Customer Complaints Spike at Lufthansa, Decrease at British Airways and Air France

Transcription

1 Customer Complaints Spike at Lufthansa, Decrease at British Airways and Air France Analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation complaint data shows that the German flag-carrier is moving in the opposite direction compared to its largest European trans-atlantic competitors. Key findings: Last year, Lufthansa s total passenger complaints to the U.S. Department of Transportation went up 70%. Meanwhile, its European competitors, British Airways and Air France, both saw decreases in total complaints. Lufthansa customer complaints increased in 2010 in seven of the top eight complaint categories: flight problems, baggage, rescheduling/ticketing, refunds, fares, oversales and disability access. When 2006 data is compared with 2010 data, Lufthansa saw a 23% increase in total complaints while British Airways and Air France saw complaints drop by over 30%. In each of the top four customer complaint categories flights problems, baggage, ticketing/rescheduling/boarding, and refunds Lufthansa trended worse than did British Airways and Air France when 2006 and 2010 data are compared. A report by UNITE HERE // // contact news@lufthansaalert.org

2 Introduction Every month, the United States Department of Transportation s Aviation Consumer Protection Division compiles a report about how airlines are performing in key areas of passenger concern. This data is used in part by Airline Quality Rating and the Wall Street Journal to rank domestic carriers in the United States, but it also provides important insight into international airlines carrying passengers beyond U.S. borders. In 2010, British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France were the top three international carriers of passengers departing the U.S., based on numbers of enplanements. An analysis of the Department of Transportation complaint data for these three airlines shows that while British Airways and Air France are improving, Lufthansa is headed in the opposite direction : Turbulence for Lufthansa Last year, Lufthansa saw a jump in seven of the top eight complaint categories tracked by the U.S. Department of Transportation. While Lufthansa saw an increase in U.S. passengers in 2010 as it recovered from the effects of the economic crisis, the complaint increases (as all changes documented in this report) are calculated relative to passenger numbers. Increase/Decrease in Lufthansa Complaints in Top Eight Complaint Categories, % 291% 300% 250% 221% 200% 150% 125% 128% 100% 50% 76% 42% 63% 70% 0% - 27% - 50% FLIGHT PROBLEMS OVER- SALES RES/TKTG/BOARDING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE DISAB- ILITY TOTAL

3 British Airways and Air France, meanwhile, drew fewer complaints in 2010 than they did in Increase/Decrease in Total Complaints, % 70% 60% 40% 20% 0% - 20% - 11% BRITISH AIRWAYS AIR FRANCE LUFTHANSA - 40% - 60% - 80% - 63% 2006 to 2010: A Similar Trend In 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation received almost the same number of total complaints about all international carriers as it did in 2010, and the big three European carriers also saw similar passenger numbers in 2006 as last year. The complaint data comparing 2006 to 2010 again shows British Airways and Air France trending better than Lufthansa. Increase/Decrease in Total Complaints, 2006 vs. 2010

4 Broken down further, Lufthansa trended worse than British Airways and Air France in all of the top four categories Flight Problems, Rescheduling/Ticketing/Boarding, Refunds, and Baggage. Increase/Decrease in Flight Problem Complaints 2006 vs Increase/Decrease in Ticketing/Rescheduling/ Boarding Complaints,2006 vs Increase/Decrease in Refund Complaints 2006 vs Increase/Decrease in Baggage Complaints 2006 vs In categories outside of the top four, the difference between Lufthansa and these two competitors is stark in fares and disability access complaints. While Lufthansa saw a 218% increase in fares complaints, British Airways saw a 20% increase and Air France a 25% decrease. In disability access, Lufthansa saw a 14% increase while British Airways saw a 55% decrease and Air France a 71% decrease.

5 Comparison to American Carriers The Department of Transportation does not separate complaints for American carriers between their domestic and international flights, so the data does not allow for direct comparison related to trans-atlantic travel. The overall trend in total complaints for the airlines, however, still shows Lufthansa performing worse than top U.S. airlines that fly internationally. The below chart includes the top five U.S.-based airlines in terms of international passengers in addition to the big three European carriers. Together, these airlines were the top eight carriers of U.S. passengers to destinations outside the country. Increase/Decrease in Total Complaints, % 70% 60% 48% 40% 20% 20% 23% 17% 35% 0% - 20% - 40% BRITISH AIRWAYS - 11% AIR FRANCE DELTA UNITED US AIRWAYS CONTINENTAL AMERICAN AIRLINES LUFTHANSA - 60% - 80% - 63% In overall rate of complaints per passenger in 2010, Lufthansa ranked seventh out of the eight airlines. Looking Ahead The Department of Transportation complaint data shown here does have some good news for trans-atlantic travelers doing business with European carriers. Despite significant challenges to the commercial airline industry in recent years, both British Airways and Air France are weathering the storm and even improving their customer satisfaction in the process. Unfortunately, the trends found in the charts above suggest more than a fluke problem for Lufthansa over time and across the major areas of concern to travelers, the airline is losing ground to its large competitors. So far in 2011, with just January and February numbers tallied, Lufthansa has had over twice the number of total complaints filed compared to its total in Jan-Feb 2010.

6 1. The numbers in this report are derived from two sources. We took complaint numbers directly from the Airline Travel Consumer Report published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Annual numbers are published each February. To adjust for annual scheduled international enplanements, we used data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics T-100 International segment. For years 2010 and 2009, the numbers for all airlines in this report are published in an annual press release summarizing traffic data. For 2006, we pulled the numbers directly from the T-100 data file. To calculate year-over-year changes, we compared rates of complaints (complaints / scheduled U.S. enplanements).