Satisfaction with U.S. airlines lowest since 2001: poll

By Mark McSherry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Customer satisfaction with airlines in the United States has fallen to its lowest level since 2001, according to a survey published on Tuesday.

The University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index found that the airline industry scored a mere 62 on a 100-point scale for the first quarter of 2008.

Thousands of flight cancellations for safety checks have battered some airlines' reputations with customers this year.

And faced with the soaring cost of jet fuel, airlines are raising ticket prices, overbooking flights and charging extra fees, the survey said.

US Airways Group Inc and UAL Corp's United Airlines, which have recently been in merger talks, received the lowest scores in the poll: 54 and 56, respectively.

Continental Airlines fell 10 percent to 62 in the poll, a score that matches its all-time low, and Northwest Airlines, which has agreed to be acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc, fell 7 percent to 57, its lowest score since 2001.

"It's more of the same -- and it's getting worse," said Claes Fornell, founder of the survey, in an interview.

"There is very little choice, which explains how you can get away with scores in the 50s. Those are not sustainable on any type of competitive level -- they are lower than the Internal Revenue Service," Fornell added.