Airline Quality Research: a Student\u27s Perspective

This study examines the relationship between the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) and the Airline Passenger Survey (APS) from an undergraduate student’s perspective, as well as how conducting undergraduate research has influenced the student researcher. Operational performance of the U. S. airline industry has been monitored for the past 27 years by a quantitative model of metrics known as the Airline Quality Rating. These metrics include on - time flights, denied boardings, mishandled baggage, and customer complaints. As the nation’s most comprehensive study of airline performance and quality, the National Airline Quality Rating (http : //airlinequalityrating . com) sets an industry standard, providing consumers and aviation industry professionals a means to compare performance quality among U. S. airlines using objective, performance - based data. No other airline study in the country is based on performance measures . Criteria included in the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report are screened to meet two basic elements : ( 1 ) they must be readily obtainable from published data sources for each airline, and ( 2 ) they must be important to consumers regarding airline quality. The APS was added as a new feature of the AQR in 2008 following increased interest in the relationship between consumer perceptions and objective airline industry performance. The student researcher has gained skills related to communication and collaboration with mentors, trend and data analysis within the aviation industry, as well as gave the student valuable experience to bring to research later on in their graduate career. Results were retrieved from the April 2016 Airline Quality Rating Report and the 2016 Airline Passenger Survey