Airline Quality Rating and the Top US Airline is….


Airline performance is on the rise. The airline industry proved 2013 was the best year yet when it comes to the airline quality rating. Presented yearly since 1991. Dean Headley an associate professor at Wichita State University has co-authored the Airline Quality Rating report. The ratings report ranks the country’s largest airlines. Using a blueprint the report evaluates and rates US airlines based on performance. The survey is based on four categories. Baggage handling, on-time performance, denied boarding and customer complaints. And uses information from the Air Travel Consumer monthly report collected by the US Department of Transportation.

Airline Quality Rating and the Good News is….

Dean Headley along with Brent Bowen, dean and professor at the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University based the report on the worst and best scores. And the results show that while some areas had less complaints others had more. This year the report revealed airlines had less denied boarding and customer complaints but did have an increase in late flights and lost baggage.

Since that first report back in 1991, 2013’s Airline Quality Rating revealed airlines performance received its highest rating so far. Of all fifteen airlines rated, there were six airlines that dropped, eight airlines that got better and a newbie added to the rankings. Two out of the four categories on the report; customer complaints and denied boarding’s saw an improvement. While the remaining two; baggage handling and on-time performance saw a decline.

Airline Quality Report, a Couple of Things to Note

The report released Monday reveals that for another year Virgin America leads the pack when rating overall performance. And for a second year in a row Virgin America is followed by JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines has moved up and firmly landed in third.

A couple of ratings that stand out. When looking at customer complaints Southwest Airlines leads with the fewest and Frontier brings up the pack with the most. When rating denied boardings, Virgin America had the least while ExpressJet had the most. Again Virgin America leads the pack for fewest mishandled bags while American Eagle had the most. And last but not least Hawaiian Airlines is number one when it comes to arriving on time while American Eagle holds the place for least on time arrivals.

Airline Quality Report and the Winner is…

Here are the Airline Quality Rating winners:

1.  Virgin America
2.  JetBlue
3.  Hawaiian
4.  Delta
5.  Alaska
6.  Endeavor
7.  US Airways
8.  Southwest
9.  American
10. AirTran
11. Frontier
12. United
13. ExpressJet
14. SkyWest
15. American Eagle

If you’re interested in helping to advance and enhance the airline experience. And want to have a say then participate in the 2014 Airline Quality Rating survey by clicking here.

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