Should airlines stop promising customer satisfaction?

Frequent fliers are unlikely to be surprised by the results of the latest Airline Quality Ratings (AQR) study, which shows a continued decline in airline performance on key metrics of customer satisfaction.The annual study by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute and Wichita State University School of Business evaluated the performance of the nation�s 18 leading airlines in 15 key areas. Summing up the results, Dean Headley, a co-author of the report stated, �We can verify that the quality of the performance of the airline industry has gotten progressively worse over the last three years.� According to the report:

The Airline Quality Rating industry score shows an industry that has declined in quality relative to customer performance criteria over the course of 2006. Of the 15 carriers rated in both 2005 and 2006, only Northwest and US Air show improvement in their overall AQR score for 2006. The 2006 AQR scores for Alaska and Delta were virtually unchanged from their 2005 level. US Air had the largest gain in overall score, while American Eagle had the largest decline in AQR score for 2006.

Because the AQR ratings are based on data collected from various third-party sources rather than direct interviews with airline customers, the data may actually underreport the level of passenger dissatisfaction.

As I mentioned in a previous posting, many of the factors that render the airline travel experience dissatisfying are simply beyond the control of the airlines to remedy. While we may appreciate the laudable intentions of Jet Blue�s CEO using YouTube to apologize for poor customer service or Southwest Airlines �Chief Apology Officer� sending out aplogy letters by the thousands, perhaps it is simply time for the airlines to acknowledge what their customers already know: airline travel as it currently exists is an unpleasant experience.

Even if the airlines were able to completely eradicate the problems included in the Airline Quality Ratings (late arrivals and departures, overbooking, lost baggage, etc.), their passengers are still going to suffer the frustrations of:

• Inconvenient parking and ground transportation /li>
• Slow, invasive, humiliating security screenings
• Overcrowded terminals, concourses, and gates
• Overpriced concessions
• Weather-related delays
• Equipment-related delays
• Long waits for baggage claim

The bottom line: Maybe it is time to lower the bar for customer expectations of the air travel experience. Instead of promising a satisfying trip, the airlines should simply promise to do everything they can to make the experience less unpleasant.