Lower fares, better on-time performance, fewer lost bags and the lowest bump rate ever recorded have contributed to steady improvement in customer satisfaction with North American airlines. According to the J.D. Power 2017 North America Airline Satisfaction Study released May 10, overall customer satisfaction with airlines has reached its highest level ever, continuing a trend that now stretches five consecutive years.
“It’s impossible to think about airline customer satisfaction without replaying the recent images of a passenger being dragged from a seat, but our data shows that, as a whole, the airline industry has been making marked improvements in customer satisfaction across a variety of metrics, from ticket cost to flight crew,” said Michael Taylor, travel practice lead at J.D. Power. “As recent events remind us, however, airlines have significant room for improvement. Airlines still rank among the bottom tier of most service industries tracked by J.D. Power, far lower than North American rental car companies or hotels.”
Scores are higher this year than one year ago in all of the study factors that measure customer satisfaction. This performance contributes to the steady improvement in customer satisfaction with North American airlines.
Following are some of the key findings of the 2017 study:
Study Rankings
Among traditional carriers, Alaska Airlines ranks highest for the 10th consecutive year, with an index score of 765. Alaska Airlines performs particularly well in all seven factors of the study. Delta Air Lines ranks second (758), improving in all seven factors.
Among low-cost carriers, Southwest Airlines ranks highest for the first time with a score of 807, performing particularly well in all seven factors. JetBlue Airways ranks second (803), improving in six of the seven factors.
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study, now in its 13th year, measures passenger satisfaction with North American airline carriers based on performance in seven factors (in order of importance): cost & fees; in-flight services; aircraft; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; check-in; and reservation. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.
The study measures passenger satisfaction among both business and leisure travelers, and is based on responses from 11,015 passengers who flew on a major North American airline between March 2016 and March 2017. The study was fielded between April 2016 and March 2017.
For more information about the North America Airline Satisfaction Study, visit http://www.jdpower.com/resource/jd-power-north-america-airline-satisfaction-study