Airline Quality Was Better In 2008: Study

WASHINGTON — Airlines carried fewer people last year, but did a better job for those who did fly.

The rates of lost bags, late arrivals, passengers bumped from overbooked flights and consumer complaints all declined, private researchers say in their annual study of airline quality, based on government statistics.

While the industry had its best overall performance in the ratings in four years, the picture was not entirely rosy.

High fuel costs and a poor economy led many airlines to reduce schedules, raise ticket prices, jettison frills and put in place fees for everything from luggage to pillows.

Nevertheless, consumer complaints for the 17 airlines included in the study dipped from 1.42 per 100,000 passengers in 2007 to 1.15 in 2008. Southwest Airlines had the best rate, only 0.25 complaints per 100,000 passengers; US Airways had the worst rate, 2.25.

Half of all complaints involved baggage or flight problems such as cancellations, delays or other schedule deviations.

The average on-time performance last year was 3 percentage points better than the year before, yet nearly one-quarter of all flights were late. The study being released Monday said 12 airlines improved from the previous year, but only three airlines had better than an 80 percent on-time rate: Hawaiian Airlines, 90 percent; Southwest, 80.5 percent; and US Airways, 80.1 percent.

American Airlines, the nation's largest air carrier as measured by passengers flown the most miles, had the worst record, arriving on time only 69.8 percent of the time.

The overall rate of passengers denied boardings _ usually bumpings due to overbooking _ dipped slightly, from 1.14 per 10,000 passengers to 1.1 in 2008. Jet Blue had the lowest rate for the second year in a row, 0.01 per 10,000 passengers; Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the highest rate, 3.89.

All the airlines did a better job handling passengers' baggage. The mishandled baggage rate fell from 7.01 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2007 to 5.19 bags in 2008.

AirTran Airways did the best job, with 2.87 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers; American Eagle Airlines did the worst, at 9.89.

The study, compiled annually since 1991, is based on Transportation Department statistics for airlines that carry at least 1 percent of the passengers who flew domestically last year. The research is sponsored by St. Louis University in Missouri and by Wichita State University in Kansas.

An overall ranking of the 17 airlines based on their combined performance in four categories was to be released Monday.

The improved performance was not surprising because 2007 was the worst year for airlines in the study, said co-author Dean Headley, an associate professor of marketing at Wichita State.

The aviation system suffered close to a meltdown in 2007 as domestic carriers reported 770 million passengers in the busiest year for air travel since before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Aviation experts said the air transport system had reached capacity.

There were 741 million passengers in 2008, and airlines are reporting weak travel demand through the first quarter of this year,

"We're now in a time when the system is constricting and performing reasonably well," Headley said. He urged Congress to take advantage of this "breathing room" to move forward on a system that would replace decades-old radar technology with satellite-based technology.

That new system is forecast to increase air transportation system capacity by enabling planes to fly closer together and more directly to their destinations, saving time and fuel.

"It's crazy to think we can keep going the way we were going with the volume of planes we have in the air," Headley said.

• • • • • • A new report out Monday on the airline industry found it offered fewer flights in 2008, priced them higher — some airlines now charge extra for any luggage — and provided fewer frills. But, in a rare glimpse of good news, the report, based on government statistics, also found airlines offered the highest quality service to passengers in four years by being more on time, losing fewer bags and bumping fewer passengers.

Comments

[KennethBowen]

07:02 PM on 04/06/2009

This report is bogus. Flying today has all the pleasantry of a barium enema.

Of course lost baggage is down - no one checks a bag anymore due to the insane fees.

[blackfriday1978]

05:13 PM on 04/06/2009

Who are they kidding?! They really think that people will just take whatever they claim without examine the facts? Fewer people, fewer checked bag due to all kind of bad experience with lost luggage before....

[Popsforza]

04:30 PM on 04/06/2009

If my experiences with American Airlines this weekend is any example, then that one airline is dragging the curve down for the industry as a whole. Delay after delay for differing and mutually exclusive, if not nonsensical “reasons.” Repetitively changing gates, sending hundreds scurrying from concourse to concourse and back again. And then merely announcing for passengers of one long and often delayed flight that it had been cancelled and they would have to speak with an “agent” about rebooking on another flight (of which there were none). The repetitive delays, re-gating and associated nonsense got so bad, the TSA agents who appeared to commence random searches prior to boarding (perhaps to entertain the long suffering passengers) ultimately packed up and left without even starting.

The gate crews were rude, dismissive and strident, scolding passengers for perceived slights and honest mistakes. The cabin crews were visibly disgusted, distant and disinterested. The flight crews were out of touch with the gate crews, the cabin crews and the misinformation being spewed by them, as well as the information, from reliable sources, that was readily available to the passengers being victimized by all of them.

Cattle cars with wings, in the hands of angry, disgruntled individuals for whom customer service is at best a rumor and at worst an epithet.

Tragic.

[kfdan]

06:01 PM on 04/06/2009

"The gate crews were rude, dismissive and strident, scolding passengers for perceived slights and honest mistakes. The cabin crews were visibly disgusted, distant and disinterested. The flight crews were out of touch with the gate crews, the cabin crews and the misinformation being spewed by them, as well as the information, from reliable sources, that was readily available to the passengers being victimized by all of them."
I have seen the same thing go on over the last 5 years .... so, I refuse to fly with an American carrier! I will pay a bit more for better service and I get that from Asian carriers! US carriers remind me more and more of Aeroflot of old when the Russians were truly communists.

[MinionMonitor]

03:26 PM on 04/06/2009

20% say there isn't much difference between flying and a day at the dentist on MinionMonitor.com, a poll dedicated to those who don't make six figures. The airlines have a long way to go before popping the champagne.

[Artboyz]

03:13 PM on 04/06/2009

I have not travelled by plane in the last ten years where I could describe the experience as anything but 'unpleasant'. I had tried to mitigate this by only flying out of small airports. But people have caught on and now even small airports cannot offer a respite from the overcrowding, disrespect, cancellations delays, officious security personnel and generally stresful conditions. I have started to curtail my travel or drive extrodinary distances. At least I've reduced my carbon footprint.

[Isis N]

02:49 PM on 04/06/2009

Duh. Less people = better service.

[JoeBlough]

01:57 PM on 04/06/2009

What about TSA quality?? I'm tired of having to let them smell my shoes for residue. And steal my water bottles.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

01:56 PM on 04/06/2009

All the airlines did a better job handling passengers' baggage. The mishandled baggage rate fell from 7.01 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2007 to 5.19 bags in 2008.

How many per checked ($15) bag? No one checks bags anymore

[Hank007]

01:44 PM on 04/06/2009

I had to fly a couple of India's domestic airlines recently. They are so far superior to America's it wasn't funny. We have become so used to horrible domestic air travel here, anything seems like an improvement.

[thestargazer]

01:38 PM on 04/06/2009

Simple Math:
Fewer people flying equals fewer people complaining.

[LADawson]

01:55 PM on 04/06/2009

Not to mention, more people simply accepting of poor service, so not actually bothering to take the time to complain, because they know they'll, at best, be blown off, or at worst, be treated even more poorly, when all they want to do is get to where they're going with a minimum of hassles. Really though, look at the numbers. I don't really consider a fraction of a percent a real improvement. :)

[WandaBooneshaft]

01:18 PM on 04/06/2009

" ... based on government statistics."

And we all know that the government would never lie to us or fudge their numbers.

Ever.

[jimmy2222]

12:54 PM on 04/06/2009

Check out the news @ http://www.thomaspeep.com/

[SangZe]

12:41 PM on 04/06/2009

What airlines are they reporting on? Certainly not the domestic ones I've been taking. Overpriced tickets, rude stewards, uncomfortable seats, excessive extra fees (brought on by high oil prices, but never removed when the crisis ended), lost or damaged baggage . . . , these things are the norm. I even had one steward tell me I might have to pay a fee for the sandwich I brought on board because the airline no longer served free food and drinks. The media touts low prices, but what they don't tell you is that the low prices are not to the places where you wish to go. All hype.

[uglicoyote]

12:36 PM on 04/06/2009

Better than what?

[tahoegal]

12:33 PM on 04/06/2009

We have traveled by air several times this year, and I have no complaints. We fly AA and Southwest, and care little about fewer snacks and services. We just want to get from Point A to Point B on time, and pay a fair price to do it. Yes, seating on the planes is crowded, and services are few. Trumping that though is safety and timeliness, and those we are very satisfied with. Perhaps some expect too much - but if we can fly 2,500 miles in a few hours for under $300.00, what a bargain!