In response to a flurry of widely reported incidents surrounding poor passenger service on airlines, on May 2 United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz and representatives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines testified before the House of Representatives about what they were doing to improve customer service.
Airlines for America, the trade organization representing many U.S. airlines, followed up with a list of seven steps the group’s members were taking to address customer service as well, including a promise to completely avoid or reduce overbooking and prohibit the use of law enforcement to remove passengers from flights “except in cases of safety or security.”
Despite all the negative news reports, there was some good news for airlines and air passengers:
According to the SITA Baggage Report 2017, airlines worldwide are getting much better at making sure your luggage arrives when you do. The report found that in 2016 the rates of mishandled bags was 5.73 bags per thousand passengers, down 12.5 percent from the previous year and the lowest ever recorded.
The J.D. Power 2017 North America Airline Satisfaction Study was quite positive too, reporting overall customer satisfaction with airlines reached its highest level ever, building on a trend now stretching over five consecutive years.
While lower fares, better on-time performance, fewer lost bags and (despite the news) the lowest bump rate ever recorded were among the factors contributing to the uptick in customer satisfaction, “airlines have significant room for improvement,” said Michael Taylor, travel practice lead, J.D. Power. “Airlines still rank among the bottom tier of most service industries tracked by J.D. Power, far lower than North American rental car companies or hotels.”
Delta Air Lines, which offers frequent-flyer miles for SkyMiles members booking Airbnb accommodations through its app, now offers bonus miles as part of a partnership with ride-hailing service Lyft. Delta Air Lines also teamed up with the Blade helicopter service to offer a fast, convenient transfer service between New York (JFK) and Manhattan.
JetBlue and Icelandair passengers can now earn mileage points on either airline, including when flying Icelandair’s new glacier-themed plane, with hand-painted glacier scenes on the exterior and inside, ice-blue lighting and a glacier motif on everything from headrests, cups and napkins to the airsickness bags.
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