Profiling users of airline web sites based on their content preferences

Abstract

The growth of low cost airlines has accelerated customer acceptance of the Internet as a suitable medium for booking airline travel. The aim of this exploratory study was to profile the users of airline websites by examining their preferences for various content attributes. The research utilised an online questionnaire to sample the preferences of 1305 respondents from Australia and New Zealand. The results indicated that airline website attributes could be organised into six factors. Further analysis found that users of airline websites could be segmented into four groups based on these factors. These groups were named trip planners, lookers, bookers and frequent flyers. The results indicated that all four groups differ substantially in terms of demographic measures, product usage, motives and purchase behaviour.