J.D. Power has officially published the results from a new report, which reveals increasing passenger satisfaction in the face of severe economic uncertainties.
Going by the available details, this particular exercise goes on to reveal that overall passenger satisfaction is up by 6 points (on a 1,000-point scale), as compared to 2024.
Talk about the whole lowdown on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how this rise in passenger satisfaction is actually driven by gains observed across the main cabin. You see, the stated improvement, by and large; stems from an 8-point increase in satisfaction among passengers flying in the economy/basic economy class, which represents the biggest chunk of airline passengers.
On the other hand, passenger satisfaction would go down by an estimated 7 points in the premium economy class and just 1 point in first/business class.
Next up, J.D Power’s report uncovered the importance of airline staff when it comes to enhancing passenger satisfaction. We get to say so because positive passenger experiences with airline staff were responsible for a 9-point increase in customer satisfaction across the economy/basic economy segment, thus showcasing the importance of frontline personnel in the overall passenger experience.
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in how no more than 10% of total passengers experienced problems. Out of those who did experience problems, flight delays emerged as the most common cause across all passenger segments. On the flipside, customers who did not cite a problem had satisfaction scores that were 125 points higher on overall level of trust with the airline than those who experienced a problem.
J.D Power’s report also discovered that passenger experience was strongly linked to brand loyalty. This translates to how, among passengers who describe their overall air travel experience as “perfect,” 81% would go on to say that they “definitely will” fly that airline again. Such a level of brand loyalty falls to just 4% among passengers who describe their experience as “poor.”
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon how JetBlue Airways actually ranks highest in customer satisfaction across the first/business segment with a score of 738. Beyond that, there is Delta Air Lines (724) coming in at second and Alaska Airlines (709) coming it at third.
When it comes to customer satisfaction in the premium economy, Delta Air Lines would rank highest for the third consecutive year, with a score of 717. JetBlue Airways (699), on the other hand, ranks second, and Alaska Airlines (691) ranks third.
Rounding up highlights would be the fact that Southwest Airlines achieved the highest rank in customer satisfaction across the economy/basic economy segment for the fourth consecutive year, with a score of 694, while JetBlue Airways ended up at (663) second rank and Delta Air Lines (662) settled for third.
Among other things, we ought to mention how North America Airline Satisfaction Study measures passenger satisfaction with airline carriers in North America based on performance in seven core dimensions on a poor-to-perfect 6-point rating scale. As for the individual dimensions measured, they included airline staff; digital tools; ease of travel; level of trust; on-board experience; pre/post-flight experience; and value for price paid.
All in all, the whole exercise took account the opinion of around 10,224 passengers. Passengers were needed; markedly enough, to have flown on a major North America airline within the past month of completing a survey.
“Throughout our one-year study period, we’ve seen a slight decline in both ticket prices and passenger volume, which has helped keep overall passenger satisfaction levels high,” said Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service at J.D. Power. “But it’s clear that market dynamics are changing and will likely affect passenger experience in the coming weeks and months. Airlines will likely have a tougher year this year, economically, but the key to their longer-term success will be how well they manage economic headwinds without compromising on customer experience.”
