Dive Brief:
- Customer satisfaction with airlines fell 4% from last year, driven in large part by business customers, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index based on nearly 16,800 consumer surveys. After a record high last year, airlines scored 74 on a 100-point scale.
- The study found declines in customer satisfaction across the travel industry, including airlines, online travel agencies, lodging, car rentals and rideshare services. “We're seeing declines across customer value segments, but we're seeing it specifically among those higher value, business-type customers,” said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI.
- Customers were most dissatisfied with the quality of in-flight Wi-Fi, the usefulness of flight information provided by airlines, and seat comfort. They were most satisfied with the quality and reliability of the mobile app as well as website functionality.
Dive Insight:
Airlines have been courting business and higher-value customers, but satisfaction declined despite their efforts.
“They're a more profitable segment, and so firms definitely want to attract those higher value business customers,” Morgeson said. “At the same time, it's not surprising to see that their satisfaction declines a little bit because they tend to be more demanding customers as well. They're willing to pay more or their business is still willing to pay more, but at the same time, they expect to get really strong, consistent service.”
As economic uncertainty persists, airlines are also feeling squeezed when it comes to offering all the same services they normally would, Morgeson said.
“We're seeing airlines and a whole bunch of players in the travel industry that are growing much more skeptical about the economic climate,” Morgeson said. “With that comes pretty natural anxiety, pulling back on services and doing those kinds of things that can disrupt service to these customers.”
While business customers drove the drop, other segments also saw declines.
“We look at a variety of segments, so we're seeing it for those that did and did not get baggage, those that did and did not have a carry on, the kinds of things that can really change the customer's experience,” Morgeson. “So it tends to be fairly broad.”
Southwest and Spirit were the only two airlines to see customer satisfaction gains, each growing 3%. Southwest overtook Alaska Airlines as the airline with the highest satisfaction.
The survey was conducted between April 2024 and March 2025 — prior to drastic changes at Southwest, including the elimination of its two free checked bags policy.
