Ensuring that a customer’s flight experience is both safe and enjoyable en route to their final destination are the top priorities for airlines. While, overall, the airline industry has continued to improve in satisfaction, Alaska Airlines has topped several indices for best US customer satisfaction.
Customers love Alaska Airlines
According to passengers who have flown on Alaska Airlines recently, the airline is the best choice for customer satisfaction in the US. Based on the scale of operations for Alaska Airlines, there is a lot that goes into gaining the satisfaction of customers.
Alaska Airlines flies to more than 900 worldwide destinations with approximately 1200 daily regional flights between North American cities. In total, there are 44 million passengers that fly with the airline annually.
It’d be near impossible to survey all of the passengers, and those who use Alaska Airlines exclusively would be likely to have biased inputs in response to who they think is the best airline. There are therefore several indices used to measure satisfaction, some that are specific to the airline industry and others more general.
Two prominent index rating platforms, J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction and the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) both rank Alaska Airlines as the top airline for customer satisfaction over the past year.
J.D. Power ranks Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines dominates the J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction rankings. For an impressive 11 consecutive years, the airline has maintained its position as the top airline in the US, according to Alaska Air Newsroom. Many factors go into determining the ratings for airlines that make it a trustworthy source.
J.D. Power specifically targets the airline industry in the US, dividing carriers between low-cost and traditional. Alaska Airlines competes within the traditional carriers on ranking, going up against major airlines such as Delta, Air Canada, American and United.
Customers are surveyed about their experiences in a variety of categories that include everything from the ease of making a reservation to the in-flight service. Alaska Airlines maxed out in every category except the service experience, where they received four out of five stars.
ACSI ranks Alaska Airlines
The ACSI index is a major index that takes a broad customer approach to rank companies spanning multiple industries. Their rankings are announced annually in late April, including the reactions of over 300,000 customers for 400 companies.
The airline industry has not been favorable compared to other sectors until recently, with Alaska Airlines leading the way. Alaska Airlines ranks as the top airline in the US receiving a score of 80 out of 100 for overall satisfaction.
What’s driving customer satisfaction?
Many factors are influencing the satisfaction for customers flying on Alaska Airlines. The airline gives substantial credit to its employees for upholding its excellent reputation. All employees, from the gate attendants to the flight crew are usually the primary face-to-face interaction that passengers have with an airline.
The entire staff of the airline is trained to anticipate the travel needs during every step of a passenger’s journey to create a memorable experience.
Alaska Airlines continues to strive to improve their customer experience. The recent merger with Virgin America allows the airline an expanded flight network and lower fares for customers. The rankings are referenced to know which areas need the most improvement and what should be maintained by the airlines.
Does your flight experience with Alaska Airline match the customer surveys?