Dave’s High Flying Daughter Dacotah Happy and On Time

Hello KIT web readers, proud pops Dave Ettl here with some airline industry info for you.  I don’t fly that often so I don’t pay too much attention to these kind of details but now that my middle daughter Dacotah has joined the Alaskan Airlines team I have become a bit more aware.  She tells me Alaska has a great On-Time record and I thought…well maybe that’s a little fresh kool-aid talking….but she’s right!  See what a quick internet check revealed:

 It's a Repeat: Alaska Airlines Wins 2011 Major North American Airline On-Time Performance Award

FlightStats.com, the undisputed leader in flight and airport information services, announced the winners of

the FlightStats 2011 On-time Performance Awards, and for the second year in a row Alaska Airlines took the top honors among major North American Airlines

So, my too cool Coty soars with the happy eagles…but not everybody does.  Be sure to say “hi” to Coty when you next fly Alaska…and Heads Up you other airlines!!   Now this from the home office for TownSquare Media:

Last year, airlines in the US posted their highest profits in more than a decade — but all that money sure didn’t buy a lot of customer satisfaction.

Using data from the AQR report and elsewhere, US News compiled a list of the major airlines that it says could stand to improve their customer service. Here’s the list of the worst airlines:

1. United

According to the AQR, United had the second-highest customer complaint rate in 2010 with 1.64 complaints reported per 100,000 passengers, and placed second on Business Insider’s list of ‘The 18 Worst Companies in America.’

2. American

AA ranked fifth in total consumer complaints among all airlines surveyed, and it’s also on the Business Insider list for reasons including high baggage fees and service cutbacks.

3. Frontier

Its on-time performance improved this year, but customer complaints and mishandled baggage reports went up, too.

4. Continental

The airline made strides when it came to mishandled baggage on-time performance, but customer complaints and denied boardings (passengers who were bumped) offset the gains.

5. Delta

The carrier had the highest customer complaint rate of all the airlines and also placed sixth on Business Insider’s list, due at least in part to having some of the highest fees in the industry for large or heavy checked baggage.

[US News]