American Eagle had the worst Airline Quality Rating score of all the airlines rated.
Airlines are getting better in America. But that may be hard for the bedraggled frequent fliers among us to believe. The overall quality of air travel has shown improvement over the last year according to an annual assessment of U.S. airlines.
The report found flights were more likely to arrive on time to their destinations and airlines were less likely to lose passengers’ luggage.
Coauthored by Purdue’s Brent Bowen and Dean Headley of Wichita State University, the 2010 Airline Quality Rating report surveyed the country’s most-flown airlines on four criteria: on-time performance, mishandled baggage, denied boardings and consumer complaints.
But as one of the study’s authors, Purdue University professor Brent Bowen, told the AP, the industry’s improved performance “does not mean we have fixed the system.”
And indeed, while some airlines’ excellent service landed them at the top of this year’s ranking — namely first-placed Hawaiian and second-placed AirTran — the bottom half were notable for their frequently late arrivals, tendency to lose baggage, high rate of customer complaints and more common denied boardings (which were mostly the result of overbooking flights).
Check out America’s eleven worst airlines, according to 2010 Airline Quality Rating — report and vote for the ones you think are the worst:
11. US Airways
In the 2010 Airline Quality Rating report, US Airways improved in three of the four performance categories the report used to measure overall performance: baggage, customer complaints and on-time arrivals.
10. American Airlines
American Airlines averaged 1.07 customer complaints per 100,000 passengers in 2009, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
9. ExpressJet
Included in the Airline Quality Rating report for the first time, ExpressJet had the second lowest rate of customer complaints of all the airlines rated in 2009, while flight arrivals were late 21.3% of the time.
8. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines was the only airline whose AQR score declined in 2009 compared to 2008, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
7. Mesa Airlines
Mesa’s mishandled baggage rate of 4.52 per 1,000 passengers is above the industry average of 3.88 but much improved from their 2008 rate of 7.89, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
6. United Airlines
United Airlines mishandled the baggage of 4.10 passengers per 1,000 in 2009, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
5. SkyWest Airlines
SkyWest Airlines arrivals were on time 82.1% of the time in 2009, while they mishandled the baggage of 5.69 per 1,000 passengers, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
4. Delta Airlines
The Airlines Quality Ratings report showed an increase in Delta Airline’s rate of customer complaints from 1.80 per 100,000 passengers in 2008 to 1.96 in 2009.
3. Comair
Comair’s mishandled baggage rate was 6.04 per 1,000 passengers in 2009, close to twice the industry standard rate, as stated in the Airline Quality Ratings report.
2. Atlantic Southeast
The Airline Quality Rating report showed that Atlantic Southeast Airlines arrivals were late 28.8% of the time in 2009.
1. American Eagle
In 2009 American Eagle arrivals were late 22.8% of the time, with a mishandled baggage rate of 7.78 per 1,000 passengers, giving the airline the worst AQR score of all the airlines rated, according to the Airline Quality Rating report.
Via Huffington Post
