These are America's favorite airlines in 2018, according to passengers
JetBlueJetBlue Mint first class cabin.
- Forrester, a market research company, released its 2018 Customer Experience Index for the airline industry.
- JetBlue came in first for the second year in a row, while Spirit Airlines came in last.
- Effectiveness, Retention, and Enrichment were among the six categories measured.
Forrester ranked the customer service quality of 11 domestic airlines in its new 2018 Customer Experience Index.
JetBlue earned the top spot for the second year in a row, while Spirit Airlines came in last place.
The 2018 list is down to just 11 brands following the merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.
This year's rankings showed increased volatility from last. Unlike in 2017, which saw only three brands move up spaces, Forrester's 2018 Customer Experience Index saw six airlines rise in the rankings. Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Delta, United, Frontier and Spirit Airlines all saw their Customer Experience scores rise, while Hawaiian Airlines and Air Canada were the only two airlines to move down in the rankings. Allegiant Air saw the highest rise of any airline from last year, as they moved up four spots from 9th place in 2017 to 5th place in 2018.
The Forrester rankings are based on a survey of over 110,000 US adult customers and creates the CX (Customer Experience) index score out of measurements from six categories: Effectiveness (the experience delivers value to customers); Ease (it's not difficult to get value from the experience); Emotion (customers feel good about the experience); Retention (likelihood of keeping existing business); Enrichment (likelihood of buying additional products and services); Advocacy (likelihood of recommending to others).
In an email to Business Insider, a Forrester executive noted that "compared to other industries Forrester measured, airlines landed in the 'poor' category, showing little change since last year. Across 19 industries, airlines ranked number 16, beating out only TV service providers, federal government and internet service providers."
Essentially, American consumers are saying to the airline industry, we fly with you because we need to, not because we enjoy it.