It seems that the small niggles we Brits have about certain airlines are the same the world over. A new survey has revealed that uncomfortable seats and excessive fees levied by airlines are the bug-bears of US travellers too.
The survey, carried out by Consumer Reports, has ranked ten of the largest US airlines in order of traveller popularity, taking into account ease of check-in, cabin-crew, baggage handling, in-flight comfort and entertainment.
Almost 15,000 air travellers were questioned for the survey, following a combined total of 29,720 domestic flights taken between them over the course of a year.
Budget airlines fared well, nabbing the top five places, with the traditional carriers languishing at the bottom of the list. Southwest triumphed overall in the rankings, with an impressive score of 87 out of 100, tailgated by JetBlue, which scored 84. Lesser known Alaska Airlines took third place, whilst United took last place, with a score of just 61.
Director of survey research at Consumer Reports, Mark Kotkin, said, “What we found is that paying fewer additional fees generally translates into a passenger having higher overall satisfaction with an airline,” he added.
