In a year marked by significant recovery and transformation within the airline industry, AirlineRatings.com has revealed its much-anticipated list of the world’s best airlines for 2024.
08.05.2024 - 18:17 / forbes.com / Michael Taylor
What’s the best airline in 2024? It depends on the cabin you fly. Delta Airlines comes in at top for both first-class travelers and those who fly in premium economy, according to J.D. Power’s newest 2024 customer satisfaction survey that ranks North American airlines.
Southwest Airlines, however, is the best airline for economy travel, according to the study released on May 8 by J.D. Power, a data and analytics company that releases satisfaction ratings across a number of industries, including travel and hospitality.
The analysts at J.D. Power say that these top-performing carriers have made recent investments in the “people side of their businesses” which has helped them score high in areas where interpersonal interactions can make a difference.
During the past year, a number of factors have influenced the flight experience for customers.
“There are many aspects to the overall air travel experience that airlines cannot control, but one area in which they can profoundly influence is the positive effect that airline staff has on passengers,” said Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service, in a press release.
The big takeaway from this year’s study? It’s the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience, Taylor says. The airlines that are investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers.
North American carriers have witnessed a 16% year-over-year increase in demand, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Some air travel pain points include crowded gates and a shortage of overhead bin space.
Safety concerns are top of mind, too, amid the mid-air door plug blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane that forced a grounding of an Alaskan Airline plane.
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study was redesigned for this year’s rankings, according to J.D. Power.
The metrics for its rankings include: airline staff; digital tools; ease of travel; level of trust; on-board experience; pre/post-flight experience; and value for price paid.
The analysts changed from a 1- 10 scale to “poor to perfect” scale this year, Taylor explained to Forbes. Respondents could rate their experiences with the following metrics: Poor, Just OK, Good, Great, Excellent, Perfect.
This scale is then converted to the J.D. Power 1,000-point scale for ranking. Rating something “Perfect” is much harder to achieve than rating something a 10/10, explains Taylor, so scores are generally lower on the “Poor to Perfect” scale. This doesn’t mean the performance is worse this year, it just means that the rating is generally lower
In a year marked by significant recovery and transformation within the airline industry, AirlineRatings.com has revealed its much-anticipated list of the world’s best airlines for 2024.
While summer kicks off, customers can get a head start on planning to get away this winter with more options to visit the Caribbean and Latin America with American Airlines. In winter 2024, American will enhance its industry-leading short-haul international network with eight new routes and increased service, offering flights to more destinations than any other U.S. carrier in the region. “Customers will have more reasons to choose American than ever before for nonstop fun in the sun this year,” said Brian Znotins, American’s Senior Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning. “We are excited to continue growing our network to the region with more flights this winter to the Caribbean and Latin America than any other U.S. carrier ever.”
American Airlines' pilots, flight attendants, and airport staff are the face of nearly 6,000 flights operated by the carrier around the world each day.
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