Wichita State and Saint Louis University researchers issued a report that ranks America’s airlines, utilizing data collected from the Department of Transportation. The report ranked U.S. low cost carriers above legacy carriers, judging primarily on on-time performance and baggage handling. Researchers said that airlines still have been under-performing, but on-time arrivals and customer complaint rates have dropped since last summer.
Hawaiian Airlines best in on-time performance, leading with 92 percent for the January thru June period. The leader in least mishandled bags award goes to AirTran Airways. Southwest Airlines cleaned up with the best in customer complaints award (one for every 300,000 customers). And finally, JetBlue Airways had the fewest denied passenger boardings. Overall the report fairs well for low-cost carriers – but who doesn’t it fair for? AMR Corp.’s American Airlines was a loser, having 63.2% of their flights arrive on-time, and American Eagle mishandled the most bags. Complaint wise, United Airlines had the most.
On Friday the Department of Transportation issued a report reading “19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 84.9 percent in September, higher than both September 2007’s 81.7 percent and August 2008’s 78.4 percent.” I believe airline travel is on the upswing: on-time and baggage wise. These reports show the dominance and power of low-cost airlines, more specifically how their operation departments have really hit-the-nail-on-the-head when it comes to running a smooth and efficient airline. Low ticket prices, on-time flights, and fewer mishandled bags have allowed low-cost carriers to rise above the legacy carriers.
Image: flickr.com
