Airfreight aces

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2005

Airlines and air express carriers soar high in the opinion of readers when they offer first-class service. "Regardless of my spend with a provider, I need to be treated like the most important customer they have," wrote one survey respondent when asked to define excellence in this category.

This year 16 airlines will be able to hang pennants on their wings. Seven of last year's high fliers won again this year: Swiss, Southwest Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Alaska Airlines, and KLM. New members of the quality squadron include Thai Airways, Malaysia Airline System, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Scandinavian Airline Systems, and Northwest Airlines.

For more information on Quest for Quality, click here.

The overall scores for air carriers dipped from last year. The aggregate score lost altitude, dropping from 34.39 to 33.68, although marks climbed in two of the five categories. Value flew from 8.17 to 8.55, while equipment and operations rose from 4.04 to 4.11. The other three categories hit turbulence. Performance fell from 10.70 to 10.53, information technology declined from 4.8 to 4.78, and customer service dropped from 6.67 to 5.71.

As for air express carriers, only two providers were all-star players this year. Last years' winners, FedEx Express and UPS, once again earned quality pennants.

As a group, air express carriers gained altitude as this year's weighted score of 38.30 rose above last year's 35.06. Marks rose in four attribute categories. Performance gained height, moving up from 11.15 to 11.30, value rose from 8.32 to 8.86, information technology jumped from 4.92 to 5.30, and equipment and operations increased from 3.98 to 4.34. However, customer service fell from 6.69 to 6.22.