Airline performance declined in all four areas evaluated in a new report, including on-time performance, bumping, baggage handling and customer complaints.
Preliminary data for the Airline Quality Rating to be released today by professors at Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha show that Southwest Airlines had the best on-time performance in 2007 and the lowest consumer complaint rate. JetBlue had the lowest rate of passengers bumped from flights, and AirTran had the best baggage handling rate.
More than half of all complaints to the U.S. Department of Transportation involved flight or baggage problems.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines had the second-lowest consumer complaint rate. United Airlines had the second-highest consumer complaint rate. Only US Airways rated worse.
United is the largest carrier at Denver International Airport, while Frontier is second-largest. Southwest started flying to Denver in 2006 and has grown rapidly since then.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
