Comforts Keep Air Travelers Happy

Cheap fares aren’t the only thing that keeps air travelers happy--most are also looking for comfortable seats, punctual flights and pleasant service, according to a survey released Wednesday.

In Consumer Reports’ annual airline appraisal, Midwest Express came out on top for its outstanding service, roomy seats, on-time performance and efficiency.

The Milwaukee-based carrier, which is owned by Kleenex-maker Kimberly-Clark Corp., also got points for the chocolate-chip cookies baked on board, and free wine and champagne.

The results were based on an annual consumer survey by the magazine. Some 120,000 readers told the magazine about more than 189,000 domestic flights they had taken on 20 U.S. airlines between January, 1993 and April, 1994. The survey appears in the June, 1995, issue.

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines ranked second in the survey for its tasty meals and comfortable, uncrowded planes.

Third was Kiwi International Air Lines, the employee-owned carrier based in Newark, N.J. Passengers like the pleasant, laid-back atmosphere on Kiwi’s flights, in addition to the flowers in the lavatory and the boiled spring water served with meals.

On the other end of the survey was Mark Air and Carnival Air Lines. Both were rated lower than average in all categories of service, with the greatest problems found in on-time service, baggage, check-in and crowding.

The survey found that punctuality is the most important concern of air travelers. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said that they were not adequately informed about delays, the survey said.

Also causing problems for passengers is the shrinking seat size. About 30% of those surveyed said that their flights were very crowded.

Carnival stuffs 173 seats into its Boeing 727-200 planes, while Kiwi puts 150 seats in the same model, Consumer Reports said.