30 April 2010

Passenger poll puts Qantas at back of international class

SYDNEY - Qantas ranks seventh in terms of customer satisfaction with international flights, well behind Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Emirates, according to the latest Roy Morgan Research Single Source data.

The March 2010 Roy Morgan International Airline Satisfaction Survey reveals Air New Zealand tops the list for satisfaction among Australian air travellers with 89.9 percent of Australians who took a flight with Air New Zealand in the last 12 months being Ã¢â¬ËœveryÃ¢â¬â¢ or Ã¢â¬ËœfairlyÃ¢â¬â¢ satisfied, compared with 88.4 percent for Singapore Airlines and 87.9 percent for Emirates.

By contrast, only 80.1 percent of Qantas customers on international flights were satisfied.

This Qantas figure was below satisfaction levels achieved by Thai Airways (86.0%), Etihad (83.4%) and Malaysia Airlines (80.2%).

Jane Ianniello, Roy Morgan Research International director of tourism, travel & leisure, said, Ã¢â¬ÅâœAustralians flying Qantas on international routes give relatively low satisfaction ratings compared to those flying on other rival airlines. People who fly internationally on a regular basis give a particularly low rating for Qantas.Ã¢â¬~

Meanwhile, Virgin Blue has been voted Australia's best domestic airline, for the second year running, in a poll by leading consumer group Choice.

More than 11,000 Choice members gave Virgin top scores for service, entertainment and comfort.

Regional carrier Rex was ranked second on the strength of its old-fashioned and more personalised service, while Qantas came third overall.

Budget airline Tiger took out last place. Unexplained flight delays and the airline's slow check-in process were the major gripes.

Jetstar, which was ranked second-last, also came under fire for flight delays, and for its cramped seating.