Southwest Airlines Earns Top Customer Experience Rating for Airlines, According to Temkin Group

 Southwest Airlines delivers the best customer experience in the airline industry, according to the

2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S.

 consumers. Southwest Airlines took the top spot for the fourth year in a row, earning a rating of 71%

 and placing 83^rd out of 268 companies across 19 industries. At the other end of the spectrum, US Airways

 received the lowest ratings of any airline for the third straight year, landing in 251^st place overall with a 52% 

rating.

"Southwest does a great job with customer experience and continues to set the bar for airlines," states

 Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the airline industry:

• The ratings of all airlines in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows:
•  Southwest Airlines (71%), Alaska Airlines(65%), Delta Airlines (63%), American Airlines (62%), 
• United Airlines (61%), JetBlue Airlines (60%), AirTran Airways (56%), and US Airways (52%).
• American Airlines (+8 points), US Airways (+7 points), and United Airlines (+6 points) improved
•  the most between 2013 and 2014.
• AirTran Airways (-9 points), JetBlue (-4 points), and Alaska Airlines (-3 points) were the only
•  airlines whose ratings declined between 2013 and 2014.
• Overall, the airline industry averaged a 61% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied 
• for 13^th place out of 19 industries. It is also one of the 15 industries to improve its rating over
•  the past year, increasing its average by 1.2 percentage points.