The “Terminal” Effects of Service Failure on Airlines: Examining Service Recovery with Justice Theory

The objective of this research was to examine airline passengers’ service recovery assessments. In addition, the impact of loyalty was examined with relation to postrecovery satisfaction, word-of-mouth communication, and purchase intent. Rawls’s justice theory guided the study. Data were collected via self-reported measure from Mturk and revealed that air travelers’ level of satisfaction of service recovery was impacted by all three justice dimensions. It was further found that the most effective recovery strategy for airline management would likely be to focus on providing compensation beyond expectations. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.