The measurement scale for airline hospitality: Cabin crew's performance perspective

•Present study identified the underlying dimensions of airline hospitality in the context of a full-service airline.•Present study proposes a scale to measure the construct in the case of Malaysian airline industry.•Airline hospitality consists of four underlying dimensions labelled as Courtesy, Appreciation, Socialising, and Comfort.

The main objectives of this study are to identify the underlying dimensions of airline hospitality in the context of a full-service airline and subsequently to propose a scale to measure the construct in the case of Malaysian airline industry. In this study, airline hospitality is defined based on cabin crew performance or hosting behaviour. In order to stand out among extremely intense competition in today's air travel industry, airline companies must find ways to offer not only distinctive service but hospitable in-flight services. The exploratory factor analysis performed on the first data set involving 391 airline passengers indicated that airline hospitality consists of four underlying dimensions that explained 67% of the total variance. The dimensions are labelled as Courtesy, Appreciation, Socialising, and Comfort. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis carried out on a second data set comprising 546 respondents validated the four-factor structure measurement model that consisted of 19 items with satisfactory reliability and validity indices.