US Airways soars to the top in Airline Quality Rating

US Airways is rated the top airline in a study ranking 10 U.S. major airlines. The results of the national Airline Quality Rating study were announced in a news conference today (April 19) in Washing ton, D.C.

The rating is conducted annually by the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute. 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 WSU and UNO with additional support from the NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium.

The AQR ranked the 10 major airlines as follows: 1) US Airways, 2) Continental, 3) American, 4) Delta, 5) Southwest, 6) America West, 7) TWA 8) Alaska, 9) Northwest and 10) United. The 1998 rating reflects an updated focus on a refined consumer performance set of criteria.

The AQR is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for major domestic U.S. airlines operating during 1998. A major airline, as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation, is an airline whose operating revenue for a 12-month period is $1 billion or more. Co-researchers Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at WSU, and Brent Bowen, director of the UNO Aviation Institute, used 15 elements important to consumers when judging the quality of airline services.

"Generally, the airlines do a good job of getting you from point A to point B on time and with your luggage," says Headley. "Evidently the consumer is finding fault in the manner in which these services are being delivered. The airlines seem to be taking the attitude, "We get you there safely with your belongings. What else do you want?"

Criteria included in the rating are screened to meet two basic elements: 1) a criteria must be readily obtainable from published data sources for each airline, and 2) a criteria must be important to consumers regarding airline quality. The resulting criteria include areas such as baggage handling, on-time arrivals, denied boardings and 12 elements of customer service.

"The data for 1999 shows us that consumers are near the breaking point with dissatisfaction as the quality curve slopes downward. The airlines are implementing rule changes and policies that aggravate the traveling public. We support the initiative in Congress to pass an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights," says Bowen.

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

• Overall operational quality for the industry has declined during 1998.
• There was a 26 percent increase in consumer complaints.
• Passengers were bumped less frequently in 1998.
• Bags were more frequently mishandled in 1998.
• Slight decrease in on-time performance was noted.

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 until 6 p.m. EDT today (Monday, April 19), or (316) 978-3367 after April 19. Taped comments by the AQR research team are available via the WSU Radio Newsline at (316) 978-3682, beginning at 8 a.m. CDT Monday, April 19, through Sunday, April 25.

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

Hard copies of the 1999 AQR report may be ordered by calling the WSU department of marketing and entrepreneurship at (316) 978-3367.