"Customer Expectations Have Been Lowered"

Domestic airlines are enjoying the healthiest passenger loads they've seen in some time... and, judging by the results of a report released Monday, many of those same carriers are doing a lowsy job of handling the increased business.

In their annual Airline Quality Rating report, Wichita State University associate professor Dean Handley and Brent D. Bowen, with the University of Nebraska at Omaha, say more passengers have been bumped from flights this year, and the flights they do manage to find room on are often delayed. And yes, there were also more lost bags in 2006, than in the year previous.

"They just don't get it yet," said Headley, adding the report does not include data on the weather-related ground holds and delays experienced recently by many passengers.

Weather did play a major role in the industry's abysmal showing, said Air Transport Association spokesman David Castelveter to The Associated Press. Castelveter adds increased air traffic in the coming years will only make matters worse, unless Congress loosens its pursestrings to fund a new ATC system.

"We're going to see more delays and those delays translate to cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers," said Castelveter. "It's not a pretty picture."

Low-cost niche carrier JetBlue saw its three-year run at the top of the AQR fall to second place, below Hawaiian Airlines and just above third-place AirTran. Hawaiian, making its first appearance on the list, also had the best on-time performance, followed by Frontier Airlines and Southwest.

Hawaiian may also claim it misplaces passengers' bags less frequently that its competitors, according to the report. On average, 6.5 bags were lost for every 1,000 passengers in 2006 -- an increase from 6.06/1,000 in 2005 -- a trend Headley blames on cutbacks to ground staffing by several carriers.

Regional operator Atlantic Southeast Airlines suffered worst-place showings on two of the most prominent lists -- highest number of lost bags, and highest number of bumped passengers.

Curiously, at least one airline is moving towards charging passengers for the privilege of playing Samsonite roulette. Spirit Airlines plans a $5-per-bag charge on the first two checked bags, reports the AP. But that's only if the passenger books his or her ticket online; if they go to the counter with their luggage, it's $10.

Headley expressed doubts such a scheme will be well-received by passengers. "It will set off an absolute atomic bomb," he said.

Overall, Southwest had the fewest customer complaints, with .018 received per 100,000 passengers. US Airways and United tied for the worst record in this regard, with 1.36 per 100,000 fliers. Overall, the industry averaged .88 complaints/100,000 passengers -- despite the worsening of the overall travel experience.

"It just seems to me that consumer expectations have been lowered," Headley said, noting that in 2000 the industry saw a higher number of complaints, even though problems with baggage and delays were less frequent.

FMI: www.aqr.aero, www.airlines.org