Green Passenger Traffic Continues Its Decline

Passenger traffic at T.F. Green Airport declined in April and during the first four months of 2008, compared with similar periods last year, according to statistics released yesterday by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.

There were 412,471 passengers at Green in April, off .4 percent from April 2007.

For January, February, March and April, 1.5 million passengers used Green. That’s down 1.1 percent from the 1.52 million passengers in the first four months last year.

Southwest Airlines remained the biggest carrier at Green, with 52.4 percent of all passengers at the airport in April. US Airways was the second-biggest carrier with 21 percent of all passengers. No other carrier has more than 7 percent.

Southwest also led the latest customer service satisfaction index done annually by the University of Michigan.

About 26,000 people responded to the first-quarter survey, which rated the airlines on a scale of one to 100. The index was created based on the responses to questions about overall satisfaction, intention to be a repeat customer and perception of quality, value, and expectations.

Southwest’s index was 79, up from 76 last year, and led the group for the 15th consecutive year.

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and UW Airways Group Inc., which are in talks to potentially combine into a single carrier, finished next- to-last and last, respectively, in the university’s index.

Continental Airlines and US Airways registered the biggest declines from 2007, both experiencing double-digit percentage drops in the survey.

Overall, the survey showed passengers are more dissatisfied with airlines’ customer service than they have been in years, at a time when carriers are charging more for tickets and loading on special fees. The survey found customers giving airlines the worst grades since 2001, with the industry’s overall scores dropping for the third straight year.

While unhappiness with airlines is nothing new, this year’s survey produced “really dismal numbers,” said Claes Fornell, a University of Michigan business professor and director of the research center that compiled the data.

Asked why scores have worsened so significantly, he said airlines’ management has to be blamed, despite factors beyond their control such as higher jet-fuel costs and congested airports.

The index for the airline industry as a whole fell to 62, from 63 last year, barely above its historical low of 61 in 2001.

US Airways is the second-biggest carrier at T.F. Green Airport with 21 percent of all passengers. AP / Jose Luis Magana

Originally published by Journal staff and wire report.

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