AS wins JD Power Award for Seventh Year

[737823]

Congrats to the AS team!

J.D. Power Study Ranks Alaska Airlines Highest in Traditional Carrier Satisfaction for Seventh Straight Year Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also receives top ranking in inaugural airline loyalty satisfaction report  5/14/2014 5:00 a.m. 
 
SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines ranked highest in airline customer satisfaction among traditional carriers for the seventh consecutive year in the J.D. Power 2014 North America Airline Satisfaction Study℠. The organization also announced today that frequent fliers ranked Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan highest in overall customer satisfaction in its first-ever Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report℠. 

"I could not be more proud of our employees for delivering the level of service that we believe helped us receive our seventh straight J.D. Power award and top honors for our Mileage Plan," Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden said. "We're very honored by this recognition from our customers and remain committed to being the easiest airline to fly."

In the overall rankings among traditional carriers, Alaska received the highest score of 737, up 20 points from last year. For the first time in seven years, customers ranked Alaska highest in every category that J.D. Power evaluates, including reservations; costs and fees; check-in; boarding/deplaning/baggage; aircraft; and flight crew.

J.D. Power 2014 North America Airline Satisfaction Study℠ is based on responses from more than 11,300 customers who flew on a major North America carrier between March 2013 and March 2014. The study measures overall customer satisfaction based on performance in seven measures (in order of importance): cost and fees; flight crew; inflight services; aircraft; boarding/deplaning/baggage; check-in; and reservation. Traditional carriers are defined as airlines that operate multi-cabin aircraft and use multiple airport hubs. 
 
http://splash.alaskasworld.com/Newsroom/ASNews/ASstories/AS_20140514_045825.asp

 
Josh

 

[700UW]

Gee those pesky Pilots, Flight Attendants, CSA, RES, Ramp and Mechanics are unionized, how can that be?
 
LOL

 

[Kev3188]

Congrats to AS! Might add a little fuel to the fire as they circle their wagons.

 

[737823]

Congrats to AS! Might add a little fuel to the fire as they circle their wagons.

 
I bet Joanne Smith, Sandy Gordon, and others at the Widget aren't happy.
 
Josh

 

[Kev3188]

I'd imagine that's a pretty safe bet...

I can only imagine what the spin from corporate will be.

 

[eolesen]

Not trying to dump cold water on a great accomplishment, but keep in mind JD Power is a pay-to-play award system.

 

[WorldTraveler]

and one that AS has done well at for years.

It is a great accomplishment but they are not in the same league as the carriers with massive national route systems. ExpressJet, SkyWest, and American Eagle cover more of the US and serve more challenging environments than AS does.

Good on AS for what they have accomplished but no one really expected them to come in below a multi-hub legacy carrier.

 

[eolesen]

Yeah, because operating in Alaska during in the winter isn't anywhere as challenging as ATL or JFK...

Alaska has long been the epitome of a customer centric airline. That's not defined by geography. It's simply part of their culture.

 

[Kev3188]

The "they're-not-real-competition-'cause-they're-small" excuse gets used a lot at the Widget when discussing AS and/or the JD Power award. 

 

[737823]

Also interesting they pull this this off when in many locations their customers don't come in contact with actual AS employees-IAM COPS workforce is ~2300 employees.
 
Josh

 

[Kev3188]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the "we-help-them-win-that-award" rationale that sometimes gets used. Now that we (DL) won't be handling them, I wonder what the answer'll be?
 
P.S. You ever come across a "bad" AS agent? I don't fly as much as I used to, but I'm not sure I ever have.

 

[WorldTraveler]

it's not hard to manage winter weather when you are the only aircraft on the ground for hours at a time, which is the case with Alaska in many cities in the winter.

No one has doubted that AS is a customer focused airline. They, like Hawaiian, run a far less complex airline than their legacy carrier peers with much less connecting traffic in cities that are far less subject to delays.

Since you mentioned ATL and JFK, do you realize that DL cancels a smaller percent of its own operation than AS, that DL had a lower lost bag claim rate than AS or HA last year and only fractionally higher this year, and that DL's On-time ratio at EWR, the only NYC operate which both DL and AS serve, is higher than AS'?

AS is a great airline. But they have succeeded because in many respects they have a model which is distinctly different from other airlines, including the lack of operational complexity, that they can succeed when compared with those other carriers. It isn't hard to deliver good customer service when the operation runs right.

remember that for years, WN was known for having some of the best on-time in the industry, the lowest complaint ratio, etc. WN made the REVENUE DRIVEN decision to expand into more difficult parts of the US, their operation has suffered, and WN is now behind other legacy carriers in their DOT statistics.

I would hardly say that WN is any less customer focused today but their scores have gone down as they have added complexity which they saw as necessary to grow their business.

Other carriers have been operating in a much more complex environment than AS or WN for years and have as strong or stronger operational and customer service metrics to show for it.

It doesn't diminish how good AS is to note that they operate in a whole lot easier environment.

In most categories not only of the DOT report, DL was right after AS, and DL was also well ahead of the other US legacy carriers and much closer to AS than to other legacies even in the JD Powers report.

It is precisely because DL's service is as good as it is that DL is not afraid of taking on AS on its home turf.

as for "we helped them win" I believe it was you, Kev, who said that DL's policy was to make sure that all available resources went to ensure that AS' operation which DL worked went well, even at the expense of DL's own.

I have a feeling that AS will find out what it really costs to get the quality of ground support that DL gave them.

 

[737823]

No I have always had great service on AS.  Everyone is happy, friendly and professional.  
 
Josh

 

[700UW]

And another thread polluted.
 
The mods should just lock this one too.
 
Its about AS NOT DL!

 

[WorldTraveler]

well looked who showed up to play cop.

Note that it was E who brought ATL and JFK into the discussion. those are DL hubs, not AS'