The passenger air transport sector in Brazil has shown a strong demand growth and faced structural problems. Thus, studies that seek to evaluate the services provided by this sector from the consumer's perspective are necessary. Therefore, the objectives of the present study are: to validate an air transport service evaluation model and check whether the company image and consumer attitude are antecedents of use (and purchase) intention in the air transport sector. The theoretical model was based on Vila and Martinez-Gimeno (2010), with the adaptation from the rail transport sector to the air transport sector. A survey of 231 air transport users was conducted, and the model showed a god fit (χ²/df= 2.14; RMSEA= 0.052; RMR= 0.101; GFI= 0.899; NFI=0.895; RFI=0.889; IFI=0.933, and CFI=0.945). The three hypotheses tested were confirmed, and it was verified that: image is an antecedent of attitude (β = 0.635), image is an antecedent of use intention (β = .379), and attitude is an antecedent of use intention (β = 0.275). Therefore, good image has been shown to be of great importance for the development of this strategic sector in the country.
Air transport; Image; Attitude; Use intention
