11/02/12, 00:14:15 EST

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Airline sees fewer complaints in January, agency reports

eastvalleytribune.com

On the day after a new reservations computer system installation caused turbulence at US Airways’ airport checkin counters, there was at least some good news for the hometown airline.

US Airways is losing less luggage than usual — and losing less bags than 11 of the 20 major U.S. carriers. And the Tempe-based airline is logging fewer consumer complaints overall, inching up in the ratings of the Air Travel Consumer Report, which is compiled monthly by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In the latest report, which was released Monday and is based on January business, US Airways’ famed mishandled baggage reputation, usually blamed on the Philadelphia operation, improved significantly. The airline lost or abused an average 7.5 bags per 1,000 passengers, compared with 9.7 bags in January 2006 and 9.6 in December. That boosted US Airways to ninth best in the country, up from 13th in December and dead last just months earlier. US Airways said it has been working on the Philadelphia operation for some time, adding new employees and equipment, and those efforts are finally paying off. “We’re really encouraged by these numbers,” said Valerie Wunder, US Airways spokeswoman. “Philadelphia is still a focus. Things don’t happen overnight, but we feel like we have a good team of employees.” In fact, consumers have been complaining less about the airline generally, according to the latest report. In January, one US Airways consumer in 100,000 had a beef worth reporting to government trackers, compared with 1.5 people a year earlier. That boosts the carrier’s over- all performance up to 15th best out of 20. That is good progress, but not good enough, Wunder said. “We want to be in the top three,” she said. The airline will have to wait another couple of months to see whether the weekend computer glitch that delayed flights and delayed passengers getting from airport check-in counters to those flights will be a setback for US Airways mission to earn a top-three rating. Always high-ranking Jet-Blue Airways, which only had seven complaints — 0.4 per 100,000 passengers — for the whole month of January, ranking seventh best overall, likely will be the next carrier to fall from consumers’ grace. The popular New York-based carrier crashed — literally, not figuratively — during mid-February snowstorms, stranding passengers in airports for days and on runways for 10 or more hours.

 Printable Version  | published Mar 06, 2007