Airline Demand-Supply Imbalance is Good for Revenue, Tough on Customer Experience, Says J.D. Power
JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines Rank Highest in Respective Segments
TROY, Mich.: 10 May 2023 — A combination of soaring demand, limited supply and surging airfares havehelped airlines book record revenues during the past two quarters, but this golden age of enhanced
revenues is coming at the expense of customer satisfaction. According to the J.D. Power 2023 North
America Airline Satisfaction Study,SM released today, customer satisfaction with major airlines is down
significantly for a second consecutive year, introducing the risk of possible brand damage if the current
pattern of price hikes, staffing shortages and reduced routes continues.
“If yield management were the only metric airlines needed to be successful in the long term, this would bea banner year for the industry because they are operating at peak economic efficiency,” said Michael
Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power. “From the customer perspective, however, that means planes
are crowded, tickets are expensive and flight availability is constrained. While these drawbacks have not
yet put a dent in leisure travel demand, if this trend continues, travelers will reach a breaking point andsome airline brands may be damaged.”
Following are some of the key findings of the 2023 study:•

Overall passenger satisfaction declines, driven largely by cost of airfare: Overall passenger
satisfaction is 791 (on a 1,000-point scale), down 7 points from a year ago. This is the second
consecutive year of waning passenger satisfaction, following a 22-point decline in 2022 from 2021.
The biggest factor driving this year’s decline in satisfaction is cost and fees, which has fallen 17
points from 2022.

•First-class passengers buck the trend: While overall satisfaction is down, passengers in thefirst/business segment have had a decidedly more positive experience. Passenger satisfaction
scores in this segment are up 9 points year over year. The gains are due in part to increases in foodand beverage scores as many services were reinstated for upper class cabins in the post-pandemic
period.

•Low-cost carriers feel the pinch: Annual declines in passenger satisfaction are most pronounced in
the economy/basic economy segment where price-conscious passengers have found fewer airfare
bargains this year. Satisfaction with cost and fees in the economy/basic economy segment is down
19 points from a year ago.

•One thing everyone can agree on: One of the few areas showing improvement across all segments
this year is food and beverage, which is up 12 points overall from 2022.

Study Rankings
JetBlue Airways ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment for a second
consecutive year, with a score of 893. Delta Air Lines (865) ranks second and United Airlines (848) ranksthird.

jdpower.com/businessDelta Air Lines ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the premium economy segment with a score of848. JetBlue Airways (840) ranks second and Alaska Airlines (823) ranks third.
Southwest Airlines ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment for asecond consecutive year, with a score of 827. Delta Air Lines (801) ranks second and JetBlue
Airways (800) ranks third.
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study measures passenger satisfaction with airline carriers in North
America based on performance in eight factors (in alphabetical order): aircraft; baggage; boarding; checkin; cost and fees; flight crew; in-flight services; and reservation. The study measures passenger satisfactionin three segments—first/business, premium economy and economy/basic economy—and is based on
responses from 7,774 passengers. Passengers needed to have flown on a major North America airline
within the past month of completing a survey. The study was fielded from March 2022 through March2023.
For more information about the North America Airline Satisfaction Study, visit
https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/jd-power-north-america-airline-satisfaction-study.
See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2023041.
About J.D. PowerJ.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer inthe use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understandconsumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions
with brands and products for more than 50 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries
rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.
J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company’sbusiness offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found atJDPower.com.
Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; West Coast; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com
John Roderick; East Coast; 631-584-2200; john@jroderick.com
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/pressrelease-info###NOTE: Three charts follow.

Year / Project / Study Name

J.D. Power
2023 North America Airline Satisfaction StudySM
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)First/Business
JetBlue Airways

893

Delta Air Lines

865

United Airlines

848

Segment Average

846

Alaska Airlines

833

Air Canada

830

American Airlines

826

Source: J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study SM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in th isrelease or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.

Year / Project / Study Name

J.D. Power
2023 North America Airline Satisfaction StudySM
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Premium Economy
Delta Air Lines

848

JetBlue Airways

840

Alaska Airlines823

American Airlines

821

Segment Average820

Air Canada

United Airlines

797784

Source: J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study SM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in th isrelease or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.

Year / Project / Study Name

J.D. Power
2023 North America Airline Satisfaction StudySM
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Economy/Basic Economy
Southwest Airlines

827

Delta Air Lines

801

JetBlue Airways

800

Segment Average

782

Alaska Airlines781

WestJet777

Allegiant Air

775

United Airlines

770

Air Canada

765

American Airlines

764

Spirit Airlines

Frontier Airlines

727

705

Source: J.D. Power 2023 North America Airline Satisfaction Study SM
Charts and graphs extracted from this press release for use by the media must be accompanied by a statement identifying
J.D. Power as the publisher and the study from which it originated as the source. Rankings are based on numerical scores,
and not necessarily on statistical significance. No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in th isrelease or J.D. Power survey results without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power.