ST. LOUIS -- The airline industry
took a dramatic turn in 2008,
according to the 19th annual
national Airline Quality
Rating. (
http://www.AQR.aero )
The complete results of the
latest quality ratings for the
nation's 17 largest airlines
will be revealed at 9:30 a.m.
EDT, Monday, April 6, during a
news conference at the National
Press Club, Holeman Lounge, in
Washington, D.C.
Based on arrival times, denied
boardings, mishandled baggage
and customer complaints, the
Airline
Quality Rating is the
nation's most comprehensive
study of airline performance and
quality. No other study in the
country is based on performance
measures like the
AQR.
Data comes directly from U.S.
Department of Transportation
reports.
For nearly two decades,
respected researchers
Brent
Bowen,
a top aviation expert from Saint
Louis University, and
Dean Headley, a leading
business analyst from
Wichita
State University,
have co-authored the report,
which is highly sought after by
the media and public alike.
As part of their exhaustive
research, Bowen and Headley also
conducted opinion surveys of
more than 5,000 frequent
travelers who candidly responded
to questions that relate
directly to the factors that
drive the
AQR.
The latest
AQR
findings cover the 2008
calendar year for the following
airlines: AirTran, Alaska,
American, American Eagle,
Atlantic Southeast, Comair,
Continental, Delta, Frontier,
Hawaiian, Jet Blue, Mesa,
Northwest, SkyWest, Southwest,
United and U.S. Airways. The
report also breaks down how the
airlines compare to each other
and the overall industry.
During the news conference,
Bowen and Headley will detail
the airlines' dramatic turn,
which comes on the heels of the
industry's worst year in the
history of the report. The
researchers also will share the
top consumer complaints of 2008.
In addition, they will be able
to address the following
important questions and more.
-
What do the rankings mean to
average passengers?
-
What's next for the airlines
as they -- and the nation --
grapple with tough economic
times?
-
What about the Obama
administration's plans to
spend more on aviation
infrastructure?
An electronic version of the
full report will be available to
reporters and the general public
after 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Monday,
April 6, on the official Airline
Quality Rating Web site:
http://www.AQR.aero.
About the report's
authors: Brent Bowen,
Ed.D., is chairman of the
aviation
science department at
Saint Louis University's
Parks
College of Engineering, Aviation
and Technology.
Dean Headley, Ph.D., is a
professor of marketing at the
W. Frank
Barton School of Business
at Wichita State University.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Saint Louis University
Clayton Berry
(314) 977-7117/(314) 460-4200
(pager)
berrycl@slu.edu
Wichita State University
Joe Kleinsasser
(316) 978-3013/(316) 204-8266
(cell)
joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu
Related links
Read about
the mid-year Airline Quality
Rating, released last fall.
