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After two years of falling behind JetBlue, Delta is once again the apple of first-class flyers’ eyes, ranking No. 1 in customer satisfaction for first-class and business customers on J.D. Power’s annual North America airline satisfaction study. Delta also ranked first in customer satisfaction for premium economy flyers, while Southwest was the favorite of basic economy customers.
Delta’s win comes despite it making headlines for troubles with its planes. A Boeing 757 jet operated by Delta lost a nose wheel during takeoff in January. Two months later, a panel of an Airbus plane fell off at the start of another Delta flight. Then in April, an emergency slide fell off a Boeing 767 operated by Delta shortly after it departed JFK airport in New York. And that doesn’t get into the airline’s recent hike in checked-bag fees.
Delta beat Wall Street’s expectations for earnings and revenues last quarter, in large part due to a surge in business travel. Plus, the airline expects “robust demand” from other kinds of flyers to drive an even-better second quarter. And luckily for Delta, it doesn’t have any of Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jets in its fleet nor is it expecting delivery of any such aircraft until 2025 at the earliest.
“The big takeaway from this year’s study is the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience,” said Michael Taylor, the senior managing director of travel at J.D. Powers in a statement. “Airlines that are investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers.”
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