What are the top ranking airlines, according to this new survey?
Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines and JetBlue Airways all earned high rankings in the annual J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, published online by the company on Wednesday.
The data analytics firm J.D Power measures eight different factors of airline performance throughout the year: aircraft, baggage, boarding, check-in, cost and fees, flight crew, in-flight services and reservation.
Grouped in three categories — first/business class, premium economy class or economy class — the report based its findings on more than 7,700 surveys from passengers in North America.
“Of the 11 carriers ranked, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines earned the top spot for each respective category,” Business Insider said.
The press release reporting the study said, “Customer satisfaction with major airlines is down significantly for a second consecutive year, introducing the risk of possible brand damage if the current pattern of price hikes, staffing shortages and reduced routes continues.”
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JetBlue Airways earned top spot for customer satisfaction in the first/business segment, followed by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, the press release said.
USA Today said that Delta Airlines came in first place for passengers flying premium economy, with JetBlue in second place and Alaska Airlines in third.
For the economy segment, the report said Southwest Airlines scored the highest, with Delta Airlines and JetBlue Airways right behind.
“This is the second year in a row that both JetBlue and Southwest won a title,” Business Insider said.
According to USA Today, the airlines with the lowest customer satisfaction reported was Spirit and Frontier Airlines.
The lowest markings in customer satisfaction came from the economy class.
“Annual declines in passenger satisfaction are most pronounced in the economy/basic economy segment where price-conscious passengers have found fewer airfare bargains this year,” the press release said.
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Business Insider said that since on-time performance was not measured, it may have advantaged certain airlines into placing high in the report.
The article said, “A company spokesperson told Insider that delay and cancelation metrics were not included in the survey because they cannot be reported on a subjective scale. However, J.D. Power said on-time performance ‘could still influence passenger perception of airlines’ even if the data is not taken into account.”
Despite the overall decrease in customer satisfaction, the report found that passengers flying premium economy reported higher customer satisfaction this year compared to last, partly due to the food and beverage perks.
Overall, food and beverage satisfaction is up 12 points from last year, which was one of the few areas that showed improvement in all segments of the report.
