J.D. Power survey unveils the best airlines in the US

Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue Airways scored top positions in the preferences of over 7.000 respondents.

The survey included basic economy, premium economy, business and first class fares. The J.D. Power 2022 North America Airline Satisfaction Study assessed overall passenger satisfaction across the most popular airlines in the United States.

However, as both demand and airfares are higher than in 2021, due to the worldwide surge in oil prices, customers reported less satisfaction when compared with previous years.

Mike Taylor, J.D. Power's managing director for travel, hospitality and retail, explained:

"When you get an aircraft that's half to a third full, you think this is a great experience, but you can't maintain an industry flying planes around that are only one-third of capacity.

"There's been a greater demand, which means higher prices, less satisfaction and also that middle seat is more likely to be filled than it was a year-and-a-half, two years ago. And that, of course, kind of diminishes satisfaction among airline travellers."

Aside from the final costs, the study also assessed other air travel factors, such as aircraft, luggage policy, boarding and check-in procedures, flight crew responsiveness, in-flight services and online booking.

So, the top 5 airlines in the U.S. for the three main fare categories is:

• Economy/Basic Economy - Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, Allegiant Air and Alaska Airlines.
• Premium Economy - JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines.
• First/Business Class - JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air Canada and United Airlines.

The survey did not take into consideration any cancellations or flight disruptions.

"We're trying to measure what happened in-flight. So you have to actually be on a flight to complete the survey", Taylor concluded.

 

source: eu.usatoday.com