The Role of Wine Service in Airline Business and First Classes

This study applies the Stimulus‐Organism‐Response (S‐O‐R) framework in order to investigate how sensory wine experience attributes in premium airline cabins influence perceived premium quality, perceived value, expectation confirmation, psychological comfort, and ultimately airline brand choice. The sensory wine experience elements were identified via qualitative research and were validated using a quantitative analysis. The results show that sensory attributes significantly enhance perceived premium quality, which in turn increases perceived value and expectation confirmation. The expectation confirmation positively affects psychological comfort, which subsequently drives airline brand choice. The wine selection methods did not moderate the relationship between psychological comfort and brand choice, but the configurational analyses (fsQCA) revealed multiple sufficient pathways that lead to high brand choice. These findings highlight the strategic importance of integrating sensory wine experiences into premium cabin service design and providing meaningful implications in regards to enhancing the cognitive and emotional responses of customers.