Airline satisfaction scores tumble, says new report

The latest University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index reports persistent problems in the way airlines treat their customers.

Citing “disenchanted employees, increasing fuel costs, bankruptcy and…record levels of lost, delayed, and damaged luggage,” ACSI says airline first quarter 2007 scores fell 3 percent compared to the same period last year. The cumulative score of 63 represented the Index’s “lowest level in seven years”.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index is based on a 100-point scale.

Prominent plunges in customer satisfaction came at United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. United’s numbers were down 11 percent, resulting in a score of 56. “United is now the lowest-scoring airline by a substantial margin,” says ACSI. Delta’s score fell 8 percent to 59. ASCI says labor cuts at the nation’s third-largest carrier exacted “a high price” in terms of customer satisfaction.

Who’s hot? Discount airline Southwest, says ACSI. Its score increased; from 73 to 76 when comparing the first quarter of this year to the same period in 2006. “With no assigned seating, a quirky-fun corporate culture, and a business model of limited, manageable growth, Southwest has a recipe or combining passenger satisfaction and financial success that has eluded its competitors,” asserts the report.

What are the implications of all this for airlines that fall short? Passengers could vote with their pocketbooks especially in markets where there are competitive carriers. “Companies may begin to see narrowing profit margins unless there is further improvement in customer satisfaction,” says Claes Fornell, U of M Professor and Director of the University’s Quality Research Center.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler