Airline customer satisfaction up, but industry ranks low

Customer satisfaction with U.S. air carriers has risen, approaching a peak not seen in over 20 years, according to a report released Monday. But airlines still trail virtually all other industries when it comes to making consumers happy.

The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which measures how consumers feel about hundreds of companies within 43 industries, found that airlines scored 71 out of a possible 100 on a scale.

That represented a 2.9% increase over last year, and comes close to the airline industry's record high score of 72 reached in 1994.

At a time when airlines have replaced stale movies with live TV and entertainment menus that offer dozens of options, passengers say they are pleased with those new choices, as well as the industry's improving record of punctuality and fewer mishandled bags.

"We're seeing some uptick in some of the metrics that relate to customer service,'' says ACSI director David VanAmburg, "The things that impact what's a critical element of the airline experience, the flight itself. Getting from here to there on time, without baggage being lost.''

Still, among all industries looked at by the survey, only Internet service providers, subscription television companies and health insurance companies scored lower than airlines.

"Even though there is this small uptick this year ... satisfaction overall with airlines is still among the worst of industries we measure,'' VanAmburg says. "This is still an industry that consumers have a number of issues with relative to lots of other products and services we consume on a regular basis.''

Melanie Hinton, spokeswoman for the trade group Airlines for America, says the industry has poured money into boosting its offerings and operations, and investment is expected to pass $1.3 billion per month this year.

"U.S. airlines continue to do a great job for their customers despite many circumstances beyond their control, including historically severe weather,'' Hinton says. "Air travel remains one of the best bargains for consumers and airlines continue to invest in what customers value most, new planes, in flight entertainment and other amenities.''

JetBlue got top marks for the fourth year in a row, with a score of 81, followed by Southwest, with a 78. Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit ranked at the bottom with 54.

"JetBlue is much closer to Southwest in terms of offering a discount experience, but still one that has enough of a focus on the quality that customers expect and hope for,'' VanAmburg says. "Spirit on the other hand is all about price, an ultra-discounted experience with basically no customer service unless you want to pay for it ... so customers feel like they're being nickeled and dimed.''

However, change is afoot at JetBlue, which has announced it will be introducing a checked bag fee for some passengers for the first time. While a common practice in the industry, the new fee is a dramatic departure for JetBlue.

"They may be right (that) it may be something so ingrained now in us, that people who fly JetBlue will think it's not a big deal,'' he says, but it's also possible JetBlue's score "may drop next year if these things go into effect.''

Among the major network carriers, Delta scored a 71, the same as last year, followed by American with a score of 66 and United which garnered a 60. Their scores were also the same as last year's.

American is going slow in melding systems and programs with its merger partner US Airways, which is likely helping the carrier to avoid some of the stumbling blocks that can come with such a complex integration, VanAmburg says. Meanwhile United's merger with Continental Airlines has been bumpier.

"They've had a culture there for some time that has had a problem with customer service,'' VanAmburg says of United, "but the Continental merger has not helped. They definitely have not handled that as smoothly, as deliberately, as American has been doing with the US Airways merger.''

The airline industry overall may have scored higher this year if fliers had seen fares drop in the wake of tumbling fuel prices, VanAmburg says. Still, it might be difficult for airlines to make significant enough changes to make flying less stressful.

"It's just not a terribly comfortable experience, especially for a longer flight,'' he says. "The airlines can do certain things around the edges to make the experience more comfortable, and they have. ... (But) it's just not the greatest experience and hard to see how that would really be able to be changed in leaps and bounds.''

Brett Snyder, founder of the website Crankyflier.com, says airlines have done a lot to improve their service, and should be given more credit.

"The airlines in general have really been investing in their product a lot lately,'' he says. "Even in coach you've seen upgraded meals, and in some cases, like with Delta, dramatically increased on-time performance compared to historical averages. ... If people are looking at this and saying I want first class for the price of coach, then you're never going to get that.''

In another travel-related sector, hotels maintained their customer satisfaction score of 75. More luxurious properties, such as those operated by Hilton or Marriott, earned a score of 80, while consumers were more critical of less expensive chains.

"That's similar to other industries ... like automobiles,'' VanAmburg says, noting that brands like Lexus usually get scores that top their industry's average. "It's because you get what you pay for. ... Their expectations tend to be matched.''

Customer satisfaction rankings

Here's how major travel brands fare in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index:

Source: ACSI