AirTran Top in 2011 AQR Review

The 2011 Airline Quality Rating (AQR) results are out and AirTran has taken the top position followed by last year’s no. 2. Hawaiian, with Jet Blue remaining in third place. The AQR compares “monthly performance data in the areas of on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage, and a combination of 12 customer complaint categories”.

The report says that airline performance has improved for the third consecutive year. “The industry improved in three of the four major elements of the AQR: on-time performance, baggage handling and involuntary denied boardings. Customer complaints is the only element where performance declined,” says the report.

Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University said that customer complaints have increased as the air travel system has got busier. Meanwhile, Brent Bowen, professor and head of the Department of Aviation Technology at Purdue University, is on  the lookout for future airline consolidations, as these often reduce AQR rankings.

The AQR is a joint research project between Wichita State University and Purdue University which has been running for 21 years. You can download the full report from the AQR website or see the rankings here.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 7:19 am and is filed under Air Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments

  1. Jacinda Green Says:
    April 6th, 2011 at 6:07 am

    I have to admit that the quality of AirTran is not as great as other airlines but it is definitely the best value as far as price is concerned. It’s not a surprise that it is on top of the list. I mean, who can compete with $59 flights?!

  2. Sharon Hurley Hall Says:
    April 6th, 2011 at 8:18 am

    You’re right, Jacinda – more than ever people want flights that don’t hurt the pocket too much.