Airlines’ Customer Service on the Rise

I wanted to shed additional light on the findings noted in “In an Era of Turbulence, Airline Satisfaction Rising” (Travel Insider, July 21). Despite the decline in passenger traffic and reductions in flight schedules after Sept. 11, the customer service initiatives announced by our member airlines in June 1999 are achieving results.

Throughout 2001--even before the events of Sept. 11--our members were making significant improvements in every performance category, a trend that is continuing this year. Delays are down, mishandled baggage rates are declining, flight cancellations continue to drop, on-time performance is at its highest level in years and, not surprisingly, customer complaints have fallen dramatically.

When delays decline, flights don’t have to be canceled. When flights aren’t canceled, baggage is handled properly, on-time performance rises and customer complaints decline.

MICHAEL WASCOM

Vice President, Communications

Air Transport Assn.

Washington, D.C.