Study: Airline Passenger Complaints On Rise

Results from the 18th annual Airline Quality Rating Report released today show that the top three air carriers for passenger satisfaction in 2007 were Air Tran, Jet Blue, and Southwest Airlines -- based on criteria including on-time arrivals, baggage handling, customer complaints, and boarding denials. The Associated Press reports that "overall the industry did a poor job last year," with "more lost bags, more bumped passengers, more consumer complaints and fewer on-time flights than in the previous year." According to its authors -- professors Brent Bowen of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Dean Headley of Wichita State University -- the AQR is a summary of quality ratings for the largest domestic U.S. airlines. 16 airlines were evaluated for 2007.

• 2008 Airline Quality Rating Report
• See the Airline Rankings for 2007 (Associated Press)
• Airline Passenger Complaints Soaring (Associated Press)
• Air Travel FAQ (FindLaw)
• Complaints About Air Travel (U.S. Dept. of Transportation)
• FAA Inspectors: Safety Violations Ignored (FindLaw's Common Law)