RATING THE AIRLINES; SOUTHWEST STAYS 1ST IN PASSENGERS' VIEW.Byline: Glen Johnson Glen Johnson may refer to:
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Passengers are increasingly upset with the treatment they receive from airlines despite apparent gains in overall quality, an annual study says. Rating the major airlines individually, the study puts Southwest at the top again. US Airways airways Anatomy The 'pipes'–trachea, bronchi, bronchioles–through which air passes to and from the alveoli. See Small airways. is 10th and last. The most common complaints stemmed from flight trouble, including delayed, canceled and diverted flights. But the university researchers who conducted the study said passengers often weren't as upset with those problems as with their airlines' inability or refusal to explain the situation accurately. ``A lot of times they consider an ignorant consumer is bliss,'' said Dean Headley Dean Warren Headley (born 27 January, 1970 in Stourbridge) is an English cricketer. He comes from a famous cricketing family, being the son of Ron Headley and grandson of George Headley. He remains the only test cricketer to be both the son and grandson of test cricketers. , a marketing professor at Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is an American state-supported university located in the city of Wichita, Kansas. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current President is Dr. Donald Beggs. . He co-authored the survey with Brent Bowen of the University of Nebraska Aviation Institute. The study, released Monday, ranked the quality of the nation's major carriers, with Southwest at the top for a third straight year. In its first year in the survey, Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates hubs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Portland International Airport. jumped into second place. The previous No. 2, American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the , fell to fourth. Continental Airlines, which has concentrated on improving its on-time performance and baggage handling, rose to third. In 1994, Houston-based Continental ranked last in the annual study, known as the Airline Quality Rating, which analyzes airlines with more than $1 billion in annual business. Rounding out the new list were United Airlines in fifth place, Delta Air Lines in sixth, Northwest Airlines in seventh, America West in eighth and TWA TWA Time-weighted average, see there in ninth, as well as US Airways in 10th. The researchers base their ratings on 19 criteria, including on-time arrivals and departures, safety, age of aircraft, number of accidents and mishandled baggage. The factors are weighted in importance, based on a passenger survey. While the 1997 study found the airlines operating at their highest statistical level since the ratings started seven years ago, Bowen and Headley also found consumer dissatisfaction at an all-time high. There was a 20 percent increase in the number of complaints filed with the Department of Transportation, mostly concerning treatment at check-in and aboard flights. Other findings of the study: Southwest had the best on-time performance for the year, with flights arriving on time 82 percent of the time. United had the most mishandled bags, 67 per 10,000 passengers. America West generated the most complaints to the Transportation Department, 1.51 per 100,000 passengers. CAPTION(S): Photo, Chart PHOTO (Color) A Southwest plane takes off from Burbank. A new survey ranks Southwest first in customer satisfaction for the third consecutive year. Michael Owen
CHART: TOP AIRLINES; Airline ratings in a recent survey were based on 19 criteria, including on-time performance, safety, customer complaints, price of ticket and mishandled baggage. A look. Source: Air Travel Consumer Report, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings Associated Press |
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