The bar chart and table illustrate customer satisfaction levels in the United States with major airlines overall and with specific aspects of air travel in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
Overall, satisfaction with the performance of airlines increased steadily over the period, while dissatisfaction declined. In terms of individual aspects, courtesy of staff consistently received the highest ratings, whereas ticket prices and seat comfort were less positively viewed, despite some improvement.
Looking first at overall satisfaction, the proportion of passengers who were satisfied rose from 65% in 1999 to 69% in 2000, reaching a peak of 73% in 2002. In contrast, dissatisfaction fell markedly from 32% to 29%, and then to 24% over the same years.
Turning to specific aspects of flying, courtesy of flight attendants was rated very highly throughout, increasing from 88% in 1999 to 92% in 2002. A similar but slightly lower trend was seen for check-in agents, whose satisfaction scores rose from 87% to 89%, before dropping marginally to 88%. Satisfaction with ticket prices showed the most notable improvement, climbing from 45% in 1999 to 65% in 2002. Schedule satisfaction also improved modestly, stabilising at 79% in the final year. Data for seat comfort was only available in 2002, when it stood at a relatively low 47%.
In summary, passengers became increasingly satisfied with US airlines overall, although some aspects, particularly pricing and comfort, remained weaker areas.