April 10, 2000

If you've been flying more and enjoying it less, a pair of professors who study the airline industry think they know why.

In their annual quality ratings of airline service released today, they say everything got worse last year except baggage handling, which showed a slight improvement. News Specialist Charles Sherill reports from our Washington Bureau.

The study says customer complaints about airline service increased 130 percent in 1999, just as the companies were supposedly placing a higher priority on passenger satisfaction.

Assembled by researchers at Wichita State and the University of Nebraska, the study concludes that Congress may have to intervene to get airlines to pay more attention to on-time performance, over-booking, passenger complaints, and lost luggage.

Dr. Brent Bowen/University of Nebraska; "THEY'VE HAD A PERIOD OF PROFITABILITY TO TURN AROUND THEIR SERVICE. THEY DID NOT. THEY NEVER RECOVERED FROM THE LABOR CUTBACKS OF THE PERIOD WHEN, AS AN INDUSTRY, THEY WERE UNPROFITABLE. SO WE DON'T SEE ANY EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTS THAT THE AIRLINES CAN DEAL WITH THE SERVICE ISSUES ON THEIR OWN."

The study ranked Southwest Airlines number one in overall customer satisfaction last year, reclaiming the spot it had held for three years running before falling to fifth in 1998.

Delta moved from fourth in 1998 to third in '99, despite slightly worse performance in every category. The researchers said most of its rivals slipped even more.