Delta Takes the Cake
In the 14th Annual Business Travel News Airline Survey, Delta Air Lines came in as the top contender, bumping the 2010 winner, Continental Airlines, down to second place under its new identity: United. According to BTN’s survey results, Delta earned “the highest ratings from corporate travel buyers in five out of ten service-delivery categories.” It was Delta’s flexibility in structuring transient and meetings pricing that garnered their first place hold. Likewise, the airline outranked all domestic competitors in complaint/problem resolution, distribution channel availability, and quality of communications.
American Airlines, the silver medal winner of 2010, slipped to fourth place in this year’s results, a likely consequence of diminishing service and aggressive efforts to reign in its third-party distribution. However, the biggest jumper of the year was US Airways, who improved from the bottom of the barrel in 2010 to third place this time around.
Some have pointed to the Continental-United merger as a factor for Delta taking the prize, stating that the new company is still working through its integraton. United senior vice president of worldwide sales, Dave Hilfman, was quoted as saying “Integration is tough, but we’re pleased thus far with the progress.” If nothing else, it’s fair to say that Continental is helping to improve United, who has typically fallen in the middle of the pack in previous years.