Satisfaction with U.S. airlines lowest since 2001: poll
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.
Southwest Airlines leads the industry in customer satisfaction for a 15th straight year, improving 4 percent to 79 points, the survey said.
Delta Air Lines, up 2 percent to 60, and AMR Corp's American Airlines, up 3 percent to 62, were the only other major airlines to post gains in customer satisfaction.
But the pollsters stressed the survey covered the first quarter of the year only and did not take into account many flight cancellations in April.
DELAYS
Record fuel prices and a weakening U.S. economy have stalled the airline industry's modest recovery from the 2001-2006 downturn.
Oil prices, directly related to jet fuel costs, remain around $127 a barrel.
Six smaller airlines have filed for bankruptcy in the past five months. Continued...
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