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Between staff shortages, unruly passengers, and rising ticket prices, consumers’ overall satisfaction with the air travel experience has decreased in the last year. Despite the dip in ratings, a new survey conducted by J.D. Power showcases airlines are still keeping their customers happy—at least, mostly.
According to the recently released J.D. Power 2022 North American Airlines Satisfaction Study, Southwest Airlines is the best carrier in the U.S. for the economy and essential economy flights.
JetBlue Airways takes the top spot for customer satisfaction for those dishing out extra bucks for premium economy, business, and first-class seats. The carrier also scored well for the economy and basic economy fares.
Over 7,000 travelers took part in the J.D. Power survey, which looked at ticket costs and extra fees and satisfaction with aircraft, baggage, boarding, check-in, flight crew, in-flight services, and reservation experience.
For this survey, J.D. Power did not explicitly consider airline disruptions like cancellations or extreme delays; it’s possible that these factors influenced the travelers who took part in the survey.
According to Mike Taylor, J.D. Power’s managing director for travel, hospitality, and retail, as more and more people returned to travel, it was to be expected that passenger satisfaction would decrease after last year’s record high.
“When you get an aircraft that’s half to a third full, you think this is a great experience, but you can’t maintain an industry flying plane around that are only one-third of capacity,” Taylor told USA Today. “There’s been a greater demand, which means higher prices, less satisfaction, and that middle seat is more likely to be filled than it was a year-and-a-half, two years ago. And that, of course, diminishes satisfaction among airline travelers.”
The overall rankings of the survey are:
Economy/Basic Economy
- Southwest Airlines (849 out of 1,000 points)
- JetBlue Airways (828 out of 1,000 points)
- Delta Air Lines (813 out of 1,000 points)
- Allegiant Air (803 out of 1,000 points)
- Alaska Airlines (794 out of 1,000 points)
Premium Economy
- JetBlue Airways (851 out of 1,000 points)
- Delta Air Lines (837 out of 1,000 points)
- Alaska Airlines (825 out of 1,000 points)
- American Airlines (818 out of 1,000 points)
- United Airlines (801 out of 1,000 points)
First/Business Class
- JetBlue Airways (878 out of 1,000 points)
- Alaska Airlines (876 out of 1,000 points)
- Delta Air Lines (862 out of 1,000 points)
- Air Canada (832 out of 1,000 points)
- United Airlines (822 out of 1,000 points)
Jessica is a freelance journalist on a quest to see and experience everything our gorgeous planet offers and share her experiences with her fellow travelers. Jessica has written for several world-class Travel Magazines.
