US Airways Highest Complaint Rate

[700UW]

Among the study's conclusions:

_Southwest Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints, 0.18 per 100,000 passengers, while US Airways had the highest, 1.86.

_ATA had the highest rate of denied boardings, 2.75 per 10,000 passengers; JetBlue had the lowest at 0.

_AirTran had the best baggage handling rate, mishandling 3.43 bags per 1,000 passengers; and Atlantic Southeast had the worst, (mishandling 17.41 bags per 1,000 passengers.

Artilce

 

[john john]

Atlantic Southeast had the worst, (mishandling 17.41 bags per 1,000 passengers.

Artilce

Weight restrictions bumped bags

 

[autofixer]

I just goes to show that "it" is price. People do not mind being jammed into a corral and forced to stand and wait while the previous flight unloads. They do not mind not having assigned seating or first class. They do not mind not having interline baggage. Customers do not want to be jammed into an sewer pipe with jet engines (RJs). Point to point flying reduces delays, baggage loss, etc. The Hub and Spoke is dead and legacy management is still years behind.

Customers do want what they perceive as a fair deal. Customers do want consistancy-no RJ this week and a 767 next week. Customers do want frequency of schedule. Customers do want their bags to arrive on the same airplane as they do.

 

[SKY HIGH]

SWA is only the lowest price about a quarter of the time, so price isn't the only driver. SWA markets the
"Cheap" so well some people never even compare elsewhere.

It's all about managed expectations.

sKY high states: Actually you CANT COMPLAIN about "service" you dont get. Example: First class, interline baggage, Airline clubs, Business class, hot meals, assigned seating, Movies, upgrades...etc..etc

 

[BoeingBoy]

The entire 2006 AQR is here.

sKY high states: Actually you CANT COMPLAIN about "service" you dont get.

Actually, you can.....if you expect a service and don't get it. Hence Piney's comments about "managing expectations".

WN promises little other than transportation for a reasonable price and does a pretty good job of delivering on that promise. Even B6, despite all their on-time problems last year, came in #1 again.

US, and to degrees other legacies, promise lots but aren't as consistent in the delivery. Remember the "vendor problem" that led to box lunches in FC on transcons, buy on board in back and no food in FC, baggage problems, etc, etc.

Consistancy seems to be the key. Toward the end of the full report are charts showing the monthly score for each rated airline. Notice the airlines that have pretty consistent results - no big peaks and valleys - and compare that with their overall ranking. Ergo, deliver a consistent product - whatever that product is - and the customer knows what to expect. Deliver it consistently, and the customer isn't disappointed, and is less likely to have anything to complain about.

The legacy carriers can be thankful for one thing - the AQR ranks airlines, not airline systems, by default for that is the way BTS publishes the data. If you look at the rankings, the bottom third is populated by the express affiliates of legacy airlines (except US' presence there). Ranking the entire system of each legacy would make the comparison to WN, B6, and FL that much worse.

Jim

 

[flyingcat]

Oh great the AQR.

It always makes me laugh how these universities actually believe the data they come up with. In general the methods the AQR uses to get to its conclusions border on academic fraud.

I would not read too much into it. If anyone in them media actually understood the "report", they would never report it. It would be more accurate to use the freddie awards.

 

[LCC_#1]

Not to worry. With the turmoil at NWA and DAL, we will soon find ourselves far from the bottom.

 

[jimntx]

SWA will IMO always be lower because they do a better job of setting and then exceeding customer expectations.

SWA is only the lowest price about a quarter of the time, so price isn't the only driver. SWA markets the
"Cheap" so well some people never even compare elsewhere.

It's all about managed expectations.

Amen. When I was on a layover in LAS last month, I bought a Sunday Las Vegas paper. In the travel section, they had a "lowest fares" feature superimposed on a U.S. map. It showed lowest published fares to every major city (both 1st and 2nd tier) in the U.S. from LAS.

Southwest did not have the lowest fare in a single market--not even to Phoenix or Houston! The graphic showed America West for Phoenix (I guess they haven't heard about the new U.S. Airways, yet. ) and CO for Houston.

Yet, I bet if you asked the average vacation traveler who has the lowest fares to LAS, the answer would be Southwest.

 

[john john]

Not to worry. With the turmoil at NWA and DAL, we will soon find ourselves far from the bottom.

So will they move down and LCC then moves up is this how this transformation works

 

[Flying Titan]

Oh great the AQR.

It always makes me laugh how these universities actually believe the data they come up with. In general the methods the AQR uses to get to its conclusions border on academic fraud.

I would not read too much into it. If anyone in them media actually understood the "report", they would never report it. It would be more accurate to use the freddie awards.

Cat -
In terms of accuracy in absolute terms, you're probably right because the source data is suspect. However, in relative terms it's not a useless measuring stick. The problems that cause the numbers to be innacurate for one airline exist for all of the carriers. Also, the same holds true for relative year-to-year comparisons. The problems with the report are the same this year as they were last year and the year before.

The one variable that may unfairly favor some carriers over others was pointed out by Piney. In some regions of the country, I would guess that people are more likely to complain, particularly the northeast, thus providing a bit of an advantage for carriers like NWA and SWA with a limited presence in this part of the country.

Mike Boyd rips the report for not factoring in problems like the TSA stealing bags. While this may be true, does he think TSA is stealing more bags this year than they did last year or that more bags are being stolen at IAH or PHL than at ORD or MIA? Assuming that the TSA theft levels aren't dramatically different, then this doesn't really impact CO, US, UA or AA any differently.

Great report? NO. But, it does have some value, particularly since I don't know of anyone who has come up with a better measure.

 

[LCC_#1]

So will they move down and LCC then moves up is this how this transformation works

Read into it what you want.

 

[a320av8r]

The survey was for 2005. We had a lot going on then.
This year should be better. Customers want to get from A to B for a low low fare.

 

[OldGuyinPA]

The new policy when weight restrictions apply...send the bags ..leave the customers. Somehow, I don't get it...

Go AC.

 

[Dorf]

The new policy when weight restrictions apply...send the bags ..leave the customers. Somehow, I don't get it..."

If you leave the bags it costs $$$ every time to deliver them. If you leave the customers and give them a free round trip ticket(usually good for 1 year) as compensation, statistics show that over 60% of the freebies are never used.

Dorf

 

[Henderfuzz]

Or how about just put them on another airline. Like everyday when Mesa is late or cancels another flt.
The Pax have begun to figure it out. Riding on one of those
long tubs just dont get it for any price especially if the flight is over 2 hours.