Alaska Airlines is the top airline in a study ranking the 11 largest U.S. airlines. The results of the national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study were announced at a news conference today (April 8) in Washington, D.C.

The good news for consumers is that 10 of the 11 airlines performed better in 2001 than in 2000, according to the AQR. Ironically, Delta Airlines, last year's top performer, was the only airline whose score didn't improve. They performed at virtually the same level in 2001 as the year before.

The AQR is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the largest domestic U.S. airlines operating during 2001. Co-researchers Brent Bowen, director and distinguished professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Aviation Institute/School of Public Administration and Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University (WSU), used 15 elements important to consumers when judging the quality of airline service.

The rating is conducted annually by the UNO Aviation Institute and W. Frank Barton School of Business at WSU. The AQR, as an industry standard, provides consumers and industry watchers a means to compare quality among airlines using objective performance-based data. It is a cooperative research project funded as part of faculty research activities at UNO and WSU.

"The promise made by the industry in late 1999 of better customer service was finally delivered in 2001," says Headley.

"We hope that the improvement trend established in 2001 will not only help the industry return to normalcy, but will inspire continued industry responsiveness and a resolve to continue elevating overall quality," says Bowen.

The AQR ranked the 11 major airlines as follows for 2001: 1) Alaska, 2) US Airways, 3) Northwest, 4) Southwest, 5) Delta, 6) American, 7) America West, 8) Continental, 9) United, 10) American Eagle and 11) TWA.

Criteria included in the AQR are screened to meet two basic elements: 1) They must be readily obtainable from published data sources for each airline, and 2) They must be important to consumers regarding airline quality. The resulting criteria include areas such as baggage handling, customer complaints, denied boardings and on-time arrivals.

"The AQR data clearly shows that the industry was rebounding with overall improving quality for the first nine months of 2001," says Bowen. "A focus on the consumer must not be lost."

"The post 9/11/01 on-time performance of a down-sized air transport system was seven percent better than earlier months in 2001," says Headley. "Baggage handling and customer complaints also showed improvement in the last quarter. Let's hope the carriers learn from this and continue to improve customer service as we return to a full-capacity system."

"With more than a decade of results, the AQR gives a long-term objective measure of overall airline performance," says Bowen.

Other major industry findings in this year's research study include:

• With nearly all the large airlines improving their 2001 AQR score, the industry reversed its downward trend in performance quality of the past three years.
• The overall AQR score for the industry improved 22 percent in 2001.
• All performance measured in 2001 for the industry showed improvement, including on time, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and consumer complaints.
• Consumer complaints in 2001 declined by almost 30 percent compared to 2000.
• Delta Airlines was the only airline to show an increase in customer complaints and denied boardings in 2001.
• America West was the most improved airline in 2001.
• United Airlines improved their customer complaint rate by nearly 40 percent.

MEDIA NOTE:

Headley will be available for interviews at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C., by telephone following the news conference. Call (202) 628-9100 today (Monday, April 8), or (316) 978-3367 after April 9. Bowen also will be available for interviews via telephone following the news conference. Call (402) 554-3424.

Kleinsasser and Polk can assist in scheduling interviews. Kleinsasser will be available Monday, April 8 on his cell phone at (316) 204-8266 or at (202) 628-9100. Polk can be reached by cell phone at (402) 305-3826 or (202) 628-9100.

To reach WSU on Monday, April 8, or Tuesday, April 9, call Amy Geiszler-Jones at(316) 978-3409. To reach UNO April 8-9, call UNO University Affairs at (402) 554-2358.

Taped comments by the AQR research team are available via the WSU Radio Newsline at (316) 978-3682 beginning at 8:30 a.m. CDT Monday, April 8, through Sunday, April 14.

An online version of the full report's narrative is available at 8:30 a.m. CDT at the following address: http://www.unomaha.edu/~unoai.

A downloadable version of the news release and commentary will be available after 10:30 a.m. (EDT) April 8 at the following address: http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=182/aqr2002.

Hard copies of the 2002 AQR report may be ordered by calling the WSU department of marketing and entrepreneurship at (316) 978-3367.

A CD-ROM with the entire history of the AQR is available on request. Call (316) 978-3367 or (402) 554-3424.