Air travellers’ satisfaction soar; J.D. Power 19′ study; Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest top rankers

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Several factors drove overall air travellers’ satisfaction to its highest point in history as per J.D. Power 2019 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. Some of these factors include newer planes, better ticket value and improved customer touchpoints. Overall satisfaction with airlines increases 11 points to 773 (on a 1,000-point scale), continuing an eight-year trend of satisfaction improvement.

Among the Traditional Carriers, Alaska Airlines ranked highest for 12^th consecutive year. JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines tie for highest rank among low-cost carriers.

As per Michael Taylor, Travel Intelligence Lead at J.D. Power, new technology investments have dramatically improved the reservation and check-in process. Airlines continue to deliver on the operational side of air travel. Fleets are newer and travellers generally feel that they are getting great value for their money. In the traditional carrier segment, air travellers’ satisfaction has climbed considerably.

Both traditional and low-cost carriers can still improve in-flight services. It continues to be the lowest-ranked factor in the study, as many airlines still struggle with in-flight entertainment, connectivity, in-seat power and food service.

The scores of top three airlines on the Traditional Carrier Satisfaction Index are Alaska Airlines (801); Delta Air Lines (788); American Airlines (764). The segment average is 763.

Among low-cost carriers, JetBlue Airways (817) and Southwest Airlines (817) rank highest in a tie. For Southwest, this is the third consecutive year at the top of the J.D. Power ranking. The average of this segment is 793.

Even as per the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Report 2018-2019, Airline satisfaction for the Americans has risen 1.4 per cent.

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