A new airline satisfaction poll puts Southwest, JetBlue and Delta at the top of the charts. But Canadian airlines came away with below average scores.
The annual J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study 2023 finds Southwest on top among Economy/Basic Economy airlines with a score of 827. Delta was number one for Premium Economy, totaling 848 points. For First Class/Business Class, JetBlue scored the best mark with 893 points.
Air Canada was fifth out of six airlines in First/Business, with a mark of 830. That’s below the average score of 846 in the category.
For Premium Economy, Air Canada had a score of 797, again fifth out of six airlines ranked in the category. The average score for premium economy airlines was 820.
For Economy/Basic Economy, WestJet scored 777 points. That was good for fifth place out of 11 airlines, but below the average score of 782. Air Canada had 765 points, putting in the eighth spot and also below the average score.
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study measures passenger satisfaction with airline carriers in North America based on performance in eight factors (in alphabetical order): aircraft; baggage; boarding; check-in; cost and fees; flight crew; in-flight services; and reservation.
J.D. Power officials said overall passenger satisfaction this year was 791 (on a 1,000-point scale), down seven points from a year ago. This is the second consecutive year of waning passenger satisfaction, following a 22-point decline in 2022 from 2021.
“If yield management were the only metric airlines needed to be successful in the long term, this would be a banner year for the industry because they are operating at peak economic efficiency,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power. “From the customer perspective, however, that means planes are crowded, tickets are expensive and flight availability is constrained. While these drawbacks have not yet put a dent in leisure travel demand, if this trend continues, travelers will reach a breaking point and some airline brands may be damaged.”
If you total scores in all three service classes, JetBlue comes out top in North America with 2,533 points. Delta was close behind with 2,514.
The Mayan ruins at Tulum, south of Cancun. JIM BYERS PHOTO
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