The decline in Airline ratings for the U.S. is a negative sign for travelers
The overall performance of the airline industry in America declined in 2014 according to the 2015 Airline Quality Rating report (AQR), an undertaking by professors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical and Wichita State universities.
The AQR is calculated by examining 15 elements in 4 main areas of overall airline performance that is considered important by airline travelers during the calendar year 2014. The rating system uses weighted averages and monthly performance data in the following areas: mishandled baggage, involuntary denied boarding’s, on-time arrivals and 12 customer complaint categories which include:
Flight Problems, over sales, reservations/ticketing/boarding, fares, refunds, baggage, customer service, disability, advertising, discrimination, animals and other.
Here is a list of the top 10 airlines form best to worst:
- Virgin America
- Hawaiian
- Delta
- JetBlue
- Alaska
- Southwest
- American
- Frontier
- United
- SkyWest
The performance data compiled for 2014 is worse than the previous 4 years which doesn’t bode well for travelers. There were only 3 airlines that had a better score in 2014 than the previous year and they were Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines.
Have you flown on any of the listed airlines above? If so, how did they rate?
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Hi my name is JP Chartier and I write for Gutter Pup Adventures.com where you can expect to read well-written and entertaining articles about the people and places that often get overlooked at many popular vacation destinations around the world.
For several years now the US airlines have consistently ranked low compared to other carriers. The best airlines by ratings always seem to be from Asia and the Middle East. Singapore Air, Qatar Air, Emirates etc. Even British Air and Air France rank better.
Some of that might be a result of countries subsidizing those airlines and some might be that the US has too many taxes and regulations regarding airlines that they don’t have the same percentage of profits to reinvest as others. And some is just plain old customer service. A lot of airline and airport workers act like they are doing you a favor instead of treating you as a customer.
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Very interesting. Especially as Continental didnt make the list! 11 years ago I flew a lot with them. They were ok. I think service is perhaps not so good on American airlines (in general, not the specific airline!) and internationally they dont have a great rep. Still, there are so many flights and it’s the quickest way to get around the States.
And heck, none of them are Jetstar!
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JP,
I can’t agree more. US airlines are becoming more and more customer unfriendly. Some of it stems from the additional seating, which takes away any legroom that was there previously. It makes the customer grumpy and very unhappy (not to mention the fighting over seats being lowered).
There is also an aging factor that is causing issues IMHO. A large portion of stewards and stewardesses are near retirement and are just riding it out. They want to be gone and it is obvious!!!
Mike
Mike ( Nomadic Texan ) recently posted…Azalea Trail #3, Azaleas & Spring Flowers