JD Power ranks JetBlue, Southwest as best in 2019 Airline Satisfaction Study

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The 15th annual J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction Study has ranked JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska Airlines as best in overall satisfaction.

The results of the study, released on Wednesday, claims that passenger satisfaction with both traditional and low-cost airlines has grown “to its highest point” in the history of J.D. Power’s survey.

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“While low-cost carriers have historically had the highest levels of customer satisfaction in our study, due to a strong sense of value for money among customers, that line is starting to blur as traditional carriers improve their services and operations,” said Michael Taylor, the travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, in a press release.

Of the low-cost carriers, JetBlue and Southwest scored the highest. (iStock)

For its rankings, the firm separated 10 major North American airlines into two categories — low-cost and traditional — with JetBlue, Southwest, WestJet, Spirit Airlines and Frontier airlines in the former, and Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Air Canada and United Airlines in the latter.

Each was judged on factors including costs, in-flight services, the carrier’s aircraft, issues with boarding/deplaning/baggage, the flight crew, and ease of check-in and making reservation. The study took into account the responses from nearly 6,000 passengers flying between March 2018 and March 2019.

Of the low-cost carriers, JetBlue and Southwest received tying scores (817 out of a possible 1,000), with WestJet (758), Spirit (711) and Frontier (702) rounding out the rest of the list.

Of the traditional carriers, Alaska Airlines fared best (801 points). Delta came in second (788), followed by American Airlines (764), Air Canada (729) and United Airlines (723).

When combining both lists, the 10 airlines are ranked as follows: JetBlue (817), Southwest (817), Alaska Airlines (801), Delta Air Lines (788), American Airlines (764), WestJet (758), Air Canada (729), United Airlines (723), Spirit Airlines (711), and Frontier Airlines (702).

J.D. Power notes that the average score of the airlines — 773 — is a whole 11 points up from last year’s average score of 762.

"This is probably the best time in modern history in which to fly,'' said Taylor, per USA Today.

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That said, he noted that while passengers reported increased satisfaction with reservation and check-in experiences, in-flight services were still lacking.

“The one area where both traditional and low-cost carriers can still improve, however, is in in-flight services. It continues to be the lowest-ranked factor in the study, as many airlines still struggle with in-flight entertainment, connectivity, in-seat power and food service.”