More Reasons to go Private When You Fly

Filed in archive Aviation Travel on April 7, 2008

People are getting sick and tired of the ever-increasing issues they're having at airports

If you've flown in the last couple of years, you probably already know that I'm about to tell you people are NOT happy. Over one quarter of all flights in the US are late. The number of people bumped due to overbooked flights is up. Lost baggage is up, as is stolen or damaged luggage.

ATA, Aloha Airlines and Skybus stopped flights last week because of money issues. Jobs have been slashed, passenger amenities have been reduced or eliminated. Fees for things like a second bag, pets or even booking by phone are being added, as well as overall ticket prices going up.

And it's not getting any better! Experts warn that this list of complaints will get bigger before it gets smaller.

Travelers' dissatisfaction grows
Rate of consumer complaints per 100,000 passengers. The study is based on Transportation Department statistics covering complaints in 11 areas, including fares, ticketing, customer service, flight problems and animals.

Airline	2006	2007
air tran	0.62	0.83
Alaska	0.52	0.76
American	1.09	1.65
American Eagle	1.03	1.17
Atlantic Southeast	0.74	1.21
Comair	0.63	1.44
Continental	0.88	1.09
Delta	1.03	1.81
Frontier	0.49	0.66
JetBlue	0.40	0.78
Mesa	1.26	0.83
Northwest	0.88	1.43
SkyWest	0.68	0.71
Southwest	0.18	0.26
United	1.36	2.25
US Airways	1.36	3.16

Source: Airline Quality Rating survey