U.S. airline customer service up, study finds

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 8, 2003 | by Lee DavidsonDeseret News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON -- A new study says service by eight of the 10 major national airlines improved significantly last year, despite financial and safety challenges arising from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The report also showed that Salt Lake City International Airport has one of the best on-time departure rates among major airports.

"Even though the public may face more difficulty in getting into the airport because of security concerns, once they get to their flight, that experience is better," said Dean Headley, co-author of the annual "Airline Quality Rating" by Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

In addition to improved quality, no one died in a commercial airline accident last year. That followed 2001, which was the worst for fatalities in 20 years, when a total 530 passengers died on four planes hijacked in the 9/11 attacks and in a Nov. 12 crash in Belle Harbor, N.Y.

The study, released Monday, ranks the quality of service by the 10 major national airlines based on government data in areas ranging from complaint rates to on-time arrivals, mishandling of baggage and denied boardings.

It gave this year's top rating to U.S. Airways, which moved up from No. 2 last year. The worst ranking went to American Eagle.

Delta Airlines, which operates a hub at Salt Lake City International Airport, was ranked No. 7 out of 10, dropping two spots from last year. Still, its overall scores increased as scores by other airlines increased more.

Southwest Airlines, which also has major operations in Salt Lake City, improved to No. 3, up from fourth last year.

The overall airline rankings, in order, are: 1. U.S. Airways; 2. Alaska Airlines; 3. Southwest; 4. America West; 5. Continental; 6. American; 7. Delta; 8. United; 9. Northwest; 10. American Eagle.

"It's interesting to note that despite the financial problems faced by the industry, we are seeing marked improvements across the board," said study co-author Brent Bowen. "Only one of the airlines (American Eagle) we ranked showed a noticeable decline. Eight others improved. One (Northwest) stayed virtually the same."

Headley added that quality should have improved "given that there are fewer passengers and fewer scheduled flights. A simpler system should make it easier to perform well."

Some of the major findings in the report include:

-- On-time arrival percentage for the 10 major airlines improved to 82.1 percent last year, up from 77.4 percent in 2001.

Ratings for the individual airlines were: 1. United, 84 percent; 2. American, 83.8; 3. Continental, 83.5; 4. U.S. Airways, 83.4; 5. America West, 82.9; 6. Southwest, 82.6; 7. Northwest, 80; 8. Delta, 80; 9. American Eagle, 79.1; and 10. Alaska Airlines, 78.

-- Salt Lake City International Airport generally had high marks in monthly on-time departure percentages among 29 major airports graded. They ranged from a low of 82.8 percent in January and March 2002 to a high of 92.9 percent in September.

Salt Lake had the second-best score among the 29 airports in June (87.2 percent, behind only Houston) and finished in the top seven every month from April to December.

However, it ranked a low 25th of 29 in February 2002 -- the month of the Olympics -- and was No. 22 in January and No. 14 in March.

-- The industry averaged mishandling 3.84 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2002, an improvement from 4.58 in 2001. Roughly one of every 250 checked bags are mishandled, but most are returned within 48 hours.

Rankings for individual airlines were: 1. Alaska, 2.63 per 1,000 passengers; 2. U.S. Airways, 2.95; 3. Continental, 3.14; 4. Southwest, 3.52; 5. America West, 3.55; 6. Delta, 3.57; 7. United, 3.76; 8. American, 4.27; 9. Northwest, 4.52; 10. American Eagle, 9.81.

-- The industry averaged 1.22 complaints to the Transportation Department per 100,000 passengers in 2002, down from 2.11 in 2001.

The rankings by airline, from best to worst, were: 1. Southwest, 0.33; 2. American Eagle, 0.6; 3. Alaska, 0.91; 4. U.S. Airways, 1.13; 5. American, 1.29; 6. Delta, 1.37; 7. Continental, 1.41; 8. Northwest, 1.45; 9. America West, 1.63; 10. United, 1.71.

-- The industry averaged 0.72 involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 passengers, an improvement from 0.82 in 2001.

The rankings by airline, from best to worst, were: 1. American Eagle, 0.19; 2. America West, 0.2; 3. American, 0.31; 4. U.S. Airways, 0.35; 5. Northwest, 0.6; 6. United, 0.69; 7. Continental, 0.87; 8. Southwest, 1.09; 9. Delta, 1.11; 10. Alaska, 1.17.

E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com