Airlines Score Lower Than IRS in Customer Satisfaction

Airline passengers are some of the most dissatisfied consumers in the USA, says the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction index.

The annual report shows that the industry scored 63 out of a possible 100 in 2007, down from 65 a year ago, and the airlines' lowest rating since 2001. The long-running survey represents the views of some of the 80,000 consumers queried about goods or services they've purchased.

Of the 19 industries the ACSI asked consumers about, only the cable and satellite TV industry, at 62, fared worse. In comparison, the IRS scored 65.

"If a company has a score close to the IRS' score, something is awfully wrong," says Claes Fornell, the study director.

According to the study, the year-to-year drop is the result of "the same problems that have pulled airline passenger satisfaction down the past few years -- disenchanted employees, increasing fuel costs, bankruptcy, and now also record levels of lost, delayed and damaged luggage."

United Airlines' customers were the most dissatisfied. The airline, which emerged from bankruptcy-court protection in 2006, scored 56, the lowest among the seven airlines mentioned in the survey. It also registered the largest year-over-year drop -- 7 points -- and is "one of the lowest-scoring companies measured by the ACSI," the study says.

"We are committed to doing a better job at giving customers the service they expect," says United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski. Not-so-happy fliers

Customer satisfaction with U.S. airlines has dipped from a year ago.

Airlines 2007 Change from 2006

Southwest 76 +2.7%

Continental 69 +1.4%

US Airways 61 -1.6%

Northwest 61 unch.

American 60 -3.2%

Delta 59 -7.8%

United 56 -11.1%

Industry 63 -3.1%

Others 75 +1.4

Source: University of Michigan

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