Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Top J.D. Power Airline Satisfaction Study

Alaska Air Group Inc.'s Alaska Airlines ranked highest in the traditional carrier segment for the ninth consecutive year, while JetBlue Airways Corp. was No. 1 in the low-cost segment for the 11th year running, according to the J.D. Power and Associates' annual North America Airline Satisfaction Study.

The research, an online survey of more than 10,000 passengers who flew on a major North American carrier between March 2015 and March 2016, found that Alaska Airlines made gains in all seven of the factors measured, raising its score 32 points to 751 out of a possible 1,000, the largest improvement of any airline in the study.

Among the traditional carriers, Delta Air Lines Inc., retained its second-place ranking with a score of 725 points, an improvement of 16 points from 2015. Delta improved by double-digits in six of the seven factors, J.D. Power said. In order of importance, passengers satisfaction was measured for costs and fees; in-flight service; boarding, deplaning and baggage; flight crew; aircraft; check-in; and reservations.

American Airlines Group Inc. came in third, with an overall score of 693, followed by Air Canada, with 681 and United Continental Holdings Inc., last with 675 points, an increase of 10 points from 2015.

Among the low-fare airlines, JetBlue came in on top, with a score of 790, which was down 11 points from a year ago. No. 2 ranked Southwest Airlines Co. improved its score by eight points to 789, according to J.D. Power. Canada's WestJet Airlines Ltd. came in third at 723 and Frontier Airlines Inc., a U.S. ultra-discounter came in last at 662.

Passenger ratings of costs and fees, the most important of the seven factors representing 28% of the index, was the highest in the past decade. J.D. Power said that stemmed from lower fares, less annoyance with ancillary fees and a belief by customers that they are getting additional value. This factor is rising at a faster rate among the traditional airlines, but low-fare carriers have a 100-point advantage over them.

In-flight service, while the lowest scoring factor, was up 12 points in 2016, to 650, J.D. Power said, lifted by improvements in in-flight entertainment. "We see satisfaction rising across all the touch points of the passenger experience," said Rick Garlick, J.D. Powers' global travel and hospitality practice lead. "Airlines are making positive strides by adding value to products and services with newer and cleaner planes, improving on-time arrivals and bumping fewer passengers from their flights."

For the first time in the study's 12-year history, satisfaction among business travelers exceeded that of leisure travelers by eight points, or 733 compared with 725 respectively.

Write to Susan Carey at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2016 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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