Newer aircraft, better overhead lockers and cheap fares have seen satisfaction with airlines among North American passengers hit a new high.
Despite an ongoing torrent of online complaints, the annual J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction Study found overall passenger satisfaction hit a record 762 out of 1000 in 2018, up six points on 2017.
The study looked at 11,508 passengers who flew on a North American airline between March, 2017 and March, 2018.
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It covered seven areas (in order of importance): cost and fees; in-flight services; aircraft; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; check-in; and reservation.
The overall improvement was driven with increased satisfaction with aircraft (up 15 points), a better experience with boarding, deplaning and baggage (up 10 points) as well as with reservations (up 11 points).
Surprisingly, satisfaction with costs and fees rose eight points.
A downside was device connectivity: passengers with seatback screens were more satisfied than those forced to use their own devices.
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People using their own devices felt the variety of in-flight entertainment was not as good.
“With a single exception, airlines in North America show consistent improvements across all the factors, from booking a ticket to handling luggage,” said Michael Taylor, Travel Practice Lead at J.D. Power.
“Operationally, it’s never been a better time to fly. Passengers perceive greater value in ticket prices, checking in has never been easier, passengers are more satisfied with the actual aircraft and airlines have improved their baggage-handling performance.
“The exception is in the in-flight services factor, which includes food, beverage and entertainment systems.”
Alaska Airlines (775 points) topped the traditional airline rankings for the 11th consecutive year followed by Delta Air Lines (767 points). American Airlines (729 points) and United Airlines (708/points) were both below the traditional carrier segment average of 741 points.
The study said Alaska performed particularly well in all seven areas with much of the improvement coming from new overhead bins that better fit roll-on bags.
Southwest Airlines (818 points) was the highest ranking low-cost carrier for the second consecutive year.
Most improved were Allegiant, which rose 58 points to 725, and Air Canada, up 25 points to 734.
