=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2004/04= /06/BUGG560UT81.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 6, 2004 (SF Chronicle) Travelers rate JetBlue as the No. 1 airline/Annual survey finds low-cost ca= rriers are favored by passengers David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer Low-fare airlines aren't just the cheapest carriers in the air anymore -- they're the best in the business, according to a prominent annual survey, released Monday, that showed low-fare upstart JetBlue as No. 1. The Airline Quality Ratings, compiled by Wichita State University busine= ss Professor Dean Headley and Wichita State Aviation Institute Professor Brent Bowen, showed low-fare carriers taking three of the top four places in the 14-airline survey for 2003. Alaska Airlines finished second, with low-fare pioneer Southwest Airlines third and low-fare America West Airlines fourth. Traditional carriers such as United Airlines (ninth place), American Airlines (11th) and Delta Air Lines (12th) finished near the bottom. United, the dominant carrier at San Francisco International Airport, slipped a spot from last year's eighth-place showing. United had a slightly lower on-time performance, the study says, although it cut the number of reported customer complaints in half in 2003 over 2002. The Airline Quality Ratings, released annually for the past 13 years, assess airlines that carry at least 1 percent of U.S. domestic passengers and rank them according to 15 criteria. Included are on-time arrival and departure, baggage handling, staff courtesy and the number of customer complaints. The statistics come from commercial airline reports to the U.S. Department of Transportation. JetBlue, which recently became the largest carrier at New York's JFK International Airport, has won customers since it took to the air three years ago by installing leather seats, seatback TVs with DirecTV programs and reveling in a stylish, big-city image. Last year's winner, US Airways, ranked highest while it was striving to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which it has since done. This year, it dropped to fifth in the rankings. JetBlue's prominence at JFK and, now, atop the consumer ratings demonstrates a major shift in commercial aviation, air-travel experts said. "The low-cost carriers have continued to improve their performances. It's a different world today," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, a national organization of corporate travel planners. Low-fare airlines used to have old equipment, but their growing market share -- from 4 percent in 1991 to 25 percent today -- has enabled them to buy new airplanes and spiff up service, Mitchell said. Also, he said, their management "has been focused like a laser" on customer service, while management at larger airlines has been distracted. The low-fare carriers, he said, have fielded increasingly confident, wel= l- trained and highly motivated staffs, which helps lift their customer satisfaction numbers. David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said the latest study results have tracked a shift in consumer preference, although the shift away from traditional carriers is far from complete. The main influences on air passenger behavior, Stempler said, are "price, schedule convenience (both time of day and destinations) and frequent-flier relationships, with miles as the tie-breaker." Large-scale carriers still have advantages over low-cost competitors, thanks to their established frequent-flier programs and global networks, he said. Nevertheless, Stempler said, "JetBlue has managed to capture the holy grail of aviation: low fares and high service. It used to be that low fares and minimal service went together." "Right now," he said, "people like the package of services they're seein= g" on low-fare leaders such as JetBlue, America West and Southwest. Airline quality ratings 1. JetBlue 2. Alaska 3. Southwest 4. America West 5. US Airways 6. Northwest 7. Continental 8. Air Tran 9. United 10. ATA Source: Wichita State University using U.S. Department of Transportation statistics E-mail David Armstrong at davidarmstrong@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --------------= -------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 SF Chronicle