Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Coach passengers on AMR Corp.’s American
Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. jets have the greatest risk of
hassles such as late or canceled flights, packed planes and higher fees.
Those two carriers and United Airlines, a
predecessor of United Continental Holdings Inc., fared the worst in a
Bloomberg Rankings analysis of operating performance and service
charges. Southwest Airlines Co., which doesn’t have fees to check bags,
and Frontier Airlines posted the highest scores.
The analysis covered expenses such as luggage
charges and rebooking fees as well as operating data like scrubbed
flights and the percentage of filled seats. Cancellations are up in 2011
after East Coast storms and a new U.S. rule to end long tarmac waiting
times, and a cut in flights means fewer empty seats.
“Airlines are really beginning to fill airplanes
like they never have before, and Americans don’t deal well with a lack
of personal space,” said Charles Leocha, director of Consumer Travel
Alliance, a Washington-based nonprofit group. “That and the complexity
of fees have led to the degrading of the flying experience.”
The list evaluated the largest 10 U.S. carriers,
as identified by passenger traffic on domestic flights. Regional
airlines such as American’s American Eagle and Delta Air Lines Inc.’s
Comair were excluded.
Lowest Scores
Southwest is the biggest discount airline and
ranked second on the list for U.S. traffic, while Indianapolis-based
Republic Airways Holdings Inc.’s Frontier was the smallest in the group.
On a scale of one to 100, with 100 the best score, Dallas-based
Southwest and Frontier logged 73.2 and 61.6 points.
The lowest scores were 31.2 for American, whose
parent AMR is now in bankruptcy; 32.5 for US Airways; and 33.6 for
United. All three have hubs subject to winter tie-ups, with American and
United flying from Chicago and New York and US Airways from
Philadelphia.
The cancellation rate for the 10 carriers
Bloomberg ranked was 1.56 percent for the year ended in September,
compared with 1.13 percent for the same period in 2006.
United was evaluated separately from Continental
Airlines Inc., its 2010 merger partner in forming United Continental,
because the airlines didn’t win U.S. approval to fly as one carrier
until Nov. 30. Also assessed separately were Southwest and its May 2011
acquisition, AirTran Holdings Inc.
Many travelers are exempt from the fees covered
in the Bloomberg rankings, because airlines often waive the costs for
passengers with elite frequent-flier status, first- and business-class
tickets, or certain co-branded credit cards.
Few Bag Fees
On American, only 25 percent of domestic
passengers pay a checked-bag fee, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for the
Fort Worth, Texas-based airline.
American’s performance also has improved in
recent years, with “more than half” of its disruptions due to
circumstances outside its control such as weather or air-traffic delays,
Smith said.
US Airways’ on-time performance rose 21 percent
from 2007 to 2010, while baggage handling improved by 70 percent and
customer satisfaction jumped 51 percent, Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman
for the Tempe, Arizona-based carrier, said in an e- mail. The figures
were based on the airline’s own data.
A pilot work slowdown that hurt results earlier
this year has been corrected, placing US Airways’ operational
performance on par or ahead of peers most months this year, she said.
Seat cutbacks since 2008 have in effect erased a
decade of growth, according to Airlines for America, a Washington-based
trade group. That has dragged industry capacity relative to U.S. Gross
Domestic Product to the lowest level since 1979, according to data
compiled by the trade group. American and Delta are among the airlines
expecting more cuts in 2012.
--Editors: Ed Dufner, James Langford
To contact the reporters on this story: Alex McIntyre in New York at
amcintyre10@bloomberg.net. Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at
mcredeur@bloomberg.net.
By Alex McIntyre and Mary Jane Credeur
