Customer Satisfaction

• Years of cost cutting measures in the industry have taken a toll on customer service and customer satisfaction. The yearly Airline Quality Report measures complaint rates, on-time performance, lost baggage and denied boarding rates and combines them to create a total AQR score. While the AQR only considers the domestic carriers, complaints are high among many airlines. In addition, most domestic carriers have cut services such as meals, pillows or in-flight entertainment, services that are standard on many international airlines.
  
  

Regional Airlines

• Small regional aircraft account for more than 50 percent of daily US departures.propeller aircraft image by JCVStock from Fotolia.com
  
  Part of the cost cutting trend has led to more outsourcing by the traditional legacy carriers, who allow their flights to be flown by regional airlines who have a lower cost basis. The regionals achieve this by keeping costs down and cutting even further on customer service. Despite the fact that the regionals fly under the colors of the mainline carrier, they are still legally a different airline. This issue came to prominence in early 2009 after the crash of Colgan 3407, which was operating for Continental Airlines. While some airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, do not outsource, it is a growing trend. According to the Regional Airline Association, the regional airlines flew over 50 percent of US departures as of 2010.
  
  

Fees

• A growing source of frustration for travelers is the increasing amount of fees that airlines have been implementing. First and second checked bags used to be free on most airlines, but now require a fee on almost every domestic airline. Some airlines have even implemented a fee for carry-on bags. Most every airline now charges for drinks and food, to change or cancel reservations, to choose seat assignments or to get priority boarding. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), baggage fees collected by U.S. airlines grew from $464 million in 2007 to over $3 billion in 2010. The trend is more prevalent amongst U.S. domestic airlines, but is growing in other parts of the world.
  
  

Service Reliability

• The airlines get a fair amount of bad press for delays, cancellations and diversions, especially during adverse weather conditions and irregular operations. In 2010, the BTS reported arrivals were on-time only around 80 percent of the time. While this is a slight improvement over the past few years, there is room for improvement. In 2010, over 14,000 flights diverted and 93,000 flights were canceled.