Airlines and air express carriers ascend into the stratosphere of quality when they combine topflight service with reasonable rates. That was clear from responses to this year's quality survey. "The two primary [attributes] for us are value and performance," said one respondent. Added another: "Timely, cost-efficient service is always enough."

Logistics managers also admire air carriers that consistently provide them with customer service at Mach speed. One reader looks for carriers that have "the capability to react quickly in a crisis." Still others look for a willingness to educate and help the customer. One survey taker, for example, noted that his company prefers to work with air carriers that "help in ensuring that we meet all applicable national and international standards in packaging and labeling our shipments, especially hazmat."

This year 11 air cargo carriers—four more than last year—exhibited lofty qualities. Soaring above the others were Southwest Airlines, KLM, Swiss, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Japan Airlines, LanChile, Singapore Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa, Korean Air, and Air Canada. The only returning members of the quality squadron were Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

The overall scores for air carriers rose above last year's. The composite score reached 34.39, up from 33.13 last year. Marks climbed in four of the five attribute categories. Value flew up from 7.97 to 8.17; information technology climbed from 4.26 to 4.80; customer service inched up from 6.56 to 6.67; and equipment and operations soared from 3.33 to 4.04. Only on-time performance plummeted, falling from 11.02 last year to 10.70 this year.

In the air express category, three companies flew sky-high this year, in the view of logistics managers. Last year's winners, FedEx Express and UPS, were joined this year by Menlo Worldwide in earning gold wings for quality.

As a group, air express carriers gained altitude as this year's weighted average score of 35.06 flew above last year's 34.33. Marks rose in four categories. Value took off from 8.23 to 8.32; information technology climbed from 4.76 to 4.92; customer service rose from 6.58 to 6.69; and equipment and operations flew from 3.46 to 3.98. Only on-time performance fell, from 11.30 to 11.15.