Despite increasing add-on fees, overbooked flights and other aspects of today’s airline travel, overall passenger satisfaction is actually on the rise, according to J.D. Powers’ 2010 North American Airline Satisfaction Study.
The study, which surveyed 12,300 passengers who flew on a major North American airline between April 2009 and April 2010, found that customer satisfaction had increased notably, with service on 10 out of 12 airlines ranked higher than last year. Overall passenger satisfaction rose to a three-year high of 673 on a 1,000-point scale, 15 points higher than last year.
“The fact that overall satisfaction with airlines has improved is particularly notable in light of a difficult economic year, in which add-on fees have continued to proliferate and two major airlines have merged,” says Stuart Greif, vice president of J.D. Powers’ global travel and hospitality practice.
According to Greif, the same economic factors that have led airlines to levy more fees have actually created some conditions for greater passenger satisfaction. He cites lower fares, better on-time performances because of fewer flights in the air and, because fees for checked bags mean fewer passengers are checking bags, fewer complaints about lost luggage.
No matter how passengers feel about fees for checked bags and the growing litany of other service charges, airline analysts say they have no choice but to get used to them.
“They’re a revenue source for the airlines and not likely to change,” says airline analyst Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Associates. “Basically, fees for checked baggage and the like are a way for airlines to get more money from the passenger who is not a member of a loyalty program or in business class. Airlines are not interested in catering to passengers who are not in either category.”