Survey Says Customer Satisfaction At Lowest Levels In Three
Years
Stop us if you've heard this one
before. There's another survey to tell you about, that shows
passengers are fed up with the shoddy treatment they receive at the
hands of commercial airlines.
In its annual survey of overall customer satisfaction with US
domestic carriers, J.D. Power & Associates found passengers'
opinions of airlines fell to their lowest levels in three years.
That's not entirely surprising, given recent fare hikes and added
charges for such niceties as checking your luggage.
But don't be too quick to blame the low scores on high prices,
the national marketing research firm adds. New Mexico Business
Weekly reports travelers pointed most to shoddy customer service,
not high fares, when explaining their disgruntlement.
"Across the airline experience, from check-in, to the flight, to
deplaning, passengers are being affected by the ramifications of
carriers making staff cutbacks and have expressed that performance
and attitudes of airline staff are suffering," said Sam Thanawalla,
director of the global hospitality and travel practice at J.D.
Power.
When it came to judging the best and worst airlines, customers
didn't deviate much from last year's rankings. For the third
consecutive year, JetBlue ranked highest in the low-cost segment,
and for a fourth year earned the title as the highest-rated carrier
overall. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines ranked second in the LCC
and overall rankings, ceding ground to JetBlue when it came to
aircraft interiors and in-flight amenities.
When it came to legacy carriers, Continental Airlines and Alaska
Airlines led the rankings, followed by Delta Air Lines and Air
Canada. The world's largest airline, American, ranked a dismal
fifth... but still beat out US Airways, Northwest Airlines and
United Airlines.
Passengers especially took airlines to task for a dramatic
dropoff in the so-called "people" factors -- knowledge and
helpfulness of reservation and gate agents, check-in staffing, and
flight attendants. That decrease in satisfaction was over twice as
large as the decline in satisfaction due to price factors, the
survey found.
"In this unstable industry environment, it is critical that
airlines invest in their employees as a means to enhance the
customer experience, as there is a strong connection between
employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction," said Thanawalla.
"Those airlines that focus on keeping their employees informed and
motivated will be better able to change negative consumer sentiment
and truly differentiate themselves."
The survey also found more people than ever -- 92 percent of
travelers -- are booking flights online. More passengers say they
want complimentary meals when traveling... except for younger
Generation "Y" passengers, who prefer in-flight movies instead. And
more passengers are sticking with particular carriers for their
rewards programs, which often pay off later with reduced airfares
and upgrades.
J.D. Power based the survey on responses from 19,701 passengers
who flew on major North American airlines between April 2007 and
March 2008.