Alpha Flight Guru Travel Blog
06.13.2012

Low-Cost Airlines Dominate J.D. Power Satisfaction Survey

Posted By Wilton0 Comments

J.D. Power and Associates, the consumer surveying powerhouse division of McGraw Hill, released the results of a new survey today that suggests airlines need to work harder to keep our love! The results demonstrated a slight decline in passenger satisfaction with North American airlines over the past year and the displeasing results come after two consecutive years of satisfaction growth with U.S. and Canadian airlines alike.

Nevertheless, the some 13,500 plus passengers who flew between May 2011 and April 2012 and participated in the J.D. Power survey suggested that, overall, they’re just not feeling romanced. Interestingly, these results contradict recent U.S. Transportation Department results, which suggested that airlines actually improved performance in 2011. Surprising? We think not.

However, it’s the major airlines that really need to take notice of customer complaints as the rankings for low-cost airlines – JetBlue, Southwest, WestJet, AirTran and Frontier - reached a six-year high. JetBlue received the highest marks of these airlines, with a score of 776 out of 1000.

Alaska Airlines took home the gold of the seven traditional airlines surveyed – Alaska, Air Canada, Delta, Continental, American, United and US Airways – with a score of 678, nearly 100 points lower than JetBlue. Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden thanked all of Alaska’s dedicated employees for their commitment “to safety, customer service, and cutting-edge innovation.”

Such innovation is precisely what other airline carriers need, according to J.D. Power representatives (and according to us)! Jessica McGregor, a J.D. Power senior manager, suggested that airlines need to “provide passengers with greater control, save them time, reduce hassles, and make the airline experience more enjoyable and comfortable.” We think Jessica just got a spot on our Christmas Gift list!