For the first time in its brief history, Virgin America ranked as the most satisfactory airline overall in the U.S., according to the results of the 2013 Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report.
An annual study since 1991, the AQR is the most respected statistical analysis of major airline performance in the U.S. To form rankings, Brent Bowen of Purdue University and Dean Headley, a marketing professor at Wichita State University, study end of the year statistics from 14 airlines around the nation provided by the Department of Transportation, then grade the companies on four categories: "on-time performance, (involuntary) denied boardings, mishandled bags and customer complaints."
Begun by billionaire Richard Branson in 2007, Virgin America debuted on the list for the first time in 2012. The young airline stole the show from its rivals in virtually every category for the most recent study, with Jet Blue, Air Tran, Delta and Hawaiian airlines rounding out the top five. United Airlines was ranked last.
Virgin America recorded top rankings across the board based on AQR's analysis: In 2012, about 83.5 percent of the airline's flights arrived on time, beating the industry average of 81.8 percent; the airline rarely fumbled passenger's bags comparatively, as well, only losing .87 bags for every 1,000 passengers, far under the average of 3.07 percent; and Branson's company only denied boarding to .07 percent of passengers with tickets for every 1,000, crushing the current industry standard of .97 percent.
While overall airline performance significantly improved for the fifth year in-a-row since hitting an all-time low in 2007, customers are still finding plenty of reasons to complain. They might have an easier time catching flights and hanging on to their baggage with dependable names like Virgin America, but it was clear that many are still fretting some of the pressures requisite to air travel. Complaints spiked 20 percent over the last year. During 2011, there were about 1.19 complaints for every 100,000 passengers. In 2012, that rose to 1.43 complaints per 100,000 passengers.
"Performance is 'did the airline do what it promised to do'," explained Headley, coauthor of the AQR. "Perception is about what passengers think happened."
Check out a full, in-depth breakdown of the AQR here.
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