American Airlines and its sister carrier US Airways saw the biggest improvements in passenger satisfaction among all airlines this year, according to a report by J.D. Power & Associates released today.
Overall, airline satisfaction improved for the second straight year — despite higher fares and other efforts by airlines to increase revenue. Passengers scored airlines 17 points higher this year for a record 712 on a 1,000-point scale.
Rick Garlick, global travel and hospitality practice leader at J.D. Power, suggests the higher scores are because consumers have conceded to fees and costs as airlines have expanded services, such as in-flight Wi-Fi and mobile check-in.
Traditional airlines made the most strides in the last year, with their average satisfaction score rising 20 points to 683. Alaska Airlines was No. 1 for the seventh straight year.
Fort Worth-based American improved 24 points, moving up one spot to No. 3. US Airways improved 26 points (No. 6 both years). American and US Airways merged in December, but their operations are still separate.
“After mergers, what we typically see is a pretty good tumble in services, but American and US Airways haven’t fully integrated their systems yet,” Garlick said Tuesday in an interview. The two carriers still don’t have “good” scores, but they’ve improved, he said.
Satisfaction with low-cost carriers rose 8 points for an average score of 763. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines’ score rose 8 points, ranking it No. 2. JetBlue Airways topped the low-cost carrier list for the ninth straight year.
At least one airline passenger said Tuesday that he hasn’t noticed that much difference in the flying experience.
“Service is about the same,” said Kamlesh Chalasani of India, who flew Southwest from Houston to Dallas Love Field on Tuesday but started his travels with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on Saturday. “The rates have massively increased due to higher costs.”
All seven criteria measured by J.D. Power — cost and fees; in-flight services; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; aircraft; check-in; and reservations — scored higher this year. In-flight services saw the biggest gain — up 26 points.
“As you find a greater penetration of Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment options, what you’re really seeing is an improved flight experience,” Garlick said. Since November, most airlines have let passengers operate personal electronic devices, such as music players and tablets, during flight from gate to gate — after federal regulators approved.
Southwest “didn’t show much change in many areas,” but its in-flight services score rose 40 points, Garlick said.
In-flight services scores at US Airways and American also improved, up 39 points and 35 points, respectively.
Satisfaction with cost and fees also rose significantly — up 24 points for all airlines. American’s score rose 35 points and US Airways’ was up 30 points.
“It’s not that people are more satisfied with fees; it’s simply a matter that people are less dissatisfied than before with costs and fees as they become a way of life,” Garlick said. “When fees were first introduced, they were subject to a great deal of hostility, but people are less angry about them.”
For example, 44 percent of travelers think checked bag fees are reasonable, up from 37 percent in 2013. Satisfaction among those passengers averaged 771, compared with 633 for passengers who think such fees are unreasonable.
Some issues are beyond an airline’s control.
Karen Oliver’s Southwest flight home to Chicago was canceled because of an air traffic control fire there. Unfortunately, her luggage didn’t stay with her.
“I’m not happy about it, but there’s nothing you can do,” said Oliver, who hopes to fly out of Love Field on Wednesday. “I do like Southwest.”
J.D. Power for the first time this year also ranked all North American airlines on customer satisfaction with their loyalty/rewards programs. It found that passengers care most about how easy it is to earn and redeem flights.
Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan ranked No. 1, with a score of 757. Southwest’s Rapid Rewards was No. 2 at 731. American was No. 6 (685) and US Airways was No. 7 ( 642).
Overall, “airlines still rank below credit cards and mortgage lenders, typically not warm and fuzzy industries,” Garlick said. “Despite the low satisfaction, this has been the most improvement we’ve seen since we began doing the survey in 2006. There’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
Follow Sheryl Jean on Twitter at @SJeanDallas.
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