20 May 2008
American Customer Satisfaction Index Report
Posted by Debo Hobo under: Travel-General .
An annual survey being released today by the University of Michigan found customers giving airlines the worst grades since 2001, with the industry’s overall scores dropping for the third straight year.
Airlines: More Turbulence Ahead
Customer satisfaction with airlines drops to its lowest point since 2001, falling for a third year in a row. Faced with the soaring cost of jet fuel, airlines are raising ticket prices, overbooking flights, and charging extra fees for checking more than one bag and for “premium” seats.
Continental Airlines and US Airways suffer the largest nosedives. Continental’s ACSI score plummets 10% to 62, while US Airways falls12% to 54. The four airlines at the bottom of the industry are also in various stages of merger talks. United Airlines, which scored 56 for a second consecutive year, is contemplating a merger with US Airways. Northwest (-7% to 57) and Delta (+2% to 60) recently announced that they are going to merge.
“When it comes to mergers, combining two negatives doesn’t make a positive,” said Fornell. “Passenger satisfaction is dismal, and things probably won’t get any better if airlines continue to charge more for less.”
American Airlines improves 3% to match the industry average, but it should be noted that ACSI reflects the first quarter, which was prior to the large cancellation of flights in which more than 100,000 of American’s passengers were affected.
Southwest continues to be a bright spot (+4% to 79). The airline has led the industry in passenger satisfaction for the past 15 years, and is one of only three airlines to improve since last year. Its strong ACSI results kept the airlines from setting a record low.
Hotels: You Get What You Pay for
Marriott (-1%), Hyatt (+1%) and Hilton (+3%) are tied at the top of the industry at 78. Budget hotels such as Choice Hotels (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and Econo Lodge) and Best Western are at the other end of the scale, scoring 71 and 70 respectively. These results underscore something that is more common than not: the strong impact of quality and the relatively weak effect of price on satisfaction.
The hotel industry ties an all-time high after improving 6% to 75. Much of the gain can be attributed to the “all others” category, which leaps 9% to 76 and includes smaller budget hotel chains and luxury resorts.
I have such a distaste for Southwest Airlines. From its bullying of passenger to its horrible seating process I am amazed they are still in the business. But, according to this report, the American Customer Satisfaction Index, I am the only one that feels this way.
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Not that anyone’s particularly surprised. But thanks for all the hard facts on the matter!