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Dawn Gilbertson
courtsey of The Arizona Republic
Sept. 7, 2006 04:03 PM
US Airways ranked in the bottom half of the industry in all major customer-service categories in July and saw its performance slip from a year ago in key areas.
The Tempe-based airline, formed by last fall's merger between America West and US Airways, ranked 14th of 20 in on-time arrivals and baggage handling and 19th of 20 in customer complaints, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report.
Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, which flies shorter hops for US Airways and other major carriers, also fared poorly. The regional airline, in the rankings for the first time this year, ranked 17th in baggage handling and customer complaints and 19th in on-time arrivals.
It also had the most flight cancellations of any reporting airline. The airline's executives have repeatedly said its numbers are misleading because its partners effectively control certain aspects of its operations.
US Airways prefers to compare itself with major airlines, excluding regional carriers and smaller players like Frontier, Hawaiian and Aloha, but even on that basis it fell short. It was eighth of 10 airlines in on-time arrivals and last in customer complaints and baggage handling. Employees get a $50 bonus if the airline is in the top three for any of the categories but the bonus hasn't been paid in several months. After the merger last year, there was a string of payments.
Al Crellin, US Airways' executive vice president of operations, said in his monthly letter to employees that "clearly it was a tough month." Summer storms hurt, as did packed planes.
Crellin blamed the 72.1 percent on-time performance largely on weather. He said 10 days in July were affected by storms in the Northeast, Phoenix and Las Vegas. A year earlier, America West reported a 76.4 percent on-time rate; US Airways, 67.7 percent.
US Airways' worst delays among major airports was in Newark, N.J., where just half of its flights were on time. The airport's average in July was 59 percent. The next worst was the huge Philadelphia hub, home of chronic delays, where 65.3 percent of US Airways' flights were on time. In Phoenix, 78 percent of flights arrived on time.
The industry's overall on-time rate in July was 73.7 percent, up from 70.9 percent a year ago and 72.8 percent in June. Southwest Airlines, the other dominant carrier in Phoenix, came in at 77.8 percent, ranking it sixth.
Baggage problems and complaints continue to dog US Airways. It had 8.56 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 customers, up from 7.78 for the combined airline a year ago. The industry average was 6.50. The airline has had high turnover among baggage handlers, especially in Philadelphia. It has been spending millions to improve its operations there.
US Airways saw its rate of complaints rise slightly, to 1.94 per 100,000 passengers, vs. 1.90 a year ago. The actual number of complaints is minuscule, though, at 102. And just 39 of those were for incidents in July.
"There are some things, such as weather-related delays and cancellations, that aren't in our control," Crellin said. "However, the way we treat our customers is something that is definitely in our control."
courtsey of The Arizona Republic
Sept. 7, 2006 04:03 PM
US Airways ranked in the bottom half of the industry in all major customer-service categories in July and saw its performance slip from a year ago in key areas.
The Tempe-based airline, formed by last fall's merger between America West and US Airways, ranked 14th of 20 in on-time arrivals and baggage handling and 19th of 20 in customer complaints, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report.
Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, which flies shorter hops for US Airways and other major carriers, also fared poorly. The regional airline, in the rankings for the first time this year, ranked 17th in baggage handling and customer complaints and 19th in on-time arrivals.
It also had the most flight cancellations of any reporting airline. The airline's executives have repeatedly said its numbers are misleading because its partners effectively control certain aspects of its operations.
US Airways prefers to compare itself with major airlines, excluding regional carriers and smaller players like Frontier, Hawaiian and Aloha, but even on that basis it fell short. It was eighth of 10 airlines in on-time arrivals and last in customer complaints and baggage handling. Employees get a $50 bonus if the airline is in the top three for any of the categories but the bonus hasn't been paid in several months. After the merger last year, there was a string of payments.
Al Crellin, US Airways' executive vice president of operations, said in his monthly letter to employees that "clearly it was a tough month." Summer storms hurt, as did packed planes.
Crellin blamed the 72.1 percent on-time performance largely on weather. He said 10 days in July were affected by storms in the Northeast, Phoenix and Las Vegas. A year earlier, America West reported a 76.4 percent on-time rate; US Airways, 67.7 percent.
US Airways' worst delays among major airports was in Newark, N.J., where just half of its flights were on time. The airport's average in July was 59 percent. The next worst was the huge Philadelphia hub, home of chronic delays, where 65.3 percent of US Airways' flights were on time. In Phoenix, 78 percent of flights arrived on time.
The industry's overall on-time rate in July was 73.7 percent, up from 70.9 percent a year ago and 72.8 percent in June. Southwest Airlines, the other dominant carrier in Phoenix, came in at 77.8 percent, ranking it sixth.
Baggage problems and complaints continue to dog US Airways. It had 8.56 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 customers, up from 7.78 for the combined airline a year ago. The industry average was 6.50. The airline has had high turnover among baggage handlers, especially in Philadelphia. It has been spending millions to improve its operations there.
US Airways saw its rate of complaints rise slightly, to 1.94 per 100,000 passengers, vs. 1.90 a year ago. The actual number of complaints is minuscule, though, at 102. And just 39 of those were for incidents in July.
"There are some things, such as weather-related delays and cancellations, that aren't in our control," Crellin said. "However, the way we treat our customers is something that is definitely in our control."
