Data Back New Airlines’ Claims The global air travel industry realized approximately $350 billion in revenue in 2006.* How could a new airline be competitive in a market that is so large? One way...

Data Back New Airlines’ Claims

The global air travel industry realized approximately $350 billion in revenue in 2006.* How could a new airline be competitive in a market that is so large? One way would be to convince potential customers that they provide better customer service than the existing airlines. But not only must the airline claim that they are better, their statements must also be supported by data. Flight problems and baggage problems were the number 1 and number 2 ranking complaint categories reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation by the end of 2005 and 2006. Are new airlines competitive in areas that matter to customers? JetBlue would like to think so. So would Southwest. What do the data say? Using information from the Department of Transportation, The Wall Street Journal issued a report card on U.S. airline customer service for 2006. Airlines were ranked in five service categories, including ontime arrivals and mishandled baggage. The top three ranking airlines were new airlines: JetBlue, Southwest, and AirTran. The number 9 and number 10 spots were held by older airlines United and Delta. The new airlines claimed better customer service, and the data supported their claims.