Abstract:
The role of internet in general and websites in particular has changed everything in the
business world throughout the past couple of decades. Subsequently, E-Ticketing is an
alternative marketing strategy implemented by airline to serve their customers using the Internet.
It is basically an online flight ticket purchasing system which is an essential application of online
shopping (E-commerce).The study has been carried out in the Ethiopian Airlines aiming to
iinvestigate factors affecting E-Ticketing preference of Customers. Data were collected using
descriptive research and non-probability sampling technique, and collected using structured
questionnaire prepared in English that can be translated into Amharic and Afan Oromo. Data
were analyzed using statistical tools such as Frequency, Correlation, and Multiple regressions.
Prior to data analysis testing using Cronbach‟s Alpha, and the reliability and validity of data
were checked. All the quantitative analyses were done in Statistical Package for Social
Sciences.All the three factors had significant relationship with customer preferences towards the
E-Ticketing service. The mean score of descriptive statistics of each of the factors influencing
customer satisfaction on E-Ticketing service in EAL indicated that E-Ticketing service makes the
tickets purchasing process easier, and EAL was the good provider of Ticketing. However the
customers complained about the quality and speed of the internet that discourages them to use
regularly. Similarly the customers showed good satisfaction regarding the website quality that
the system had low breakdown probabilities due to efficient maintenance, and EAL provide
online systems as a fast and efficient alternative to traditional sales channels. Generally, the
customers were satisfied with the website quality that provided by EAL. Moreover, the customers
were happy and agreed on the usefulness of E-Ticketing that they saved cost, time and effort
because of easy navigation in purchasing process. Furthermore,the regression model showed
that the E-Ticketing service provided by EAL were able to explain the variance explained in the
customer preferences at EAL (F (5, 360) = 135.5; p < 0.0001); R2 = 0.87), had a statistically
significant contribution. The result of the study showed that 87% of the variation in customer
preferences was explained by security levels, followed by usefulness, website is quality. The
implications of the research lie in the recognition of the need for EAL to consider a wide range
of variables when developing e-ticketing services for customers.
