Study Says Airline Industry Improves Performance; U.S. Airways Tops Rankings

4/7/2003

From: Tim Kaldahl of UNO, 402-554-3502 or tkaldahl@mail.unomaha.edu Joe Kleinsasser of WSU, 316-978-3013 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu

WASHINGTON, April 7 -- Improvement is the big news coming out of this year's national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study that was announced today at a news conference in Washington D.C. For 2002, research shows that the industry average AQR score has improved overall, and the majority of the largest airlines are performing at a higher level.

U.S. Airways moved from second place last year to the top spot in this year's survey. Although Alaska Airlines' score improved from last year, they dropped from the top spot in last year's rankings to second place in the current study.

The AQR ranked the 10 major airlines as follows for 2002: 1) U.S. Airways, 2) Alaska, 3) Southwest, 4) America West, 5) Continental, 6) American, 7) Delta, 8) United, 9) Northwest, and 10) American Eagle. TWA was purchased by American Airlines and no longer appears in the rankings.

The AQR is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the largest domestic U.S. airlines operating during 2002. Co-researchers Brent Bowen, director and professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Aviation Institute/School of Public Administration, and Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University (WSU), used 15 elements important to consumers when judging the quality of airline service.

The rating is conducted annually by the UNO Aviation Institute and the W. Frank Barton School of Business at WSU. The AQR, as an industry standard, provides consumers and industry watchers a means to compare quality among airlines using objective performance-based data. It is a cooperative research project funded as part of faculty research activities at UNO and WSU.

"It's interesting to note that despite the financial problems faced by the industry, we are seeing marked improvements across the board," Bowen said. "Only one of the airlines (American Eagle) we ranked showed a noticeable decline. Eight others improved; one (Northwest) stayed virtually the same." The eight improved airlines are Alaska, America West, American, Continental, Delta, Southwest, United, and U.S. Airways.

Bowen added that United Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 protection, registered the largest AQR score improvement.

"Airline quality has improved for the second consecutive year. That's a good thing, but it should have improved given that there are fewer passengers and fewer scheduled flights," Headley said. "A simpler system should make it easier to perform well. Let's hope the airlines can remember the importance of taking care of passengers when times get better."

Criteria included in the AQR are screened to meet two basic elements: 1) They must be readily obtainable from published data sources for each airline, and 2) they must be important to consumers regarding airline quality. The resulting criteria include areas such as baggage handling, customer complaints, denied boardings and on-time arrivals.

"Even though the public may face more difficulty in getting into the airport because of security concerns, once they get to their flight that experience is better," Headley said.

"As far as the industry getting busier and serving more passengers, that really remains a good question," Bowen said. "As long as the economy stays weak and military action is a concern, the flying public will not use air travel the way they did a few years ago."

Other major industry findings in this year's study include: -- As an industry, the on-time arrival percentage improved to 82.1 percent in 2002 compared to 77.4 percent in 2001. -- In a category where decreases are good, U.S. airlines mishandled 3.84 bags per 1,000 passengers, down from the 2001 rate of 4.55. -- There was a 16 percent improvement in the industry "bump rate." Only 0.72 passengers per 10,000 boardings were involuntarily bumped from a flight; the rate stood at .86 in last year's rankings. -- American Eagle was the only airline with a noticeable decline in its AQR score for 2002.

An online version of the full report's narrative is available at 10:30 a.m. EDT, April 7, at the following address: http://ai.unomaha.edu.

A downloadable version of the news release and commentary will be available after 10:30 a.m. (EDT) April 7 at the following address: http://www.wichita.edu/aqr2003.

Hard copies of the 2003 AQR may be ordered by calling the WSU department of marketing and entrepreneurship at 316-978-3367.

A CD-ROM with the entire history of the AQR is available on request. Call 316-978-3367 or 402-554-3424.

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MEDIA NOTE:

Joe Kleinsasser and Tim Kaldahl will help arrange interviews with the researchers. Kleinsasser will be available April 7 at 202-393-2000 and by cell phone at 316-204-8266. Kaldahl will be available April 7 by cell phone, 402-672-0828. For more information starting on April 8, call Kleinsasser at 316-978-3013 or Kaldahl at 402-554-3502.

Dean Headley and Brent Bowen will be available for interviews after the news conference. Headley will also be available later in the day in Washington D.C. at 202-393-2000. Contact Kaldahl by cell phone to get in touch with Bowen later in the day. After Monday, April 7, call Headley at 316-978-3367 or Bowen at 402-554-3424.

Taped comments by the AQR research team are available via the WSU Radio Newsline at 316-978-3682 beginning at 9 a.m. CDT Monday, April 7, through Sunday, April 13. Newsline is also available at http://www.wichita.edu/newsline.