Air Canada is struggling to keep its customers happy, whether they’re in business or economy class, an extensive survey by JD Power shows.
According to the survey, Air Canada ranks 8th out of 11 North American airlines for customer satisfaction when traveling in Economy Class.
The Montreal-based company achieved a satisfaction index of 765 out of 1000 points, below the average of 782 points.
The only other Canadian airline rated, WestJet, scored 777 points, good for 5th place.
For first class travelers, Air Canada was second to last out of six airlines, ahead only of American Airlines. The company also ranked 5th out of 6 companies in the premium economy class segment, ahead of United Airlines.
“If management were the only measure of long-term success, this would have been a milestone for the industry as they operate at peak efficiency,” said Michael Taylor, director of travel at JD Power.
“However, from a customer perspective, this means that planes are fully booked, tickets are expensive and flight availability is limited,” he added.
According to the analyst, companies’ tendency to optimize their operations as much as possible at the expense of passenger comfort could ultimately damage certain brand images.
For the survey, between March 2022 and March 2023, 7,774 travelers were asked about eight factors, including baggage management, costs, cabin crew and services offered.