Airlines Get A Bad Report Card

(CBS/AP)  Airline hassles are on the rise: More passengers in the U.S. found themselves bumped, their flights delayed or their bags lost last year than in 2005, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating report released Monday.

The report does not include recent weather-related flight delays such as the ones that left JetBlue and United Airlines planes idling for hours on taxiways.

"They just don't get it yet," said Dean Headley, an associate professor at Wichita State University who co-authored the study with Brent D. Bowen of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

One upside, researchers said, was that the overall number of airline complaints has stabilized since hitting a five-year low in 2005.

JetBlue, which rated highest on the list for the past three years, was bumped out of the top slot by Hawaiian Airlines, which made its debut on the list this year. The top three on the 18-airline list were Hawaiian, JetBlue and AirTran, while the bottom three were, from worst to best, Atlantic Southeast, American Eagle and Comair.

Industry spokesman David Castelveter blamed the majority of delays on bad weather. Making matters worse, he said, more planes will be in the air in coming years, and the air traffic control system cannot handle the growth.

"We're going to see more delays and those delays translate to cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers," said Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for the major U.S. carriers. "It's not a pretty picture."

Congress needs to provide more money to update the system so it can improve its handling of the increased traffic and weather problems, Castelveter said.

Analysts fault the airlines for trying to cut costs by squeezing more passengers onto fewer planes, CBS News transportation and consumer safety correspondent Nancy Cordes reports.

"I can't remember when I've flown in a plane that had more than two or three empty seats," airline industry analyst Peter Goelz told CBS News. "That's good for the airlines, but when you bump into a problem, there's no margin of error."

The Airline Quality Rating report, compiled annually since 1991, looked at 18 airlines and was based on Transportation Department statistics. The research is sponsored by the Aviation Institute at University of Nebraska at Omaha and Wichita State University.

Among the findings:

Southwest had the lowest number of complaints in 2006, 0.18 per 100,000 passengers. United and US Airways tied for the most, 1.36 per 100,000 passenger.

Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance (93.8 percent) for 2006, followed by Frontier Airlines (80.7 percent) and Southwest (80.2 percent). Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the worst on-time performance (66 percent). On-time was defined as within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Canceled and diverted flights counted as late.

The biggest disappointment is mishandled bags, Headley said.

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[lgonzalez00]

I traveled over a month ago on Aeromexico...they lost my bag, a week aftrer my flight arrived a lady called and said she had my bag that she took it by accident she lived in mexico. I called the airline and gave them all the information they needed to pick up my bag and they have ignored my calls, emails, I ended uo driving 1hr to the airport to speak to someone in person. After i spoke to the airline manager he said he would resolve the issue that same week. Its been a month since my flight and I HAVE NO BAG!!! I had all of my newborn's essentials in that bag and i have replaced everything, plus babies grow so fast the clothes won't fit him anymore.

What can i do?

[klingon69]

Barbara4;
Like anyone can negotiate the narrow spaces to reach the bathroom. Let alone be able to get out of your sesat and row.

[toldyouso21]

We do not fly anymore. Period. If we have to go somewhere, we drive. ... Flying from New York to Instanbul, with a brief stopover in Vienna and London - Posted by davpaw at 12:52 PM : Apr 02, 2007

LOL. so tell us....If you need to get to Istanbul or any point off the North American continent, how do you get there in a car?
and no, you can have crappy service internationally also. (I flew to Paris in 1994 on TWA) the service was so awful..truly one for the books--it included a male fA that yelled at everyone, addressed dried spaghetti in a tray by removing it with his bare hands and swinging it over his head before tossing it into the crowded seats. (and he still expected the passenger to eat where his hands had been) the crew refused to identify the person (they all removed their tags) they also picked up drinks before they were done--told everyone they had enough and turned off the reading lights of those reading at night--shouting "No one can sleep with the lights on--be considerate!" When we got to Paris, an entire line tried to make complaints but the lines were so long, most just said forget it. I never flew them again. In 1996 when that TWA flight to Paris went down in DC, I wondered if the crew from hell was in attendance.

[toldyouso21]

I'd like to see baggage handling outsourced to FedEx, UPS or other, and let them compete for the contracts against each other. It would result in a system that was better, faster, cheaper, and would be accountable too. Posted by davpaw at 12:52 PM : Apr 02, 2007

Stop it--the rhetoric about competition, and how the private sector can do it better is bs--initially, yes things get a little better, but as the price wars and competition drag on, service gets worse and worse. 2 huge cases in point: Look at the mess of cable and telephone service. Bogus charges, rate hikes and who among us haven't gotten those letters or notices saying the cable, telephone or even mortgage companies are sued and have to pay huge settlements for fraud? The same is true for gas service and even banking (banc of america just paid out millions for fraud) face it, when greed drives the game--companies will do whatever they can get away with including stealing from customers, shoddy work, etc. And this is not just unionized people. Fed EX has been responsible for delivery of overnight mail and express from the USPS for several years now. Most overnight mail takes 2 days to get there and to date this year, I have had 3 lost items and at least 2 tracked items, where the item was not even wanded. Quality is not the mainstay of the private sector either.

[toldyouso21]

Spoly,

I'm curious.....are the airline workers unionized in Europe?
Posted by blazercoach1 at 11:32 AM : Apr 02, 2007
***************************
Many are, and even those that are not, usually have protected jobs. They cannot be fired at will, their minimum wage is almost twice ours, and they must go to court to dismiss someone. They get paid vacations from the first day of work on (2 weeks that can then progress to as much as 5 weeks a year) they all have health benefits and even part timers have rights --full timers in America do not have including the implied right to work--which means if they stay at a job for a certain period of time (In Holland I believe it is 60 or 90 days) they must be offered permanent part time work, with paid holidays, benefits, etc and again--cannot be fired without a very lengthy process. American companies doing business in Europe are subject to these same rules and must agree before establishing businesses there.

[toldyouso21]

always choose an international carrier whenever possible. I have flown with Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, .. and others and have honestly never had a problem in over 40 years of traveling...."
********************************
British airways--I used to like--but now, one of worst airlines. Personnel suck. They forced my family to split apart (my girls were 9 and 2--the 9 year old ended up sitting alone. because a 20 something person with bad hygiene claimed to need to sit with their tour group (we had reserved seats) then they spent the flight continually being chastised for getting up when they shouldn't, throwing things like pens and socks, etc. For daring to complain, I got a suspisciously open food container while everyone got sealed. There was some wet, yellowish stuff atop the rice. They hovered and asked how I liked the meal. I smiled and NEVER ate a single bite--in those days (and Now) I carry an emergency ration of goodies --as for my drink, I ask for the unopen can. this happened going from London to Ireland in 1999--been boycotting them since.

[toldyouso21]

last time lots of empty seats on plane for me and my family: 2/2007 going to and from europe enough room for 2 to stretch out and sleep (several rows in the middle seats were empty) the other 4 people all could have window seats id they wanted.

2/2006--enoguh seats that I and my daughter could stretch completely out (but I chose an entire row with windows (3 seats). going to and from Hawaii--3/2006 same thing except traveling with 5 people--all had plenty of lateral room, (space for long legs and knee space--non existent the crowded flights were the commuter flights into hubs like LAX and O Hare, those were fully packed. Service sucks with several flights not even having working toilets (when they don't have toilets--no beverages are served and we are no longer allowed to bring drinks on board or in waiting area. Try THAT when you have a sore throat or hacking cough.

[barbaraf4]

We do not fly anymore. Period. If we have to go somewhere, we drive.

For those of you old enough to remember Pan Am service during the 1960's, those were the days. Flying from New York to Instanbul, with a brief stopover in Vienna and London - this quality of service should be the goal of every airline.

Now, flying is like taking a bus trip. It's affordable, so everyone flys. Next they will install pay toilets.

[tuckerndfw]

Stop blaming the airlines for this mess and write your Congresspersons demanding them to allocate more money to upgrading the antique Air Traffic Control system in this country!

Posted by b727100bear at 11:26 PM : Apr 02, 2007

On the contrary, airlines and airplane owners should pay the expenses for operating airports, not taxpayers.

If taxpayers are going to subsidize transportation, we need to subsidize local commuter railroads.

It isn't the taxpayers' responsibility to subsidize airlines or airports.

If passengers and airplane owners do not want to be delayed or inconvenienced, they need to pay their own bills.

BTW, according to the story, the number one complaint is about lost luggage. How will improving ATC resolve that complaint?

[ndg1979]

Interesting how the airlines are saying that the government should be responsible for the financial bailout of the airline system, even though they are saying that the government shouldn't regulate them. So let me get this straight - we'll take the gov's money, but not their input. Ludicrous!! After all, where does the gov's money come from - US!!

I can't understand why the airlines are not self-sufficient yet. Every other non-bankrupt business entity is. I agree that some of them need to go in the name of progress. U.S. Airways should be one. I flew Southwest recently and had EXCELLENT service in Pittsburgh (home), Chicago (midway) and Phoenix (destination).

Airline CEO's should have pay tied to performance. If they suck - NO MONEY!! Hit them where it hurts and maybe they will wake up.