Posted on: Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Low-fare carriers gaining ground
Advertiser News Services
WASHINGTON — The quality of airline service deteriorated in 2004 after rising in each of the three previous years, according to the 15th annual Airline Quality Rating report released yesterday.
Associated Press Rating of the top 16 U.S. carriers 1) Jet Blue 2) AirTran 3) Southwest 4) United 5) Alaska 6) America West 7) Northwest 8) American 9) Continental 10) ATA 11) Delta 12) U.S. Airways 13) American Eagle 14) SkyWest 15) Comair 16) Atlantic Southwest Source: Airline Quality Rating report Brent Bowen, a co-author of the report and director of the University of Nebraska's aviation institute, said the traditional big airlines may just go away, leaving low-fare carriers and regional airlines.
"Five years ago, low-fare carriers had a 5 to 7 percent market share," said Dean Headley, the study's other author and an associate professor at Wichita State University. "Today, the low-fare airlines have a 25 percent share."
Low-fare carriers are succeeding because they have less complicated, more profitable route structures than the traditional airlines, Headley said. That makes it easier to keep customers satisfied, he said.
The Airline Quality Rating study is based on Transportation Department statistics for airlines that carry at least 1 percent of the 630 million passengers who flew domestically last year.
Five of the top six ranked airlines are low-fare carriers. JetBlue Airways Corp. was ranked as offering the best service, followed by AirTran Airways, Southwest Airlines Inc., UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, part of Alaska Air Group Inc., and America West Airlines, part of America West Holdings Corp.
Two regional carriers carried enough passengers to be ranked for the first time: Cincinnati-based Comair, a feeder airline owned by Delta Air Lines Inc., and SkyWest Inc., which has headquarters in St. George, Utah. Atlantic Southeast, another Delta-owned feeder airline, made its debut on the list last year.
The regional carriers were ranked at the bottom of the list for quality, with American Eagle rated 13th, followed by SkyWest, Comair and Atlantic Southeast.
The study's authors said regional airlines have unique challenges. They're more likely to be late, for example, because they tend to fly into hub airports, which get backed up in bad weather.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said the quality of service makes little difference to airline customers.
"The only quality that passengers are concerned about is the quality of the low fares," Stempler said.
As a rule, airlines generally arrived later, lost more luggage and caused more consumer complaints in 2004 than they did the year before, the report found.
Only four of the 14 major airlines rated in both 2003 and 2004 were found to have improved — AirTran, Atlantic Southeast, JetBlue and United.
The study also found:
• On-time performance worsened last year, with 78.3 percent of flights arriving on time, down from 82 percent in 2003. • Complaints about airline service rose 27 percent last year, a much higher increase than the 3.3 percent growth in passengers. • Last year, 4.83 bags were lost, stolen or damaged for every 1,000 passengers.
• There was a small increase in the number of passengers "bumped," or denied boarding for space — 0.87 passengers per 10,000 boardings in 2004, up from 0.86 per 10,000 in 2003.
The report, which ranked the 16 biggest U.S. carriers, also found that low-fare carriers led by JetBlue Airways delivered better service than most traditional airlines last year.
United Airlines was No. 4 on the Airline Quality Rating report on the 16th biggest U.S. carriers. United was the only traditional big airline to make the top six. The report said airlines generally arrived later, lost more luggage and drew more consumer complaints in 2004.
AIRLINE QUALITY
