Airlines Less Popular Than IRS, Survey Says
Reuters
Posted: 2007-05-16 01:29:53
NEW YORK (May 16) - Americans like the tax collector better than their airlines, according to a customer satisfaction survey released on Tuesday.
Weighed down by delays, grumpy employees and lost bags, U.S. airlines scored 63 out of a possible 100 on the University of Michigan's Customer Satisfaction Index. That is a touch below the 65 awarded to the bureaucracy-laden U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
The airlines' score -- down two points from last year -- was the lowest for the industry since 2001 and reflects growing dissatisfaction with the travel industry.
Hotels scored 71, falling four points to the lowest level since 2002, according to the survey.
The university's American Customer Satisfaction Index surveys about 20,000 people every quarter by telephone, focusing on different industries each time.
The airlines' long struggle to retur
