Each year, an Airline Quality Ratings (AQR) report is released that evaluates a handful (this year, 12) American airlines and ranks them from best to worst. More than 75 million people view the annual report, which rates the airlines in four major areas:
- On-Time Performance:
- A flight is “on time” if it’s within 15 minutes of its scheduled hour.
- Mishandled Baggage
- Mishandled baggage includes claims for lost, delayed, and damaged bags.
- Customer Complaints:
- These complaints include flight problems, reservations, fares, baggage, refunds, oversales, disability, animals, advertising, discrimination, customer service, and other.
- Involuntary Denied Boardings (a.k.a. bumped” passengers):
- These passengers are ones who have confirmed reservations but are denied boarding because the flight is oversold.
Every year, Dr. Dean Headley (an associate professor of marketing at the W. Frank Barton School of Business of Wichita State University) and Dr. Brent Bowen (Dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona) create this report. The two use data compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation in order to get their AQR scores.
When it comes to on-time performance, Hawaiian Airlines scored the highest with a 91.9% while ExpressJet scored the lowest with a 70.8%. Virgin America, however, was the best airline for mishandled baggage (only 0.95 per 1,000 passengers) while American Eagle was the worst (9.02).
Frontier beat out other airlines (by a near landslide) for most customer complaints while Hawaiian Airlines took the cake again for fewest involuntary denied boardings. Alaska Airlines was complained about the least while SkyWest and ExpressJet tied for the bottom denied boardings position.
The top overall airlines of 2015 are:
- Virgin America
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- JetBlue Airways
- Alaska Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- American Airlines
- Frontier Airlines
- United Airlines
- SkyWest Airlines
- ExpressJet
- American Eagle
Whether you’re flying Virgin America or American Eagle, Winner can help make your PHL Airport parking experience easier and more affordable. Make your reservation today!