J.D. Power airline survey: JetBlue No. 1 low-cost carrier, Continental top traditional

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:24 p.m. June 29, 2006

WESTLAKE VILLAGE – Travelers ranked JetBlue Airways Corp. their favorite low-cost carrier and Continental Airlines Inc. the best traditional full-service carrier, according to a survey released Thursday.

Flyers value easy check-in and friendly service over such factors as in-flight meals and other amenities, according to the survey conducted by J.D. Power & Associates in conjunction with Aviation Week magazine.

“All of the airlines are struggling operationally, but that doesn't mean that passengers have to suffer too,” Linda Hirneise, executive director of the travel division at J.D. Power, said in a statement Thursday.

JetBlue received top ratings in seven areas surveyed, including costs and fees, in-flight services, check-in, flight crew and flight reservations.

Southwest Airlines came in second among low-cost carriers.

“JetBlue is true to its business model, in which it promises its passengers a comfortable seat with a television monitor, peanuts and service with a smile,” Hirneise said.

The study is based on responses from 9,334 passengers who flew on a North American airline between January and May.

Continental excelled in check-in, in-flight services and costs among the traditional segment, which includes airlines that operate multi-cabin planes and use multiple hubs.

Delta Air Lines Inc. was a close second to Continental in the category.

In a separate survey, travelers rated McCarran International in Las Vegas top in overall satisfaction among large airports.

The airport ranked high in the areas of check-in and security checks as well as terminal facilities.

John F. Kennedy International in New York and Philadelphia International tied for second in the survey.

LaGuardia International in New York ranked first among medium-sized airports, followed by Chicago Midway International.

Among small airports, Dallas' Love Field and Houston Hobby International tied for first, followed by John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif.

 

Don't care what surveys say, but I still think NWA's terminal at DTW is pretty nice.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/29/news...nies/airlines/

CAL and SWA didn't even come close to JetBlue! What a slamdunk!

 

I must have missed the chart that had low cost and legacy carriers combined.

My guessis the real "slam dunk" comes on or near July 20th.

 

Huh? CAL wasn't even in the same catagory as JBLEW so no comparison to make. The real slam-dunk is in JBLEW's recent aircraft deferrals and getting their arse whipped at EWR.

Go Blew Go !!!

 

What's up on the 20th?

I don't give too much credence to this JD Power thing anymore. They basically are a for hire survey company and CAL pays them $$$ for being allowed to place the obnoxious JD Power stickers on our planes.

 

Any statistics majors out there? How accurate is a poll of 9300 passengers, out of the tens of millions that flew during that time period. Delta carried 45 million pax during those months; other major airlines carried similar amounts. Nothing against JetBlue, but they're not a very big airline. How many of those passengers polled are even in a market served by JB? If the poll is skewed more towards one geographical area, the data becomes worthless.

Stories like this are good for filling a 20 second spot on CNN, but have no practical value.

 

Good point. Considering that JB doesn't serve giant chunks of the midwest and south, makes you wonder who was polled. Given thier enormous marketing effort in NY, I tend to think that if you poll 1000 gen-xer's in Manhattan, you're going to get 990 votes for JB.

The other 10 take the subway.

 

I haven't met anyone happy with Jetblow. Even the air marshalls hate riding on them (they told me so).

 

ease up gents,Jblue puts a good product out there,people in the NE swear by it,and my friends who fly for them are happy in their work, its not paradise over there,they have problems to overcome, but overall they are doing a good job. and CAL is by far ,the best of the legacies!