Factors affecting passenger choice of low cost carriers: An analytic network process approach

•Literature review and expert opinion are conducted to generate criteria that affect passenger choice of LCCs.•Applies an ANP approach to develop an evaluation model•Perceived corporate value and perceived service quality are the two most important criteria.•Focuses on the main factors and identifies the best policy for promoting passenger acceptance toward LCCs

Although the literature has contributed to identifying various influences on passenger choice of low-cost carriers (LCCs), the evaluation of the relative importance of these factors has not been empirically determined. In their decision about choices of LCCs, passengers may consider more than one factor or criterion. Passenger choice of LCCs can be viewed as a multi-criteria decision-making problem and the various factors involved are interdependent. Analysis network process (ANP) methodology satisfies these requirements by considering inner and outer dependences among multiple criteria. In this study, the goal is to use ANP to evaluate the relative weights and priorities of the factors determining passenger choice of LCCs. Firstly, literature review and expert opinion are conducted to generate 16 sub-criteria along with four criteria (e.g., perceived advantages, perceived external influence, perceived service quality, and perceived corporate value) that affect passenger choice of LCCs. Secondly, ANP is applied to develop an evaluation model that prioritized the relative weights linking the above four criteria with 16 evaluated sub-criteria. The results not only provide an evaluation model to determine the relative importance of the influences of LCCs on passenger choice, but can also help managers focus on the main factors and identify the best policy for promoting passenger acceptance toward LCCs.