ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — An annual customer satisfaction survey finds airlines are doing better, but still have a lot of room for improvement.
David VanAmburg, managing director of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, says airline satisfaction this year is up three percent from last year, but still only at 67 on a scale of 100. He says that's "dismal" as far as customer satisfaction goes.
VanAmburg says one big issue is all the new and increased fees airlines have imposed on travelers, especially baggage fees. He says customers don't take kindly to paying more when they don't perceive any new or improved service.
In the current tight economy, airline customer satisfaction is most closely tied to cost. Consequently, low-fare carriers including JetBlue and Southwest got the highest ratings, while the big legacy carriers such as American, Delta and United were at the bottom.
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120-a-12-(David VanAmburg, managing director, American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), in AP interview)-"create significant dissatisfaction"-David VanAmburg of the American Customer Satisfaction Index says the baggage fees airlines have been adding and increasing are a real sore spot for air travelers. (19 Jun 2012)
<<CUT *120 (06/19/12)>> 00:12 "create significant dissatisfaction"
118-a-07-(David VanAmburg, managing director, American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), in AP interview)-"are pretty dismal"-David VanAmburg of the American Customer Satisfaction Index says customer satisfaction among airline passengers is at 67 on a scale of 100, the highest in a decade, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. (19 Jun 2012)
<<CUT *118 (06/19/12)>> 00:07 "are pretty dismal"
119-a-13-(David VanAmburg, managing director, American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), in AP interview)-"from customers overall"-David VanAmburg of the American Customer Satisfaction Index says cost is the biggest factor in airline traveler satisfaction. (19 Jun 2012)
<<CUT *119 (06/19/12)>> 00:13 "from customers overall"
121-a-11-(David VanAmburg, managing director, American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), in AP interview)-"Spirits the Southwests"-David VanAmburg of the American Customer Satisfaction Index says fare prices were the biggest factor in the way air travelers ranked the airlines in the customer satisfaction index. (19 Jun 2012)
<<CUT *121 (06/19/12)>> 00:11 "Spirits the Southwests"
