While many factors go into determining whether one’s flying experience will be positive or negative, some airlines have a reputation for a standard of luxury simply not done with North American airlines.
For everything from fine dining to top-of-the-line sleeper seats (and sometimes even entire quarters) in business class, this standard has traditionally been set by Middle Eastern carriers such as Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates. The latter is, according to a new survey by London-based market research company YouGov, the airline that U.S.-based flyers like the most.
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With data collected based on how travelers answered the question of “for which of the following airlines would you say that you are a satisfied/dissatisfied customer?,” Emirates received a net satisfaction rate of 75.1%. This is miles ahead of second- and third-place winners British Airways and Alaska Airlines (ALK) , which scored a respective 58.8% and 58.4% among the world’s top 10 most-flown airlines.
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This airline got a negative score in customer satisfaction
When looking at customer satisfaction alone, Singapore Airlines (SINGY) , Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand (ANZFF) topped the list globally. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines were the two U.S.-based airlines to land in the top global 10 on customer satisfaction.
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Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE) was the only airline with a negative satisfaction score (-8.6%), while American Airlines (AAL) was the front-runner as the airline customers are most likely to consider for any flights they need to take in the next 12 months (48%). Delta Air Lines (DAL) is slightly more popular among women (47%), while United Airlines (UAL) is preferred (50%) by men.
According to the YouGov analysts, Spirit’s low score comes down to the fact that customers often end up buying the low fare and then feeling disappointed when they have to pay extra for things like baggage. The low-cost model has initially helped Spirit win over some customers from competitors, but the airline’s recent string of poor financial performance has pushed it to introduce fare classes in which such extras are included.
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‘Flyers are not always buying what they set out to’
"While Spirit Airlines does not rank in the top 10 most considered airlines among Americans, it is in the top 10 most flown," YouGov America Vice President Kenton Barello said in a statement. “This indicates that flyers are not always buying what they set out to during the purchase process, suggesting smart positioning for Spirit Airlines — and lost opportunities for other airlines.”
Other interesting facts to come out of the report include the type of fare class U.S. travelers are buying — 70% of respondents purchased an economy flight in the last 12 months while 33% went for premium economy and 21% bought business. (The numbers do not add up to 100% because it was possible to provide multiple answers if one took multiple flights.)
An additional 59% of flyers said that they “usually” book budget flights, while 57% of those with a child under 18 said school breaks influence when they travel. Generationally, Delta is more popular among baby boomer and Generation X travelers while millennials and Gen Z prefer American and United, respectively.
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