Return on quality: Simulating customer retention in a flight firming project

The paper presents a return on quality model designed to assess projects of service quality that can help airlines in retaining passengers. Such models can enable carriers simulate scenarios and assist management in decision-making processes, identifying the elements of performance that can lead to rejection or approval by passengers. An application of the methodology considers the flight firming project of a major airline company that had the target of improving the service quality offered in the business class booking and refunding processes, reducing at the same time the amount of denied boarding due to overbooking.

► Presents a return on quality model designed to assess projects involving service improvements aimed at retaining passengers.
► The appropriate flight firming strategy can substantially increase revenues and reduce costs.
► Probabilistic threshold values can be identified to assess the improvement of intangible effects of quality.