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JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin America Deemed Shining Stars of Air Travel

TMCnews Featured Article


March 15, 2012

JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin America Deemed Shining Stars of Air Travel

By Tanya Palta, TMCnet Contributing Writer


Airlines seldom garner positive reviews and leave most passengers disgruntled and unhappy. However, a new report by J.D. Power and Associates highlights some positive aspects of airlines and surprising certain airline carriers actually got positive reviews from travelers.


In the report released on Wednesday, airlines like JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Virgin America have had the distinction of being featured in their list of  ”2012 Customer Service Champions.” The list takes into account opinions of customers of more than 800 companies in 20-plus industries. Interestingly, only top 5 percent of companies received the coveted champion designation.

So what makes these airlines stand apart from the rest of the clique?

“Their people are clear differentiators. They’re courteous, they’re friendly, and they’re easy to get along with,” said Gina Pingitore, chief research officer at J.D. Power and Associates.

She is also quick to point out that employees at JetBlue and Southwest have been instructed to ensure a satisfactory customer experience.

“Both of those brands really do understand that travel isn’t easy, so they actually go above and beyond to try to be the buffer between that stressful travel experience and the experience that they provide,” she said.

The fact that JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Virgin America got the much-hankered spot doesn’t surprise industry experts like Anne Banas, executive editor at SmarterTravel.com.

“Airlines like JetBlue and Virgin America provide a customer experience that is so far above and beyond what the other airlines are giving economy passengers,” Banas said. ”You travel on United or Delta; it’s really bare bones. You basically get a seat and there’s not a lot extra.” 

She also observes that legacy carriers have a tendency to concentrate on business travelers and neglect the economy passengers.

“They’re paying customers, too, and if you want people to be brand loyal you have to treat them like human beings. They call it cattle car for a reason. People are crammed into seats, they’re shrinking the seat pitch and width, it’s so incredibly uncomfortable,” Banas said. ”They’re not even offering people basic services, and that’s going to eventually hurt them because people are going to want to travel on the other airlines that are offering a better experience.”






Edited by Jennifer Russell







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