Airline performance up in 2008

Airline performance improved in 2008 for the first time in seven years, but industry watchers say the improvements might be fleeting.

The 19th annual national Airline Quality Rating released this week said the 2008 improvements come after the worst-ever industry score in 2007. The industry improved in all four major elements of the AQR: on-time performance, baggage handling, denied boardings and customer complaints.

The improvements, however, were less about airline changes and more about fewer passengers in the system.

“We know the system performs better when it’s less stressed by high passenger volume,” said Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University. “The economy scared away both business and leisure travelers in 2008.”

The challenge, according to the statement, is whether the airlines will continue to improve performance as the economy gets back on its feet and more people start flying again.

Some key measures of the 2008 rating:
• Of the 15 elements researchers use to judge service quality, the area that improved the most was baggage handling, which went up by 25%.

• AirTran had the best baggage handling rate, only 2.87 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. American Eagle (which services the Fort Smith Regional Airport) had the worst baggage handling rate of 9.89 per 1,000 passengers. The industry average was 5.19 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.

• Hawaiian had the best on-time performance in 2008 at 90%, while American Airlines had the worst on-time performance with 69.8%. The industry average was 76%.

• Southwest Airlines continued to have the lowest consumer complaint rate, 0.25 per 100,000 passengers. US Airways had the highest consumer complaint rate of 2.01 per 100,000 passengers. The industry average was 1.15 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

• Fifty-eight percent of all complaints to the Department of Transportation were for flight problems or baggage issues.

• US Airways was the most improved airline last year; United made the least gains.

The top 10 rated airlines:
Hawaiian
AirTran
JetBlue
Northwest
Alaska
Southwest
Frontier
Continental
American
US Airways

The Airline Quality Rating is a joint research project funded as part of faculty research activities at Saint Louis University and Wichita State University.