Airlines not alone in poor customer service studies

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Airline Quality Rating report was released last week, exposing the five worst airlines in the United States. It’s fun to beat up on the airlines … as it is to beat up on other companies and industries notorious for poor customer service. So, this made me wonder just how the airlines stack up against everyone else.

Back in August, the American Customer Satisfaction Index rated hundreds of companies and came out with the results. Some airlines are in there, of course, but they aren’t alone. I took a look at the bottom of the barrel – 18 companies featured by Business Insider – and saw that the airlines were well-represented but far from dominant.

Telecommunications companies led the pack, accounting for a third of the list, with airlines next – four companies accounting for 22 percent. Banking followed with 17 percent. Strangely, social networking contributed two companies, with both Facebook and MySpace getting poor marks for customer service. Insurance, restaurants and utilities each contributed a company.

The airlines that got the nod will look pretty familiar: in fact, they’re four of the five identified in the Airline Quality Rating report. American Airlines took the #12 spot, immediately behind Facebook and MySapce. Delta and US Airways took the next two positions, with United Airlines at #17.

The worst company for customer service was AT&T Mobility, with DirecTV and Citibank behind it.

“America’s Meanest Airlines” exposed

by Annie Scott on


Today on Yahoo Travel, “America’s Meanest Airlines” were revealed. The story, “based on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report, which covers 18 domestic carriers,” lambasts American Airlines, United, Delta and several other airlines, including four regional carriers.

The Airline Quality Rating Report is conducted jointly by professors at Wichita State University and Purdue University. The report is generated using “subjective surveys of consumer opinion that are infrequently done,” with the goal of creating “a rating for individual airlines with interval scale properties that is comparable across airlines and across time.” The AQR Report has been around since 1991 and issues yearly results in a month-by-month format with data on the rate of customer complaints, denied boarding and more.

Sins such as baggage fees are cited in the Yahoo Travel article, as are additional sources of consumer complaints. For example, “this year AA has had frequent incidents of mishandled baggage with an average of 4.07 reports per 1,000 passengers, according to the Air Travel Consumer Reports.” That’s a brutal ratio by anyone’s standards.

The 2010 AQR Report is available online if you’d like to investigate further yourself.

[via Yahoo Travel]

[Photo by lazlo-photo via Flickr.]

Airline profits may mean more elbow room for a little while

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The airline industry wants to thank you. Last year, it was mired in despair. The post-financial crisis recession left the carriers beleaguered and desperate for a turn of fortune. Corporate and leisure travel had fallen precipitously, and doubling down on extra fees, though prudent for profits, alienated both those considering a flight and the passengers with little choice but to hit the road. The brutality of 2009 was evident, and it seemed as though all there was for 2010 was the hope for something better.

Well, hope paid off.

Three quarters into this year, money is again beginning to flow, as a result of (finally) climbing fares, additional fees and an increase in passenger traffic. United Continental, Southwest and JetBlue have reported strong profits for the third quarter using a variety of tactics, but an increase in sales and higher prices appear to be the universal driver. And, this may translate to a bit more elbow room for you.
According to the Associated Press, airlines are beginning to bring back some of the routes they cut last year, as indicated by decisions at Delta and American Airlines to hire more flight attendants. The challenge, however, will be to increase capacity (and thus headcount) without imperiling this year’ hard-won profits.

The business of satisfying pent-up demand isn’t easy for the airline sector. After all, capacity can’t be added one seat at a time. Restoring a route to handle more passengers comes with it the obligation to fill the plane (to the extent possible) each time, in accordance with revenue per available seat mile (RASM) targets.

Nonetheless, the carriers seem ready to rise to the challenge. JetBlue is amping up fourth quarter capacity by up to 10 percent, with Delta looking at an increase of 5 percent to 10 percent. This follows even faster growth in September, according to the Associated Press:

Still, most of the airlines saw traffic rise even faster than capacity in September suggesting they have enough business to support the additional flights. The only exception was Delta, which added capacity slightly faster than traffic rose.

The moves come in anticipation of a strong 2011, according to Ray Neidl, an analyst for Maxim Group. He tells the associated press that the growth in capacity “is a little more long-term,” adding that “[d]espite the lackluster economy, it’s going to be a big year for airlines, especially as consolidation kicks in.”

So, what does this mean for the flying public?

Well, you may not have to occupy that middle seat for a little while, and the odds that someone else will be in it may be improving. The increase in capacity necessarily precedes an increase in sufficient demand to make it profitable, so enjoy it while you can! If the airlines can’t fill those new seats, a return to austerity could send you back to sharing an armrest.

[photo by Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr]

Airline fees never going away, $1.2 billion in first half

by Tom Johansmeyer on

In the first six months of 2010, U.S. airlines raked in $1.2 billion – and that’s just from change and cancellation fees. The industry is on track to see $2 billion in revenue just on ticket-related fees this year.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, here’s where the money’s going:

  1. Delta had the most at $347.1 million in the first half of 2010
  2. American Airlines was a distant second at $235.3 million in ticket related change fees
  3. United Airlines pulled in $158.3 million
  4. US Airways generated $128.3 million from ticket fees
  5. Continental Airlines picked up $120 million

JetBlue didn’t hit the top five (finishing sixth), but it did lead the low-cost category in change and cancellation fees, with $55.7 million.

[photo by cliff1066 via Flickr]

New Continental – United combination already leading on-time performance charts

by Scott Carmichael on

The new combination of Continental Airlines and United Airlines is already off to a good start – the two just took the top spots in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights among the leading carriers in the country.

The Department of Transportation measures the on-time performance, and the information is published in the Air Travel Consumer Report. Continental ended the month with 87.1% of their flights arriving within 14 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, and United followed with 85.1% of their flights.

Yes – there is plenty to complain about in the world of aviation, but I’m sure we can all agree that having flights arrive on time is a great piece of news. Full press release is after the jump.

[Photo: AP/Michael Stravato]


CONTINENTAL AND UNITED LEAD IN ON-TIME PERFORMANCE FOR AUGUST 2010

CHICAGO, Oct. 12, 2010 – United Continental Holdings, Inc. today announced that Continental Airlines was first and United Airlines was second in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights among America’s five largest global carriers* for August 2010, as measured by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and published in the Air Travel Consumer Report released today.

Continental ended the month with 87.1 percent of flights arriving at their destinations within 14 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, according to data published by the DOT. United was second in August with 85.1 percent of flights arriving at their destinations within 14 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, according to monthly data from the same report, when comparing Continental and United with Delta, American and US Airways – the five largest U.S. global carriers by revenue, available seat miles or passengers flown.

“These results demonstrate our commitment to get customers to their destinations safely and on-time,” said Pete McDonald, executive vice president and chief operations officer of United. “Ranking highest in on-time performance among our peers reflects the combined efforts of our teams at both airlines.”

About United Continental Holdings, Inc.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Together with United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, these airlines operate a total of approximately 5,800 flights a day to 371 airports throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark Liberty, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. United and Continental are members of Star Alliance, which offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,172 airports in 181 countries worldwide through its 28 member airlines. United’s and Continental’s more than 80,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. For more information about United Continental Holdings, Inc., go to UnitedContinentalHoldings.com. For more information about the airlines, see united.com and continental.com, and follow each company on Twitter and Facebook.

*According to arrival data published today in the U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report, Continental was first and United was second in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights as measured by the U.S. Department of Transportation (i.e., flights arriving within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival time) for the month of August 2010, when compared to the largest U.S. global carriers based on available seat miles, enplaned passengers or passenger revenue, which includes American, Continental, Delta, United and US Airways.