Airline Passenger Satisfaction Declines: Here’s Why That’s Good News

The crowds are back at the airport, those empty middle seats are occupied again and airlines in North America are raising ticket prices in response to soaring fuel costs and continued strong leisure travel demand—all at the expense of passenger satisfaction. While dramatically higher prices could harm airline brands in the long term, for now, load volume is continuing to climb and passengers are willing to be assigned a middle seat in exchange for getting out of their houses, according to the J.D. Power 2022 North America Airline Satisfaction Study,^SM released today.

 “Customer satisfaction with North American airlines climbed to unprecedented highs for all of the wrong reasons during the past two years,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power. “Fewer passengers meant more space on airplanes, less waiting in line and more attention from flight attendants. But that business model was simply not sustainable. Now, with volumes surging and some remnants of pandemic-era constraints still in place, passenger satisfaction is in decline—but that’s not really bad news. If airlines can find ways to manage these growing volumes while making some small adjustments to help passengers feel more valued, they should be able to manage this return to ‘normal.’”

 Following are some of the key findings of the 2022 study:

• Overall passenger satisfaction declines sharply across nearly all measures: Overall passenger satisfaction across all three study segments—first/business, premium economy and economy/basic economy—is 798 (on a 1,000-point scale), down more than 20 points from a year ago. Passenger satisfaction with cost, flight crews and aircraft all decline in this year’s study. 
• Premium passengers want their free drinks: Remnants of pandemic-era restrictions, such as the suspension of alcohol service in premium class, has driven sharp declines in passenger satisfaction with food and beverage offerings. This year, food and beverage satisfaction scores decline 38 points in the premium economy segment and decline 12 points in the first/business segment. By contrast, food and beverage satisfaction scores increase 7 points in the economy/basic economy segment.
• Cost is a driving factor in satisfaction as average ticket cost rises 20%: With higher fuel prices and rising demand driving a 20% increase in average airfares through March 2022, cost continues to be a significant factor in passenger satisfaction. Overall satisfaction with cost & fees declines in the premium economy segment (-66 points), in the economy/basic economy segment (-33) and in the first/business segment (-21).

 Study Rankings

 JetBlue Airways ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment with a score of 878. Alaska Airlines (876) ranks second and Delta Air Lines (862) ranks third.

 JetBlue Airways also ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the premium economy segment with a score of 851. Delta Air Lines (837) ranks second and Alaska Airlines (825) ranks third.

 Southwest Airlines ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment with a score of 849. JetBlue Airways (828) ranks second and Delta Air Lines (813) ranks third.

How are the effects of rising costs and inflation being felt in other industries when it comes to customer satisfaction? 

Andrew Heath, Managing Director of Utilities Intelligence weighs in:

"The rate relief efforts put in place during the pandemic     have come to an end just as the forces of inflation have   driven a significant increase in the monthly bills of   residential customers. Customer satisfaction has  declined in every factor of the study, as the average monthly water utility bill in the U.S. is now up $5.73 from 2020—without a corresponding increase in consumption.

 In addition, overall Satisfaction in the 2022 Water Residential Study has dropped 27 index points from Wave 1 to Wave 4.  This is the first time that Overall Satisfaction has declined year over year in the history of the study.  All the residential utility studies saw increases in satisfaction between 2018 and 2020. Satisfaction began declining in the Gas Residential study in 2021, by 3 points, followed by a 7 point decline in 2022 W1.  The Electric Residential study is showing signs of decline as well, with satisfaction dropping 4 index points between 2021 and 2022 W1. 

Utilities looking to combat this negative sentiment really need to get serious about proactive customer communications and customer service."

Learn more about the North America Airline Satisfaction Study and read the full press release here.