Covering 84 airlines and 46 major airports the results say: Discontentment soars as airline industry continues to experience turbulence; Continental- JetBlue- Midwest- Southwest and Virgin America outfly the rest. Singapore airlines take top international honors in an eight-survey streak -Tampa and Hong Kong are favorite airports; LaGuardia and JFK are a disappointment.
Zagat Survey today announced the results of the 2007 Zagat/ "Today" show Global Airlines Survey – its first since 2005. The survey covered 7,498 frequent fliers who rated 84 airlines and 46 major airports. Each airline was separately rated on its premium and economy service for both domestic and international flights.
The typical survey participant took 19.7 flights in the past year aggregating 147,000 trips. The respondents also provided unabashed comments about flying the friendly – or not so friendly – skies. Discontent with the air travel industry is so high that 61% of the respondents favored the enactment of the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, which, inter alia, would ensure that passengers be compensated for bad air travel experiences. Only 5% oppose the bill while 34% still don't know what it is.
Domestics: Overall, America's major airlines continue to disappoint on their domestic service. Looking back to Zagat's first airline survey in 1990, the average overall quality ratings of American Airlines, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways decreased anywhere from five to nine points on the Zagat 30 point scale. Of the U.S. majors, only Continental and Southwest bucked this trend thanks to strong management, good labor relations and largely new fleets.
Overseas: As always, international airlines fared much better than U.S. domestic carriers. Singapore Airlines swept the competition again for both international economy and international premium classes earning the No. 1 spot in every category. Other international pacers include Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates Airline and ANA.
Tim Zagat, co-founder and CEO of Zagat Survey stated, "Our results show that the airline industry continues its steep descent in the eyes of the flying public – record delays, cancellations and crowding continue to besiege travelers' experiences. While no airline is immune to these issues, several domestics managed to perform especially well, including Continental, Southwest, Midwest, JetBlue and newcomer Virgin America. It's good to see that it's possible to overcome all the challenges facing the industry."
And The Winners Are: Top Five: Overall Quality, U.S. Economy: Midwest Airlines- Virgin America
- JetBlue Airways
- Frontier Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
Overall Quality, U.S. Premium: Virgin America
- Continental Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- AirTran Airways
Overall Quality, Int'l Economy: Singapore Airlines
- Emirates Airline
- Thai Airways
- ANA (All Nipon Airways)
- Air New Zealand
Overall Quality, Int'l Premium: Singapore Airlines
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
- Emirates Airline
- ANA (All Nippon Airways)
Frequent Flier Program, U.S Based: Southwest Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- Continental Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- AirTran Airways
Domestic Website: Southwest Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- Continental Airlines
- Virgin America
- American Airlines
Smaller, Newer, Better: While most major U.S. carriers continue to decline, several smaller, newer carriers rose to the top. In a repeat performance, Midwest Airlines pulled the No. 1 spot for domestic economy class yet again, has taken top honors in the past six Zagat surveys. Virgin America and JetBlue Airways followed respectively as No. 2 and 3.
Airports – Best and Worst: When asked to rate the major U.S airports, the surveyors also sided with the little guys: Tampa International received top marks for overall quality (a 21 rating out of a possible 30), while Minneapolis-St. Paul International takes tops for domestic travel, dining, leisure amenities and passenger security. Perhaps New Yorkers won't be surprised to learn that LaGuardia Airport finished last in almost every category – except security.
Top US Airports:
- 21 Tampa International
- 20 Denver International
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (tied with above)
Irritants: Delays and cancellations reached near-crisis proportions in the U.S. over the past year – topping surveyor's list of irritants with 35% of the vote. Southwest, Continental and JetBlue do best in this regard; US Airways comes in last. Cramped seats and crowded planes ran a close second at 34%, poor service rated 15%, followed by security delays (5%), and lack of information about flight status (5%).
Despite all of this, 44% of flyers say they are traveling as much as they did two years ago. Not surprisingly, they say they're getting less for their money. With gratis snacks and meals becoming a thing of the past, only 19% of flyers say they would purchase snacks onboard; 60% would rather purchase a meal at the airport instead. Surveyors' favorite airports for buying a meal are Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle-Tacoma and Houston George Bush.
Web Air: More than ever, surveyors say they are using airline websites to book their flights (60%). Another 15% visit travel websites such as Expedia and Travelocity. Other means of reserving, e.g., calling the airline or using a travel agent, continue to decline. Surveyors awarded top website honors to Southwest, JetBlue and Continental respectively.
Outtakes: The surveyors had plenty to say about the current state of airline travel. Below is a sample of their comments that our lawyers say are not suitable to print with the airline's name. For a full list of outtakes and survey results, please visit
http://www.zagat.com/airline - I'd rather be a package on FedEx
- Their planes make Larry King look young
- If they could have pay toilets, they would
- The legroom is great if you're a yard gnome
- There's a better chance of talking to George W. Bush than customer relations
- Only good thing about first class these days is that you get to leave the plane first
- When asked what kind of chicken they had, she replied "the dead kind"
- Sitting any closer might constitute marriage in some states
- Makes standing in the DMV seem like fun
- They fired the last employee found smiling
- I thought the Geneva Convention prevented this kind of thing
About Zagat Survey, LLC
Known as the "wildly popular" "burgundy bible", Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for information about where to eat, drink, stay and play. With more than 300,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date", "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide ever published. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: in book format, on ZAGAT.com, via the downloadable ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and on the mobile web with ZAGAT.mobi. For more information, visit ZAGAT.com 
