U.S. airlines less popular than the IRS - survey

[Mahesh]

People need to stop whining about airlines ...

U.S. airlines less popular than the IRS - survey | Reuters

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Americans like the tax collector better than their airlines, according to a customer satisfaction survey released on Tuesday.

Weighed down by delays, grumpy employees and lost bags, U.S. airlines scored 63 out of a possible 100 on the University of Michigan's Customer Satisfaction Index. That is a touch below the 65 awarded to the bureaucracy-laden U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The airlines' score -- down two points from last year -- was the lowest for the industry since 2001 and reflects growing dissatisfaction with the travel industry.

Hotels scored 71, falling four points to the lowest level since 2002, according to the survey.

The university's American Customer Satisfaction Index surveys about 20,000 people every quarter by telephone, focusing on different industries each time.

The airlines' long struggle to return to profitability after a prolonged slump following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 may have led them to cut costs and service too far.

"The process took so much out of them -- they may have cut beyond the bone," said Claes Fornell, director of the University of Michigan's National Quality Research Center.

The poor performance from U.S. airlines may make it easier for newcomers such as Virgin American and Skybus to win over customers.

"It opens the door for new competition and they will have an easier time capturing this market," said Fornell.

UAL Corp.'s (UAUA.O: Quote, Profile, Research United Airlines, which came out of bankruptcy last year, was at the bottom, falling 7 points to 56. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, which emerged from bankruptcy on April 30, was close behind, falling 5 points to 59.
No-frills discount carrier Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV.N: Quote, Profile, Research led the industry with a score of 76, two points higher than the previous year.

While large companies in the airline sector scored poorer on the survey, big hotel companies fared a little better.

Marriott International Inc. (MAR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, the top U.S. hotel operator, increased its score 2 points to 79, while smaller chains dragged down the industry's overall score.

((Reporting by Chris Reiter; editing by Andre Grenon; chris.reiter@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: chris.reiter.reuters.com@reuters.net +1 646 223 6116)) Keywords: TRAVEL SATISFACTION/SURVEY

[flyover]

Originally Posted by Mahesh

People need to stop whining about airlines ...

It does make sense as far as the IRS though, when you consider we are getting ever closer to that magic tipping point where less than half the workers actually pay federal income tax.

[Toria]

The airline customer, the flying public, has a right to voice dissatisfaction with the service they received. They are also the ones that collectively pay the salary of airline employees. If poor service is provided, which I have experienced myself recently, they are apt to look for better service elsewhere. I personally will not be flying the particular airline that provided me very poor service for quite some time to come. So, they have lost an economic opportunity, me. I agree that service is very poor right now on most airlines. I agree that there is considerable room for improving service. I agree that the corporate offices of the airlines need to look at this information and make positive changes for their customers. I will continue to economically support the airlines that provide the best service to me. This is just another sign that improvement needs to be made or business will be lost. People whining, it is their right as consumers to voice their opinion.

[bike21]

People need to keep complaining, maybe the execs will start to listen. We had an interesting incident the other day in CLE waiting to pull into the gate cause the mainline folks wouldn't use wing walkers. We waited about 1/2 an hour to get into the gate and we were already delayed 2 hours coming out of ORD. The ops folks just couldn't understand that we NEEDED a wing walker cause we had a fed in the jumpseat. This is the kind of crap customers shouldn't have to put up with.

[av8sean]

Americans love to bitch and complain about everything. But when it comes down to it, they'd fly on any airline if they could save $5 on the ticket.

[Mahesh]

I agree that airline quality of service has definitely gone down. However, I think it's because people want dirt cheap plane tickets. Like all my friends that make a good amount of salary complain about spending $300 on an east coast to west coast ticket! How are airlines supposed to operate when they have close to zero or negative profit margins? You get what you pay for!

[Doug Taylor]

Americans like the tax collector better than their airlines, according to a customer satisfaction survey released on Tuesday.

Ehhh. An IRS inspector doesn't have to deal with weather, mechanical devices, cost-of-goods sold and someone bargain shopping you on the internet.

Apples and oranges.

[Doug Taylor]

Originally Posted by iwareboy

Americans love to bitch and complain about everything. But when it comes down to it, they'd fly on any airline if they could save $5 on the ticket.

Most, yes.

They seriously want to go to McDonalds during a lunch hour rush and expect chauteaubriand for the price of a Big Mac.

[CapnJim]

Originally Posted by Toria

The airline customer, the flying public, has a right to voice dissatisfaction with the service they received. They are also the ones that collectively pay the salary of airline employees. If poor service is provided, which I have experienced myself recently, they are apt to look for better service elsewhere. I personally will not be flying the particular airline that provided me very poor service for quite some time to come. So, they have lost an economic opportunity, me. I agree that service is very poor right now on most airlines. I agree that there is considerable room for improving service. I agree that the corporate offices of the airlines need to look at this information and make positive changes for their customers. I will continue to economically support the airlines that provide the best service to me. This is just another sign that improvement needs to be made or business will be lost. People whining, it is their right as consumers to voice their opinion.

Toria swings, connects, and swats one out of the park. The crowd goes wild!

Try not to do the Fisk on your way to home plate.

[scramjet]

The airlines deserve it! The service sucks, plain and simple. Would it hurt them that much to provide little things they used to provide like a free hot meal at the appropriate time? Oh, and maybe treat the employees half way decent and the customer service will improve! duh!

[kellwolf]

The question is, what happens when the prices get so low that quality sucks anywhere you go? Will people start taking Greyhound instead or will they just go with the cheapest fair? Customer service at Wal-Mart sucks, but they don't have any problems because of their "every day low prices." Fact is, Americans will complain until they're blue in the face, but a majority won't alter their purchases to pay for better quality. As long as they can save $5-10 a ticket, they'll do it and just complain about the sevice later.

[mtsu_av8er]

Originally Posted by Toria

This is just another sign that improvement needs to be made or business will be lost. People whining, it is their right as consumers to voice their opinion.

Yep. However, it's ALWAYS the fault of the stupid customer.

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by kellwolf

As long as they can save $5-10 a ticket, they'll do it and just complain about the sevice later.

You know what they say.

You get what you pay for.

Pay for first class, and you get free liquor, more comfortable seats, pre-flight drinks, and meals served on linens and you get to board first.

Pay for coach, and you get a soft drink.

As long as people are okay with that, well, then, everything's okay.

The problem is when people expect white glove service but they aren't willing to pay for it.

If you want good service, you've got to be willing to pay for it. If you want the lowest price, don't expect more than low level service. It's just that simple.

You can't expect a pair of Malano Blahniks for the price of a pair of DSW specials, so why do people expect that with airlines? And why do airlines encourage that?

That'd be the first thing I'd do if I was in charge -- manage expectations.

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by mtsu_av8er

Yep. However, it's ALWAYS the fault of the stupid customer.

Lloyd, ya know I love ya man, but you have got to come down off of this....at least until you've actually flown passenger revenue flights.

I was with ya....until you edited the post and tossed that last, unneccesary sentence in there.

[SkyCougar]

Originally Posted by mtsu_av8er

Yep. However, it's ALWAYS the fault of the stupid customer.

I agree, airlines can improve a LOT on service, and flying certainly isn't what it used to be, but we're all in the same boat here, unless you're flying corporate charter, OR own and PILOT your own plane.

On the other hand, there are those customers who are delusional megalomaniacs who want to be the center of attention:

Main Entry: meg·a·lo·ma·nia
Function: noun
Pronunciation: "me-g&-lO-'mA-ne-&, -ny&
Etymology: New Latin
1 : a mania for great or grandiose performance
2 : a delusional mental disorder that is marked by infantile feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·ac/-'mA-ne-"ak/ adjective or noun
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a·cal/-m&-'nī-&-k&l/ also meg·a·lo·man·ic/-'ma-nik/ adjective
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a·cal·ly/-m&-'nī-&-k(&-)le/ adverb

And they believe and insist that they're better than the rest of us, and will often lie, crawl, scratch, and scream, to insist that they are better than anyone else. Their game card always comes up though.

[SkyCougar]

Originally Posted by CapnJim

Toria swings, connects, and swats one out of the park. The crowd goes wild!

Try not to do the Fisk on your way to home plate.

Toria doesn't have to swing and swat. She is the captain of her own plane!

[HRDiva]

I am a frequent flyer. I won't fly domestic overseas any longer--the service is not up to par.

I'm flying next week domestically, but the local major airline favorite has a 20% on time rating for my flights. I need to be on time. So, I skipped them. I'm flying on Southwest--they've always managed to be on time on this route with a 95% rating. Time is money to me! I know, it's the cattle call. But, if I have my A pass, I don't care where I am on the line--I can be last and still get a decent seat. And, if I'm in a hurry, I get on line first!

[Doug Taylor]

I think the part that chafes my hide is that generally myself and everyone else that I'm usually working with work their tails off in all sorts of crazy circumstances.

And if you run out of peanuts and only have pretzels left, suddenly, "OMG! Your airline SUCKS!" or "Why don't you call SLC and tell them to re-open the airport, you SUCK!"

Everyday is an irregular operation, even the great weather days.

And if you don't have ACARS, you're generally "on time". A little known fact that I learned at my last airline.

[SkyCougar]

I want to whine about the TSA. I have always tried to keep a good thought about them, but excuse me, they are toothpaste nazis.

[mpenguin1]

Weighed down by delays, grumpy employees and lost bags, U.S. airlines scored 63 out of a possible 100 on the University of Michigan's Customer Satisfaction Index. That is a touch below the 65 awarded to the bureaucracy-laden U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Hmmmm? Grumpy employees & lost bags seems to be the biggest gripes.

Poor service is one of the reasons that people have been flocking to Corporate aircraft, at least the ones that can afford it.....

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Poor service is one of the reasons that people have been flocking to Corporate aircraft, at least the ones that can afford it.....

The alleged rush to corporate aircraft would be the last of my concerns if I were in charge of an airline.

Not too many people can cough up a thousand bucks a flight hour. That's three to four times what Joe Twelvepack pays for an entire transcon.

No, my concern would be managing expectations. I'd make sure my customers understood, if you want first class treatment, you need to pay for it. If you want the lowest fare possible, then we're going to give you a can of soda and a middle seat in the back of the plane.

The choice is yours.

[mrivc211]

Ya ever asked for the jump at a United ticket counter? It's as if your asking for money from them! That poor attitude is gonna do them in someday.

[Velocipede]

Originally Posted by mpenguin1

Hmmmm? Grumpy employees & lost bags seems to be the biggest gripes..

Grumpy employees? And why not?

Several of the legacy airline pilot groups have lost up to 50% of their pay AND their pensions.

The airlines are the ONLY business I've encountered where Customer Service Agents can be given MANDATORY overtime up to 16 hours a day. Add to that getting biatched at by a "customer" because an airplane has a mechanical delay. I guess they want the CSA to be out there turning wrenches.

Of course there's the Flight Attendents. Many of them have suffered pay cuts and pension loss as well. Additionally, try to "put on a happy face" when Crew Scheduling has just turned your 3 day trip that gets home on Christmas Eve to a 6 day trip with no notice.

Listen, I'm not saying that poor service is satisfactory. The bottom line is that deregulation has made it impossible for the airlines to charge the kind of prices that allow them to pay employee wages and benefits that make for a happy workforce.

Labor costs are the one place the airlines have the most control over. Capital costs are pretty much fixed. Fuel prices are dictated. So, the airlines are forced to cut labor costs to make profits. Why? Because Americans want to go from SFO to JFK for $69.

When non-union startups like jetBlue show up with sweetheat lease deals and pilots who are willing to work for $129 an hour ($72 for an EMB) the rest of the industry is forced to match. Why do you think USair and UAL narrowbody Captains were given the same rates as jetBlue after the bankruptcy court voided their Union contracts?

Because jetBlue proved there are plenty of pilots willing to work for that wage. Just wait until Skybus proves there are enough pilots willing to fly an A320 for $65 an hour. Of course, Skybus will charge you for checked bags, peanuts, drinks and every other concievable amenitie, but the ticket price will be $20. And there will be plenty of passengers, even though they'll biatch all the way from CMH to BLI (that's Bellingham, WA. Not SEA or YVR as they're advertising).

"You get what you pay for" has never been more true than the airline industry of 2007.

Sorry, rant over.

[mtsu_av8er]

Originally Posted by kellwolf

Lloyd, ya know I love ya man, but you have got to come down off of this....at least until you've actually flown passenger revenue flights.

OK, I won't call it whining anymore until I fly for an airline. Then, you guys are gonna get it.

Of course, then it'll be "You haven't flown for an airline AS LONG as I have . . . ". I know how that works . . . lol.

[SkyCougar]

Originally Posted by mtsu_av8er

OK, I won't call it whining anymore until I fly for an airline. Then, you guys are gonna get it.

Of course, then it'll be "You haven't flown for an airline AS LONG as I have . . . ". I know how that works . . . lol.

Everytime I see that lobster, I want to turn on the stove and melt me some butter.