It appears that the pandemic has produced an interesting side effect according to a new survey: happy airline passengers.
Survey Says: Airline Passengers Are HAPPY In The Pandemic Era
Airline passengers do have a lot of be thankful for this year. Airports and airplanes are not crowded, change fees have been eliminated, and the overall travel experience, except for the masks, is just smoother than it was before the pandemic.
That may be why the American Customer Satisfaction Index found that airline passengers satisfaction reached an all-time high for the period between April and September 2020. ACSI notes that “less crowded flights mean better service for those who do fly.”
Southwest Airlines finished out with the top ranking while Delta finished number two. Both improved upon last year’s rankings. While Southwest was lauded for the ease of check-in and best overall value, Delta was praised for its seat blocking policy. Middle seats will continue to be blocked on Delta until at least March 31, 2021.
Food and beverage did not play a noticeable role in overall satisfaction. Neither did flight schedules, which were rated about the same as last year. Despite significant cutbacks.
But while the onboard experience enjoyed high ratings, call center ratings declined. The culprit: refunds. Long waits to reach agents coupled with delays in processing refunds left many passengers angry.
With demand still depressed, do not count on full flights if you will be traveling in the months ahead. Even with widespread vaccinations, travel will likely remain depressed for at least the first half of 2021 and potentially the whole year. That may mean continued comfort onboard…
CONCLUSION
I guess I am the only one who would gladly trade the return of full meals onboard for crowded flights. Honestly, though, this has been a great year in terms of the ease of the travel experience. I do appreciate the lack of lines and extra seats onboard. I still look forward to getting back to “normal” if we ever do get back to normal…
I imagine the satisfaction level is also influenced by low expectations. People expect little these days but a seat. And yes, empty airports and so few flights makes for less delays and easier operations.
On a side note, flying AA mainline lately has been like a senior flight attendant convention. It’s quite obvious as I have yet to see one that’s under 50. With that, and so little to do on the flights now, you would think they would at least try to have some personality and be attentive to things like refilling your cup of water on a three hour flight in First. The reality is that it seems they could care less that they kept their jobs or have any desire to do anything but stand in the galley talking to each other. Ironically, the best service is on the regionals…the FA’s are so much better and seem to be trying to make the best of limited offerings.
Have had much better flights on United, including three yesterday. I don’t know what it is with AA.
The majority of my flights are on Envoy dba American Eagle. Those still working there definitely have a by-and-large attitude that they are thankful to still be there and are making the most of the opportunity. Shame the union is so strong, or there are a bunch I would try to recommend for promotion.
Not a surprise. Most people fly economy and economy class has never been better than it is now.
Of course, those of us who fly in premium cabins have a totally different outlook
That’s actually a very good distinction.
Admittedly, I travel frequently between Texas, Florida, and Georgia, but I just don’t know where all of these empty flights and airports everyone keeps talking about are. My upgrades clear most of the time, but certainly not always. I regularly see overbooking seat offer requests in the AA app, and airports by no means seem empty to me. In fact, I’d say CLT, MIA, and DFW feel like business as usual. In fact, I had trouble finding a seat in the Admiral’s Club in MIA last night.
All that being said, I have otherwise been satisfied with service this year.
Let’s get real: it’s because all of us frequent fliers aren’t leaving low survey marks and writing diatribes about our armrest being kind of wobbly in hopes of getting 500 miles credited to our account 😀
Yeah, back in the day that was $250 on United. *sigh*
Now they’ve fixed their planes!
Flight Attendants went from fearful in March to angry in the Summer. By Fall, the FAs who still have jobs are nicer and more interactive than ever. FA attitude can make a big difference on pax opinions.
Silver and Gold Elites are thrilled they are getting upgraded more because business flyers aren’t flying First Class as often.
Non-elites get better Economy seats because low-level elites are getting upgraded more often.
This is the domino effect.
As a 1K with United, I have flown nearly 200 flights this year, not having missed a single week.
Sadly, Polaris lounges are closed and food in First is awful.
Satisfaction level is based on comparison to prior experience.
This is not surprising. With fewer people to annoy and bother it seems that service has improved. I’d argue that’s what other airlines have known for some time, higher staffing numbers equals better service.