Frequent travelers view the U.S. airline industry as worsening during the past year, according to a Web-based survey conducted during the past month by AQR.Aero Inc.

The survey is a new feature of the national Airline Quality Rating, which was announced April 6, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. When combined with past trends in the national Airline Quality Rating's summer month scores, authors report that frequent travelers will be disappointed. No other study is based on performance measures like the AQR.

Adding the additional data from frequent travelers will give the flying public new perspective, say researchers Brent Bowen and Dean Headley, co-authors of the AQR.

Dean Headley, associate professor and chair of the department of marketing at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University, said: "It is no surprise that frequent flyers are disgruntled. All elements of the air travel experience are getting worse, and the price is going up."

The airline industry is in turmoil, as the AQR demonstrated last month. "These consumer opinions further validate our annual report," said Headley.

The survey results reveal that by a large margin, frequent flyers are most interested in on-time performance with baggage and customer service almost equal in importance.

The participants in the study were active and frequent travelers, said Brent Bowen, founder of AQR.aero and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Most flew more than five times per year, some more than 10 flights per year, and many flew more than 20 times annually. What makes these results of significant and unique value, says Bowen, is that they correspond to the measures used in the national Airline Quality Rating.

Specific findings from the study are available online at AQR.aero. More than 5,000 travelers participated in the study by completing a survey form at AQR.aero over the past month.

"The public is turning to Congress for action, and that's why we have a member of Congress encouraging us to conduct further research," said Bowen.

Bowen says several questions in the new survey, being launched today at AQR.aero, address questions raised by Nebraska Congressman Lee Terry, a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and a sponsor of the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights legislation. "Our nation's airline passengers have the opportunity to be heard by Congress and participate in the development of public policy," Bowen said.

Terry believes that the traveling public needs an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. He wants to know the impact of costs associated with that and know what passengers think about the need to regulate some components of the airline system to fix the worsening problems.

Terry understands that making data available on a regular, quarterly basis with a widespread base is a logical next step in helping all travelers.

"I'm sure that many of my colleagues in Congress will be interested in this information," said Terry.

"We need the flying public to be heard," said Headley. "They can be heard by going to AQR.aero and completing the new survey. Their participation will provide important input to Congress. The more participants, the more valid the data we can share with Congress, the Department of Transportation and others."

Summer travel season begins this weekend

A look back at the summer of 2007 provides some perspective for 2008. On-time performance for June, July and August 2007 was 69.1 percent; mishandled baggage rate was 7.79 per 1,000 passengers; and customer complaints were 1.78 per 100,000 passengers All of these were worse than the industry averages for all of 2007. See below for more complete figures.

It is clear that summer travel is a time of lower performance by the airline industry. Headley said: “Summer is always a busy time for air travel and the poor performance by airlines doesn’t help consumers' attitudes. Flyers should be prepared for a summer of discontent, again.”

Bowen said: "We want the flying public to make informed summer travel decisions. Go to AQR.aero to better understand what the industry patterns are at this busy time of year."

AQR.Aero Inc. launches AQR Quarterly

In response to overwhelming encouragement from industry watchers, frequent travelers and concerned private individuals, the AQR research team has created the AQR Quarterly. This periodical release of key airline industry data will be timed to precede key peak travel seasons.

First alerts on service problems, early copies of press releases and more key and exclusive information will be available. Subscribe at AQR.aero.

Headley says "consumers want to be informed when making travel plans. With the AQR Quarterly's report coming out just prior to fall, holiday and summer travel peaks, those wanting to make informed decisions can do so with greater confidence."

Bowen adds that the spring edition will be the full annual AQR report along with other value-added information.

For additional information and to obtain access to data, charts and other material referenced in the release, visit AQR.aero.

For more information or to interview one of the co-authors, contact Dean Headley at (316) 978-3367 or Brent Bowen at (402) 516-8756.

Summer 2007 Airline Performance

(June/ July/ August averaged)

On-Time

Industry 69.1%

Best 77.2% (Sky West for 6/07 & 7/07 and Southwest 8/07)

Worst 55.0% (Atlantic Southeast)

Mishandled Baggage

Industry 7.79 bags per 1,000 passengers

Best 5.06 (AirTran)

Worst 15.11 (American Eagle 6/07 & 8/07 and Atlantic Southeast 7/07)

Involuntary Denied Boardings

Industry 1.01 per 10,000 passengers

Best 0.01 (JetBlue)

Worst 4.11 (Atlantic Southeast)

Customer Complaints

Industry 1.78 per 100,000 passengers

Best 0.30 (Southwest)

Worst 4.27 (US Airways)

Industry Performance for 2007

On-Time 73.0%

Mishandled Baggage 7.01 per 1,000 passengers

Involuntary Denied Boardings 1.14 per 10,000 passengers

Customer Complaints 1.42 per 100,000 passengers

To see the results in chart form, go to  

www.wichita.edu/thisis/newsresource/AQL_Survey_Results.asp.