Which airlines won the Customer Satisfaction crown?

Which airlines won the Customer Satisfaction crown?
By Hannah Edensor


If there’s anything you want your brand to be known for, it’s customer satisfaction, and after Roy Morgan’s awards of the same name last night, two airlines in particular are riding the high wave.

Qantas was awarded both Domestic Airline and Domestic Business Airline of the Year in the Tourism and Travel Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2016, no doubt to the dismay of Virgin who are pushing their business offerings in a big way.

It’s the third year in a row our national carrier has snagged the award, although Virgin Australia was recently named most punctual airline.

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, said, “For many Australians, their holiday starts when their plane takes off, with the in-flight experience being an important prequel to their getaway.

“Qantas clearly understand this, warding off a spirited challenge by Virgin Australia to satisfy an average 85 per cent of their leisure passengers every month of 2016, consolidating on their similarly successful results in 2015.”

The International Airline winner was Emirates, the first time the carrier has won the award.

2016 was a big year for Qantas, with a record full-year profit last financial year, the launch of its fresh Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, a new logo and livery, plus a host of new cool features like shutterless cabin windows and streaming of Netflix, Spotify and Foxtel in-flight.

It also announced a new non-stop Perth to London route from March 2018, which the industry was very impressed with.

“Australia’s longest-running airline is also highly attuned to the needs of business travellers, winning the Domestic Business Travel Airline of the Year with ease,” Levine added.

“As of December last year, more than 87 per cent of Qantas business passengers reported being satisfied; with the roll-out of its new in-flight wi-fi later this month, there is the potential for its satisfaction rate to hit even greater heights.”

Emirates, on the other hand, is no doubt nursing hangovers this morning after last night’s first time win.

After finishing second to Singapore Airlines in the 2015 Awards, the Dubai-based airline—and Qantas partner, as it happens—made exceptional progress through 2016, consistently achieving satisfaction scores in the high 80s.

“Emirates, meanwhile, pulled off the seeming impossible, toppling long-time title-holder Singapore Airlines to secure its first victory as International Airline of the Year,” Levine said.

“While Air New Zealand gave them a run for their money, Emirates ultimately made a slightly better impression on its Australian passengers, with its satisfaction scores regularly nudging 90 per cent. Could this signal the start of a new era in International Airline Customer Satisfaction?”

Of course, ratings and awards – while prestigious – aren’t always aligned with other international measures, with a prime example being the website AirHelp Score, which didn’t even rank Qantas in the world’s best airlines rating.

 

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