Dive Brief:
- Southwest Airlines leads North American airlines for customer satisfaction in economy and basic economy, according to J.D. Power’s ranking of airline customer satisfaction, released Wednesday. Southwest retained its lead for the third year in a row.
- Delta Air Lines led among carriers for first class and business segment as well as premium economy segment.
- Staffing played a prominent role, according to Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service at J.D. Power. “There are many aspects to the overall air travel experience that airlines cannot control, but one area in which they can profoundly influence is the positive effect that airline staff has on passengers,” he said.
Dive Insight:
Southwest and Delta, the two top-performing carriers in J.D. Power’s study, made substantial investments in staff last year. The effect staff made on customer satisfaction was apparent in criteria where interpersonal interactions are critical, according to J.D. Power.
“The big takeaway from this year’s study is the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience,” Taylor said.
Ease of travel and trust were the two largest factors in driving customer satisfaction, according to the study.
“Airlines that are investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers,” Taylor said.
J.D. Power’s finding is in line with prior research on staffing and customer satisfaction.
Airline customer satisfaction is at an all-time high, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index Travel Study, released last month. The soaring satisfaction rates are occurring at the same time as airlines increased staffing, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The ACSI also found satisfaction with staff-impacted factors — like check-in and boarding — grew year over year.
“This whole notion of how we treat our employees and then how those employees then treat customers is a lot of what's driving that,” Ashley Reichheld, a principal at Deloitte Digital and the customer and marketing practice leader for the consumer industry. “There's a direct relationship between employees and customers.”
J.D. Power’s study was based on a survey of nearly 9,600 passengers of major North America airlines.
