As much as travelers value cheap fares, including cheap airplane tickets, cheap vacation packages, and discount travel packages, they are happier when their flights arrive on time along with their bags.
The good news is the airline industrys overall performance has improved in four of the last five years. 2012 numbers were in line with 2011s results which were the best in the 23 years that such numbers have been tracked by the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report.
Virgin America earned the highest airline quality rankings, followed by JetBlue, Air Tran, Delta, and Hawaiian Airlines. United Airlines came in last.
Some of 2012 performance stats most important to fliers were:
Airlines ran almost 82 percents of their flights on time, an increase of almost 2 percent over the prior year. Hawaiian Airlines experienced the best on time record, over 93 percent, while American Airlines and ExpressJet had the worst, at just under 77 percent.
U.S. airlines bumped more passengers 0.97 per 10,000 vs. 0.78 per 10,000 in 2011. Part of the reason for this is the increasingly full flights airlines are operating. JetBlue posted the lowest rate (0.01) with SkyWest running the highest (2.32).
The mishandled baggage rate decreased to 3.07 per 1,000 passengers from 3.35 in 2011. Virgin America experienced the best record (0.87 bags per 1,000 fliers) vs. the worst performance (5.8 bags) which was turned in by American Eagle.
The AQR report found that there is a significant disconnect between the airlines improving operational success and their customer satisfaction which is driven by their passengers perception of what is happening.
Even though the airlines showed improvement in two of the three key areas they are generally viewed as most critical to fliers, customer complaints to the Department of Transportation rose 20 percent last year. About 9,400 passengers filed complaints against U.S. airlines in 2011 (1.19 complaints per 100,000) vs. over 11,400 complaints in 2012, equating to a complaint rate of 1.43 per 100,000.
Industry experts who try to explain the rising customer dissatisfaction think that the complaints are not being driven by the airlines operational performance. While airlines statistical performance is largely on the rise some fliers are unhappy with their cramped seats, lousy food, and the fact that they are charged for almost every extra other than a seat belt and oxygen mask.
The proliferation of airline fees, confusing code share rules, and airline policies are making it increasingly difficult for families to sit together without paying extra.
Although continued improvement in airline statistical performance is forecasted, operational problems are anticipated for the two airlines still in the midst of completing their most recent mergers: Southwest and AirTran, as well as American and US Airways.
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