We’ve all had problems while flying. The airline lost my bag! That gate agent was so rude! I missed my connection! Sometimes we can brush it off as an unfortunate consequence of air-travel convenience. But other times we just can’t let it go. Fortunately, plenty of outlets exist for expressing our frustrations and rectifying problems.
The airline itself is the place to start. After all, it’s the one with the power to refund your money or issue credit, which can go a long way toward assuaging anger.
A disappointing response from an airline, however, can leave you feeling powerless. Since the mid ’80s, the Department of Transportation has held U.S.-based airlines responsible for customer-service issues. The first step is to file a complaint with the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement division.
Among others, Top 10 Most Complained-About Airlines:
No. 1: Delta
1.96 per 100,000 passengers
Delta dropped the ball this past year. One DOT official attributes the airline’s most-complained-about status to its merger with Northwest. Regardless, Delta has some work to do: it was the worst offender in nearly all categories, especially flight problems, reservations, and baggage. The airline’s response? Complaints are handled, said a spokesperson, “on a case-by-case basis in the order they are received.”
No. 2: United Airlines
1.34 complaints per 100,000 passengers
The skies aren’t so friendly to passengers when it comes to mishandled luggage or flight cancellations and delays. True, the airline’s record is improving—the complaint rate in 2008 was 1.86—but its planned merger with Continental may cause more snafus, at least in the short term.
No. 3: US Airways
1.31 complaints per 100,000 passengers
Here’s the good news: in 2008, US Airways came in dead last for service with a rate of 2.01 complaints (and a whopping 3.16 in ’07), so clearly the airline has focused on improving its score. But alas, here’s the bad news: mistakes made with reservations, ticketing, and boarding remain the airline’s Achilles’ heel.
No. 4: Northwest Airlines
1.21 complaints per 100,000 passengers
Northwest had a spectacular fall from grace in 2009, dropping a full eight spots to its unfortunate current ranking. What happened? The Delta merger—involving an admittedly complicated integration of ticketing and gates—was the likely culprit.
No. 5: American Airlines
1.07 complaints per 100,000 passengers
Only Southwest carries more passengers, but that airline’s low complaint rate shows that size shouldn’t matter. Still, American’s year-over-year score has improved, perhaps with the support of what an airline spokesperson calls “a proactive customer outreach program should something unique occur with a specific flight.”
No. 6: Comair
1.03 complaints per 100,000 passengers
The smallest airline on the list improved one spot, but let’s face it: No. 6 is still pretty bad. The large majority of the service complaints were about flight problems. To make matters worse, Comair had the worst on-time performance of any U.S. airline in 2009.
No. 7: Continental Airlines
1.00 complaints per 100,000 passengers
In the past year, Continental improved enough to move up one spot in the ratings. But be warned: when it combines with United to create the world’s largest airline, the logistics of integration could cause some problems.
No. 8: AirTran
0.97 complaints per 100,000 passengers
AirTran has maintained its dubious No. 8 ranking two years in a row, although it received fewer service complaints in 2009. Flight cancellations and delays were its major problems, about which a DOT official says, “Often low-cost carriers will not rearrange flights on another airline because they don’t have a full-service contract of carriage.”
No. 9: Frontier Airlines
0.92 complaints per 100,000 passengers
In 2008, the sister carrier to Midwest Airlines was one of America’s least-complained-about airlines, according to the DOT. But Frontier stumbled this past year, moving into the most-complained-about category for the first time in three years.
No. 10: JetBlue Airways
0.85 complaints per 100,000 passengers
The most recent J. D. Powers survey awarded JetBlue the highest rating of overall customer satisfaction for low-cost carriers. True, the DOT’s stats don’t back that up, but JetBlue is still one of the country’s 10 least-complained-about airlines.
Source: Yahoo. Travel
The airline itself is the place to start. After all, it’s the one with the power to refund your money or issue credit, which can go a long way toward assuaging anger.
A disappointing response from an airline, however, can leave you feeling powerless. Since the mid ’80s, the Department of Transportation has held U.S.-based airlines responsible for customer-service issues. The first step is to file a complaint with the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement division.
Among others, Top 10 Most Complained-About Airlines:
No. 1: Delta
1.96 per 100,000 passengersDelta dropped the ball this past year. One DOT official attributes the airline’s most-complained-about status to its merger with Northwest. Regardless, Delta has some work to do: it was the worst offender in nearly all categories, especially flight problems, reservations, and baggage. The airline’s response? Complaints are handled, said a spokesperson, “on a case-by-case basis in the order they are received.”
No. 2: United Airlines
1.34 complaints per 100,000 passengersThe skies aren’t so friendly to passengers when it comes to mishandled luggage or flight cancellations and delays. True, the airline’s record is improving—the complaint rate in 2008 was 1.86—but its planned merger with Continental may cause more snafus, at least in the short term.
No. 3: US Airways
1.31 complaints per 100,000 passengersHere’s the good news: in 2008, US Airways came in dead last for service with a rate of 2.01 complaints (and a whopping 3.16 in ’07), so clearly the airline has focused on improving its score. But alas, here’s the bad news: mistakes made with reservations, ticketing, and boarding remain the airline’s Achilles’ heel.
No. 4: Northwest Airlines
1.21 complaints per 100,000 passengersNorthwest had a spectacular fall from grace in 2009, dropping a full eight spots to its unfortunate current ranking. What happened? The Delta merger—involving an admittedly complicated integration of ticketing and gates—was the likely culprit.
No. 5: American Airlines
1.07 complaints per 100,000 passengersOnly Southwest carries more passengers, but that airline’s low complaint rate shows that size shouldn’t matter. Still, American’s year-over-year score has improved, perhaps with the support of what an airline spokesperson calls “a proactive customer outreach program should something unique occur with a specific flight.”
No. 6: Comair
1.03 complaints per 100,000 passengersThe smallest airline on the list improved one spot, but let’s face it: No. 6 is still pretty bad. The large majority of the service complaints were about flight problems. To make matters worse, Comair had the worst on-time performance of any U.S. airline in 2009.
No. 7: Continental Airlines
1.00 complaints per 100,000 passengersIn the past year, Continental improved enough to move up one spot in the ratings. But be warned: when it combines with United to create the world’s largest airline, the logistics of integration could cause some problems.
No. 8: AirTran
0.97 complaints per 100,000 passengers
AirTran has maintained its dubious No. 8 ranking two years in a row, although it received fewer service complaints in 2009. Flight cancellations and delays were its major problems, about which a DOT official says, “Often low-cost carriers will not rearrange flights on another airline because they don’t have a full-service contract of carriage.”No. 9: Frontier Airlines
0.92 complaints per 100,000 passengersIn 2008, the sister carrier to Midwest Airlines was one of America’s least-complained-about airlines, according to the DOT. But Frontier stumbled this past year, moving into the most-complained-about category for the first time in three years.
No. 10: JetBlue Airways
0.85 complaints per 100,000 passengersThe most recent J. D. Powers survey awarded JetBlue the highest rating of overall customer satisfaction for low-cost carriers. True, the DOT’s stats don’t back that up, but JetBlue is still one of the country’s 10 least-complained-about airlines.
Source: Yahoo. Travel
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