While business is booming for U.S. airlines, soaring demand, staffing shortages and rising airfares are taking their toll on customer satisfaction.
According to the J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, customer satisfaction with major carriers is down significantly for a second straight year, with overall passenger satisfaction dropping seven points from 2022 to 791 (on a 1,000-point scale).
The drop-off comes after a 22-point decline last year from 2021. The biggest cause for the drop is cost and fees, which has fallen 17 points from 2022.
There are some positives from the study, which found that satisfaction with food and beverage is improving across all segments, up 12 points overall from 2022. What's more, satisfaction scores among passengers in the first/business segment have risen 9 points year over year as more services return post-pandemic.
JetBlue ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment for a second consecutive year, scoring 893, followed by Delta Air Lines (865) and United Airlines (848). Meanwhile, Delta ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the premium economy segment with a score of 848. JetBlue (840) comes in second and Alaska Airlines (823) ranks third.
In the economy/basic economy segment, Southwest Airlines ranks highest in customer satisfaction for the second straight year, with a score of 827: Delta (801) and JetBlue (800) round out the top three.
Southwest Airlines flight arriving at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, Texas. (photo via Wikimedia Commons/Brett Spangler)
"If yield management were the only metric airlines needed to be successful in the long term, this would be a banner year for the industry because they are operating at peak economic efficiency," Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, said in a statement. "From the customer perspective, however, that means planes are crowded, tickets are expensive and flight availability is constrained. While these drawbacks have not yet put a dent in leisure travel demand if this trend continues, travelers will reach a breaking point and some airline brands may be damaged."
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study measures passenger satisfaction with major airlines based on performance across as many as eight factors, including aircraft; baggage; boarding; check-in; cost and fees; flight crew; in-flight services; and reservation, focusing on three segments—first/business, premium economy and economy/basic economy. The study is based on responses from 7,774 passengers who have flown on a major North America airline within the past month of completing a survey, which was fielded from March 2022 through March 2023.
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