Alaska Air tops airline quality list

Study: 10 of 11 carriers did better in 2001 than in 2000

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Alaska Airlines tops the latest list of customers' satisfaction with 11 major airlines in 2001.

The airline finished second the previous year behind Delta Air Lines, which fell to fifth in the Airline Quality Rating released Monday. America West was the major carrier judged most improved in the survey period of 2000 to 2001.

The Airline Quality Rating, published annually by the University of Nebraska Omaha Aviation Institute and the School of Business at Wichita State University, uses 15 criteria to compare quality among the largest domestic United States airlines. Factors include customer complaints, denied boardings, on-time arrivals and baggage handling.

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Overall, 10 out of the 11 airlines performed better in 2001 than in 2000, according to the survey's authors.

"We seem to be moving in the right direction," Wichita State University professor Dean Headley said Monday.

But he noted that much of the improvement could have come from the drastic downturn in air travel caused by the economic recession and September's terrorist attacks.

"The post 9-11, on-time performance of a down-sized transport system was 7 percent better than earlier months in 2001," Headley said.

"Baggage handling and customer complaints also showed improvement in the last quarter. Let's hope the carriers learn from this and continue to improve customer service as we return to a full-capacity system," he said.

According to the survey, overall consumer complaints declined by almost 30 percent compared to 2000. United Airlines improved its customer complaint rate by nearly 40 percent. Only Delta Air Lines, last year's top performer, showed an increase in customer complaints and denied boardings in 2001.

The survey ranked the 11 major airlines in this order: Alaska; US Airways; Northwest; Southwest; Delta; American; America West; Continental; United; American Eagle; and TWA.

By the numbers

Department of Transportation statistics gathered by the researchers paint a fuller picture of air travel in the United States: