Complaints soar at US airlines

WASHINGTON (AP) -- AirTran and Jet Blue have taken the top spots in a national survey of airline quality.

The rate of consumer complaints more than doubled at US Airways.

They were followed by Southwest, Northwest and Frontier airlines. At the bottom of the list was Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

The annual Airline Quality Rating survey released Monday found that overall the industry did a poor job last year. There were more lost bags, more bumped passengers, more consumer complaints and fewer on-time flights than in the previous year.

The rate of consumer complaints was up 60 percent. US Airways had the most complaints last year. Southwest had the fewest.

All these problems are making travelers grumpy, the annual survey said.

The industry posted declines last year in every area of the Airline Quality Rating, amid rising fuel prices, safety problems and bankruptcy filings that shut down three carriers last week alone.

The rate of consumer complaints, for example, more than doubled at US Airways and Comair, and rose for 15 of the 16 airlines included in the study. The exception was Mesa Airlines.

On-time arrivals dropped for the fifth straight year, with more than one-quarter of all flights late, according to the survey. The rates of passengers bumped from overbooked flights and bags lost, stolen or damaged also jumped in 2007.

"The trend is bad and it doesn't look like it gets any better," said Dean Headley, an associate professor at Wichita State University and co-author of the study. The survey results mesh with the spate of problems that have beset U.S. carriers, starting with surging fuel costs, Headley said.

ATA, Aloha Airlines and Skybus stopped flying just last week because of financial pressures. Major airlines have slashed jobs and passenger amenities while adding fees for second bags, traveling with pets and booking tickets by phone.

It is not surprising that people responded to higher prices and more frequent delays by complaining more, Headley said.

Six airlines -- Frontier, Northwest, SkyWest, Southwest, United and US Airways -- showed declines in every area in the survey, although Southwest still had the best on-time arrival mark at 80.1 percent.