Hawaiian Airlines takes top rating

Air travel has never been especially pleasant on a number of different levels, and since the 911 event and the sweeping implementation of many security practices that are of questionable value it has become much more of a hassle. Plus, the waning profitability of the industry, largely attributable to higher fuel costs, has led to cost cutting measures that further limit the perks and comfort of the passengers. Rather than being a valued customer when you do business with the airlines you may feel more like a potential threat who has to pay for a bag of peanuts or a bottle of water.

Each year the airlines are rated in an annual study, and for the third time in the last four years, Hawaiian Airlines has come out on top, with Airtran taking second place. These ranking are derived from measuring four key points: how often they are on time, how much baggage they lose, how frequently they overbook, and how many complaints are lodged against them. The overall numbers are improving across the board for the industry as a whole, but that may have something to do with the fact that less people are flying.

We kind of turned a little bit of a corner in ’08 and we’re glad to say they’re continuing that generally positive (trend) for the consumer. Every airline that we looked at in ’08 and ’09 got better,” said Dean Headley, one of the authors of the study.

Bringing up the rear of the eighteen carriers that were rated were American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast, and Comair.