 |
SAVVY TRAVELER |
|
||
 |
|
|
Are American airlines getting an unfair rap from passengers and travel writers? Not according to a yearlong poll, conducted by London-based Skytrax, released last June that received 12 million responses from frequent fliers of 94 countries who were asked to grade the world's airlines.
The study looked at the entire travel process, from booking a ticket to arriving at a destination. Airlines, both foreign and domestic, were evaluated for their performance both on the ground and aloft. Criteria included efficiency, courtesy problem-solving, luggage handling, plane condition, comfort, and food, among others. All classes of service were considered.
No American carrier was among the Top 10. Cathay Pacific was No. 1 and Qantas No. 2. In fact, few U.S. carriers scored very highly at all. The only clear winner — voted the world's best low-cost airline — was JetBlue, whose energetic employees and streamlined operation appeal to budget-minded Americans.
Why can't American carriers make the grade? You might think the poor rating stems from our airlines' unique financial problems, except that business conditions are challenging for carriers all over the world.
Or you might argue that some of the best scorers are national airlines that receive generous financial assistance from their governments. OK, but what about those billion-dollar subsidies our government handed out after 9/11?
It could be a cultural thing: We Americans complain to the heavens about the discomfort, inconvenience and poor service of our airlines yet seemingly are unwilling to pay the price for additional leg room or better food. U.S. airlines are certainly aware of this.
But the failure to compete successfully against foreign airlines, according to journalist James Wysong, could be charged to the complex business environment within the U.S. that hinders our carriers:
In the U.S., flight attendants cannot be terminated at an arbitrary age, unlike pilots, and some are now great-grandmothers. Unfortunately, many male passengers are fixated on the image of those stunning young "coffee, tea or me" stewardesses of yesteryear.
The situation is entirely different abroad, where airline positions are highly sought after and employees as a whole take great pride in their jobs, their airline and in pleasing their customers.
But America's carriers, Wysong says, have at least two factors in their favor:
As for the future, let's encourage American carriers to catch up with — and even surpass — their foreign competitors to create a total travel experience that will be enjoyed, rather than endured. I, for one, am willing to pay a fair ticket price commensurate with the quality delivered.
Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.
