travel agents and by logging on to their website.

Price

Kingfisher Airlines has been termed as the “first full frills – true value carrier.” The airline has a
very well defined target audience which is the Sec A and Sec B+ of the Indian economy and that
falls within the age group of 25 – 45 years with high disposable incomes. This section of the
population is modern, trendy and upwardly mobile looking for a great flying experience. They
have traveled extensively and are aware if the international flying trends. This segment really
doesn’t mind shelling out the money as long as they get the experience they are looking for.
Gourmet cuisine and in – flight entertainment are offered on – board. The whole “Kingfisher
experience” is about luxury, comfort, enjoyment and relaxation. The passengers are looking for
value for money and the airline is able to live up to their expectations.

Promotion

Kingfisher Airlines has adopted a well rounded approach to reach out to their customers. Their
objective is to create a place in the minds of their customers for their brand and to ensure that the
message gets across effectively. Kingfisher Airlines has a 360 degree promotion strategy in
place. They reach out to their customers through all media of communication such as television,
radio, print, outdoor, malls and multiplexes, clubs and pubs and their in – flight magazine. They
ensure that they communicate with their customers at multiple touch points.

They have tied up with several brands across industries such as Tata Tetley, Pepsi, Microsoft,
Inox, ICICI bank and the Park Hotels.

Kingfisher Airlines has introduced a co – branded credit card. This is in association with ICICI
bank. The card owner earns 100 points on every spend. The points can be converted into King
Miles. The card also comes with a lot of other benefits such as discounts and privileges.

King Club is the airline’s loyalty program. As a member of King Club, customers enjoy a range
of exclusive privileges and benefits for each membership level from the moment they have
reserved their travel till the time they reach their final destination. The more a customer flies
with Kingfisher Airlines the more he will be rewarded.

People

Kingfisher Airline’s cabin and ground crew is the hallmark of their services. The real winning
factor for Kingfisher Airlines is the quality of staff service being provided to customers, and it is
of course critical that the airline is able to sustain these high quality levels as they experience
continued and rapid expansion. Staff delivers high standards of service efficiency, and in a
sincere and charming manner that makes the airline stand out from the rest. The crew undergoes
rigorous training programs.

Kingfisher Airlines has also instituted the Kingfisher Training Academy to cater to the growing
demand for trained Service oriented professionals. The academy provides intensive training on
Airlines Orientation covering Airline Rules & Regulations, Cabin Familiarization, Galley
Management and Announcement Delivery.
Process

Following are the processes that add to the satisfaction experienced by Kingfisher customers –

 Kingfisher Airlines facilitates easy booking of tickets. The passengers can book their
seats by calling their 24/7 customer care, by logging on to their website, designated travel
agents and at the airports.

 The airline provides its customers with a personalized valet service at all airports across
the country. The valet service staff assists the passengers’ right from the time they reach
at the airport till they check – in and also upon arrival at the destination. Upon arrival,
this staff guides the passengers to the right baggage belt and assists them with it.

 The airline tries to ensure that the passengers can retrieve their baggage after they
disembark from the aircraft in the shortest possible time. However, this is also subject to
the infrastructure of the airports.

Physical Evidence

 Fleet: The airline has a brand new fleet of aircraft comprising of 18 ATR 72s, 4 A 319s,
13 A 320s, 8 A 321s, 2 A 330s.

 Interiors of the aircraft: All the aircrafts of Kingfisher airlines have designer interiors.
The moment a passenger enters the aircraft, what strikes him is the bold use of red color.

 Cleanliness inside the aircraft: All the aircrafts are well maintained for cleanliness and
a pleasant experience.
Analysis

The initial method used for analysis was regression. The objective of using this tool was to
understand the effect of the independent variables i.e., 7 Ps on the dependent variable which is
the overall customer satisfaction. This method was abandoned mainly due to sample inadequacy.
Hence, a significant result could not be achieved.

As a result, to reach statistical conclusion and to achieve the best results given a small sample
size, we decided to use T – distribution. Following are the steps that we adopted in this method:

1. On analyzing the data collected from survey, we understood that no customer was
dissatisfied with the services of the airline. Hence, we divided these customers into 2
groups – Highly satisfied and moderately satisfied customers. We arrived at this division
by taking the average of overall customer satisfaction into consideration. An average of
4.5 and above was included in the highly satisfied category (Group 1) and average of
below 4.5 was included in the moderately satisfied category (Group 2

2. The next step in the analysis was to know how the means of the 2 groups differ
statistically. In other words, to understand how 7 Ps differ between two sets of customers.

Variable Group Mean Significance

1 0.56 0.55
Product 2 0.42
1 0.37 0.34
People 2 0.29
1 0.46 0.07
Place 2 0.67
1 0.46 0.86
Process 2 0.48
1 0.58 0.81
Price 2 0.52
1 0.75 0.73
Promotion 2 0.72
Physical 1 0.41 0.72
Evidence 2 0.43
3. Upon observing the above means and significance of the 7 Ps and the satisfaction levels
of both categories, it is seen that one factor that is differentiates highly and moderately
satisfied customers is Place. This is because any significance level below 0.1 is
considered to be statistically important. In the case of Place, the significance is 0.07
which means that it is an important factor in determining the satisfaction levels between
the two categories of customers.

4. From the above finding, it could be recommended that Place is the most significant
determinant, Kingfisher Airlines should add more number of routes between urban and
semi – urban areas and increase the frequency of flights between such destinations.

5. It is to be noted that the above conclusion about the Place variable is inconclusive and
incomplete because of the small sample size and time constraint. Further analysis is
required by adding more number of samples belonging to different locations and
professions (given the fact that this study included only students of ICFAI Business
School, Hyderabad).