Air travelers are growing increasingly less satisfied with their experience, according to the J.D. Power 2022 North America Airline Satisfaction Study released on Wednesday.
After North American airlines achieved record highs amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, overall passenger satisfaction across all three study segments, including first/business, premium economy and economy/basic economy came in at just 798 on the 1,000-point scale, which is down more than 20 points from 2021. What's more, passenger satisfaction with cost, flight crews and aircraft all declined in this year's study.
Despite the dropoff, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines were among the big winners this year. JetBlue ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment with a score of 878, edging out Alaska Airlines (876) and third-ranked Delta Air Lines (862). JetBlue also ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the premium economy segment with a top score of 851. Delta (837) and Alaska (825) swapped spots in this segment, ranking second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, Southwest ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment with a score of 849. JetBlue (828) ranks second and Delta (813) rounds out the top three for 2022.
J.D. Power also found that premium passengers still want their free drinks and that cost continues to be a driving factor in satisfaction as climbing fuel prices and increased demand has resulted in a 20 percent increase in average airfares through March 2022. Food and beverage satisfaction scores declined 38 points in the premium economy segment and 12 points in the first/business segment. However, food and beverage satisfaction scores increased by seven points in the economy/basic economy segment.
Overall satisfaction with cost and fees declined in the premium economy segment by 66 points, fell 33 points in the economy/basic economy segment and dropped by 21 points in the first/business segment.
"Customer satisfaction with North American airlines climbed to unprecedented highs for all of the wrong reasons during the past two years," Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, said in a statement. "Fewer passengers meant more space on airplanes, less waiting in line and more attention from flight attendants. But that business model was simply not sustainable. Now, with volumes surging and some remnants of pandemic-era constraints still in place, passenger satisfaction is in decline-but that's not really bad news. If airlines can find ways to manage these growing volumes while making some small adjustments to help passengers feel more valued, they should be able to manage this return to 'normal.'"
The study is based on performance in eight factors, including aircraft; baggage; boarding; check-in; cost and fees; flight crew; in-flight services and reservation and is based on responses from 7,004 passengers who flew on a major North American airline within the past month as of March 2022.
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