Despite a slew of headline-worthy incidents, it appears that customer satisfaction is on the rise for traditional and low-cost North American airlines, at least according to the latest J.D. Power study.
J.D. Power’s 2017 North American Airline Satisfaction Study attributed the rise in customer satisfaction to lower fares, better on-time performance, fewer lost bags and the lowest bump rate ever recorded.
“It’s impossible to think about airline customer satisfaction without replaying the recent images of a passenger being dragged from a seat, but our data shows that, as a whole, the airline industry has been making marked improvements in customer satisfaction across a variety of metrics, from ticket cost to flight crew,” said Michael Taylor, travel practice lead at J.D. Power. “As recent events remind us, however, airlines have significant room for improvement. Airlines still rank among the bottom tier of most service industries tracked by J.D. Power."
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study, now in its 13th year, measures passenger satisfaction with North American airline carriers based on performance in seven factors (in order of importance): cost & fees; in-flight services; aircraft; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; check-in; and reservation.
Scores are higher this year than one year ago in all of the study factors that measure customer satisfaction. This performance contributes to the steady improvement in customer satisfaction.
Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.
Following are some of the key findings of the 2017 study, as reported by J.D. Power:
- Overall satisfaction reaches for the sky: Overall satisfaction with the airline industry in 2017 increases by a significant 30 points to 756, continuing a trend of steady performance increases that began in 2013. Both traditional and low-cost carriers have shown improvement, with the traditional carriers continuing to close the satisfaction gap (740 vs. 784, respectively).
- Lower costs, fewer problems, satisfaction with crews drive improvement: The average North American airfare fell 8.5% in 2016 to $349, helping to drive satisfaction levels in the cost and fees factor in the study to the highest level since 2006. Improved on-time performance, fewer lost bags, historically low bump rates and high scores for flight crews contribute to the increase.
- Social media is feedback tool of choice: Among business travelers, 21% posted a comment about their airline experience on social media, while 8% of leisure travelers did the same. It is worth noting that nearly three-fourths of social media comments are described as “positive” by those posting. The most commonly used social media platforms are Facebook (81%) and Twitter (41%). When an airline responds to any post there is a 121-point lift in passenger satisfaction.
- “Ladies and gentlemen, the overhead bins are full…”: After a slight dip in 2016, passenger problems with overhead storage has become more common, with 14% of passengers in 2017 reporting this as an issue on their flight. Satisfaction among flyers having difficulty with overhead storage is 82 points lower than among those who don’t have difficulty. The problem is inversely related to age, as younger travelers are more likely to experience a storage issue.
- Bumping occurs infrequently—but significantly affects satisfaction: Although instances of denial of boarding and re-booking to another flight (bumping) have reached historic lows in frequency, they have the greatest negative influence on overall satisfaction. However, when there are delays, such as those caused by weather or mechanical issues, satisfaction levels fall by 101 points when a traditional carrier is delayed and by 59 points for a low-cost carrier delay.
J.D. Power also released rankings for the airlines with the highest customer satisfaction levels. The company reported that Alaska Airlines ranked highest among traditional carriers—for the 10th consecutive year—with an index score of 765. Delta Airlines ranked second with a 758 score.
Meanwhile, among low-cost carriers, Southwest Airlines took the top spot for the first time with a score of 807, improving across all seven factors measured. JetBlue Airways ranked second with an 803 score.
According to travel industry website Skift, Hawaiian Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air were not included in the J.D. Power Study, as the three airlines did not meet J.D. Power’s criteria for inclusion.
The J.D. Power-led study measures passenger satisfaction among both business and leisure travelers, and is based on responses from 11,015 passengers who flew on a major North American airline between March 2016 and March 2017. The most recent study was fielded between April 2016 and March 2017.
More information about the Airline Satisfaction Study is available on the J.D. Power website.
