Study: U.S. Airline Performance Dropping

The performance of 15 of 16 U.S. airlines fell in 2005, largely based on mishandled baggage, the annual Airline Quality Rating study released Monday found.

Researchers Brent Bowen, director and professor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute/School of Public Administration, and Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University, used 15 elements important to consumers in judging the quality of airline service.

At a time when the airlines got worse, they all kind of got worse at the same rate, Headley said. Every airline performed more poorly in baggage handling. The big question is, why?

For the third consecutive year, Jet Blue was the best performing airline, followed by AirTran, Independence Air, Southwest and United.

The study also found customer complaints in the airline industry were 17 percent higher in 2005 than 2004, and only five airlines had an on-time percentage of more than 80 percent.