=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/c/a/2007/04/03/MNGTFP0IP8= 1.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 3, 2007 (SF Chronicle) Airlines struggled with lateness, bag handling last year/Despite bad news, = quality survey noted dip in complaints Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer Airlines may have recovered from the difficult years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but they're delivering increasingly lousy service, according to an annual survey of airline performance. There were more lost luggage pieces, more late flights and more bumpings in 2006 than in 2005, the 17th annual Airline Quality Rating report, released Monday, found. -- Mishandled baggage -- including lost, misrouted or damaged luggage -- climbed to 6.5 per 1,000 passengers from 6.06 per 1,000 passengers, an increase of nearly 7 percent. -- On-time performance fell to 75 percent from 77 percent in 2005. -- The number of passengers involuntarily bumped from overbooked flights increased to 1.01 per 10,000, compared to 0.89 per 10,000 in 2005. The only area in which the airlines improved was in the number of complaints they received -- an indication, perhaps, that airline passengers have abandoned their expectations of receiving quality service and stopped complaining. Complaints fell to 8,321 in 2006 from 8,471 in 2005, and about 20,000 in 2001. In addition to the inconveniences imposed by often-changing security inspections at airports, airlines have dismissed employees, cut frequent flier programs, eliminated meals on most flights and generally made flying more of a hassle, said Dean Headley, a marketing professor at Wichita State University and co-author of the study. "I don't know if it's consumers giving up or the airlines taking advanta= ge of the situation," Headley said. "But this is going to crash." Despite the problems, many fliers interviewed at SFO on Monday shrugged = at the conclusions of the report and said they plan to keep flying. "You just gotta accept it," said Jeff Bowers, 49, a carpenter from Wailuku, Maui, in Hawaii. "Otherwise you'll be unhappy all the time." At SFO, long lines formed at baggage service with passengers whose lugga= ge was delayed, misdirected or missing. Aude Sanchez, 30, a San Jose State University French teacher, and her fiance had just returned from their "pre-honeymoon," as she called it, in Tahiti. But one of their two pieces of luggage didn't make it from their Los Angeles flight to SFO. "It might be late. It will arrive sometime, hopefully," she said. "I've had it happen before, on a flight from San Diego to SFO. It came in the late evening instead of the morning." While Sanchez remained optimistic, she admitted that the flying experien= ce stripped away some of the relaxed attitude she developed after a week in the tropics. "The luggage, plus flight delays, plus everything else, it's just a lot = of waiting," she said. "It's frustrating." United Airlines found Kim Gross' bag in Frankfurt, Germany, where her flight began. The student, who lives in San Francisco, said the airline lost her suitcase on her flight from San Francisco to her home in Frankfurt, too. It was eventually found and delivered to her home. The airline planned to do the same this time. "I fly a lot," she said, "But the last two times they've lost my luggage= ." Much of the reason for the luggage troubles, said Headley, is the recent= ly imposed Transportation Security Administration limits on carry-on items, a change that has confused air travelers and prompted more of them to check more bags. That, combined with fewer airline employees -- including baggage handlers -- equals more mistakes. "In a lot of cases, the airlines have the choice of getting the passenge= rs there on time or getting the bags there on time," he said. The frustration could grow worse, Headley predicted, if airlines begin to charge for checking luggage -- a common practice in Europe that will be tested by at least one U.S. carrier, Spirit Air, beginning this summer. "This is a formula for disaster," he said. The other ratings also point to a stressed industry headed for trouble, = he said. On-time performance is down, in part because the airlines are flying fewer flights on bigger planes, said Mike McCarron, spokesman for SFO. "It's a function of numbers," he said. "If there's a problem, it's going to affect more people." Fewer seats in the skies also mean more people getting bumped from overbooked flights, Headley said. "With the airline system having fewer seats and trying to closely match their capacity, you are going to end up with more bumps," he said. The study, which relied on data collected from the U.S. Department of Transportation, found that Hawaiian Airlines had the top rating, followed by JetBlue, AirTran, Frontier and Northwest. The worst was Atlantic Southeast, which doesn't fly to the Bay Area. E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AIRLINE SERVIC= E HAS SUFFERED, ACCORDING TO REPORT=20 Customer satisfaction with airline delays, lost baggage and being=20 bumped from flights grew worse for the third year in a row, according to an= =20 annual report. Airlines are listed best to worst according to overall rank:= =20 Total Involuntary=20 =20=20 complaints* Bags denied=20 On-time by month lost boardings**=20 Serves arrival Per 100,000 Per 1,000 Per 10,000=20= =20 Rank/airline SFO OAK percentage passengers passengers passengers=20 1. Hawaiian X 94% 0.64 3.14 0.13=20 2. JetBlue =86 X 73 0.4 4.09 0.07=20 3. AirTran X 75 0.62 4.72 0.08=20 4. Frontier X 81 0.49 5.18 0.47=20 5. Northwest X 76 0.88 4.6 0.81=20 6. Southwest =86 X 80 0.18 5.34 0.91=20 7. Continental X X 73 0.88 4.76 1.74=20 8. United X X 74 1.36 5.68 0.51=20 9. Alaska X X 73 0.52 5.71 1.26=20 10. American X X 76 1.09 6.33 0.84=20 11. ATA X 69 1.12 6.11 2.19=20 12. Delta X X 76 1.03 6.88 1.7=20 13. US Airways X 77 1.36 7.82 1.08=20 14. SkyWest X X 77 0.68 10.16 1.12=20 15. Mesa 73 1.26 10.55 1.59=20 16. Comair 74 0.63 11.98 2.47=20 17. American=20=20 Eagle X X 72 1.03 14.42 1.31=20 18. Atlantic=20 Southeast 66 0.74 17.37 4.47=20 Industry average: 76% 0.88 6.50 1.01=20 * To the Department of Transportation=20 =86 Plans to offer service=20 soon=20 ** Passengers bumped from flights due to overbooking=20 Source: Air Travel Consumer Report, U.S. Department of Transportation,= =20 Office of Aviation Enforcement Proceedings; Chronicle research=20 Todd Trumbull / The Chronicle=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".