Newer planes, better ticket value and improved customer touchpoints have driven overall satisfaction with North American airlines to another record high, with legacy carriers showing the biggest improvement.
The JD Power North American Airline Satisfaction study shows overall satisfaction with airlines rose 11 points to 773 out of 1000.
The survey found the gains in customer satisfaction were driven by traditional carriers whose segment satisfaction score increased by 22 points compared to 2018.
This was driven by improvements on the ground rather than with in-flight services, which continue to be the worst-ranked part of the traveler experience.
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By contrast, the low-cost carrier segment score declined by six points.
Alaska Airlines ranked highest among the traditional carriers for the 12th consecutive year with a score of 801, followed by Delta Airlines (788) and American Airlines (764).
Below average ratings were recorded by Air Canada (729) and United Airlines (723).
Airlines continue to deliver on the operational side of air travel,” said JD Power travel intelligence lead Michael Taylor.
“New technology investments have dramatically improved the reservation and check-in process. Fleets are newer and travelers generally feel that they are getting great value for their money.
“These improvements have been most profound in the traditional carrier segment, where customer satisfaction has climbed considerably.”
JetBlue and Southwest Airlines tied for the top spot in the low-cost carrier category at 817 points.
This put the segment average at 793, compared to 763 for traditional carriers.
LCC’s scoring below average were WestJet (758) Spirit Airlines (711) and Frontier Airlines (702).
“While low-cost carriers have historically had the highest levels of customer satisfaction in our study, due to a strong sense of value for money among customers, that line is starting to blur as traditional carriers improve their services and operations,” Taylor said.
“The one area where both traditional and low-cost carriers can still improve, however, is in in-flight services.
“It continues to be the lowest-ranked factor in the study, as many airlines still struggle with in-flight entertainment, connectivity, in-seat power and food service.”
The survey found in-flight services that had the greatest positive effect on customer satisfaction were fresh food, seatback games and seatback television.
