2013年美国最好和最差航空公司

The Best (And Worst) Airlines

2013年美国最好和最差航空公司

Travel is an ice-jammed nightmare now, but travelers have been getting used to more problems: Last year was one of the worst for airline reliability of the past five years.

旅行现在已经成为一场冰封的噩梦，但旅行者其实早已习惯了需要忍受更多的问题：去年是过去五年中航班可靠性最差的年份之一。

Delays went up and more flights were canceled in 2013 than 2012, even though airlines again reduced the number of flights crowding airports, according to FlightStats Inc., which tracked more than 8 million trips last year. About 78% of flights on U.S. airlines arrived on-time last year, down from 80% in 2012.

FlightStats Inc.去年跟踪了800多万架次航班的情况。提供它提供的数据，2013年，尽管导致机场拥堵的航班数量再次降低，延误仍有增加，航班被取消的情况也多于2012年。去年美国航班正点到达率约为78%，低于2012年的80%。

That's a significant move, reflecting hundreds of flights each day. On-time performance is a barometer for airline performance, influencing baggage handling, cancellations, complaints and other areas. Two measures of extreme customer impact worsened sharply: The number of flights delayed excessively by 45 minutes or more increased 13% and the number of flights canceled jumped 15%, according to FlightStats.

这是一个显著的变化，相当于每天多了数百架次的延误航班。正点到达率影响着行李处理、航班取消量和乘客投诉量等方面，是航空公司绩效的一个晴雨表。根据FlightStats的数据，两个对客户有着极端影响的指标大幅恶化：延误45分钟

或以上的航班数量增加了13%，被取消的航班数量增加了15%。

More luggage was lost or delayed last year, too, partly because Southwest Airlines, the lone major carrier to still offer two free checked bags to customers, stumbled. Southwest mishandled more bags than United Airlines and Delta Air Lines combined, according to the most recent Transportation Department data, which covers 12 months ending last October.

去年丢失或延误的行李数量也有增加，原因之一，是唯一一家仍为客户提供两件

包裹免费托运服务的主要航空公司──西南航空(Southwest Airlines) ──拉了后

腿。根据美国运输部(Transportation Department)涵盖截至去年10月份一年的

最新数据，西南航空误处理的包裹数量比联合航空(United Airlines)和达美航空

(Delta Air Lines)加起来还多。

The good news? Fewer passengers got involuntarily bumped from flights, according to the DOT, and fewer customers complained to the DOT about airline service. Airlines have gotten more aggressive about intercepting gripes with emailed surveys and social media.

好消息呢？据美国运输部数据，被强制取消订位的乘客数量减少，向运输部投诉

航班服务的顾客数量也有所减少。航空公司已经在更加积极地通过电子邮件访问

和社交媒体拦截客户的投诉。

In the Middle Seat's annual scorecard of airline service, tracking seven different key measures of airline performance, Alaska Airlines performed best in 2013 among major carriers. At the top with Alaska was Delta, which for the past two years has posted far better operational results than big competitors. Worst among big airlines? United Airlines and American Airlines, again. 《华尔街日报》“Middle Seat”栏目的年度航空服务记分卡跟踪了七个衡量航

空公司服务质量的关键指标。记分卡显示，2013年主要航空公司当中成绩最好

的是阿拉斯加航空(Alaska Airlines)。紧随阿拉斯加航空的是达美航空，它在过

去两年的运营成绩远超其大型竞争对手。大型航空公司里表现最差的是谁？这一次又是联合航空和美国航空(American Airlines)。

On the whole, it was a mediocre year for airline reliability, the second-worst of the past five in terms of on-time arrivals (2011 was slightly worse), according to FlightStats. And it was the worst of the last five in delays over 45 minutes. That's surprising. There were fewer flights flown than any year of the past nine because of airline mergers and capacity reductions. Less-crowded skies and airports ought to yield speedier service.

从整体上看，2013年航班可靠性表现平平，据FlightStats数据，这一年的准点到达率在过去五年中排倒数第二（略好于2011年），迟到45分钟以上的情况在过去五年中最为严重。这一点让人意外，因为受航空公司合并和运能削减影响，2013年执行航班数量少于之前九年中的任何一年。空中和机场飞机数量减少，本应带来更加快捷的服务才对。

After benign weather in 2012, '2013 returned to a more normal weather pattern, ' said Bill Lentsch, senior vice president of airport customer service at Delta Air Lines.

达美航空分管机场客户服务的高级副总裁比尔·伦奇(Bill Lentsch)说，继2012年的好天气之后，“2013年回到了更加常态化的天气形态”。

But several carriers ran into issues of their own making. Southwest, for example, wrote schedules based on better weather the previous two years. That shaved some minutes off flying time and shortened time between flights on the ground, allowing the airline to offer more flights and connections to customers without adding aircraft.

但好几家航空公司遇到的问题都是它们自己造成的。比如西南航空以好于之前两年的天气为基础来制定计划，将飞行时间减掉数分钟，并缩短了航班与航班之间在地面的间隔时间，以便能够在不增加飞机数量的情况下为顾客提供更多的普通

航班和中转联程航班。然后又因为天气恶劣、航班上座率更高导致上下飞机时间延长，且飞行计划紧凑，延误现象变得更多。西南航空首席运营长迈克·范德文(Mike Van de Ven)说：“这确实拖慢了我们的运营，超过了我能接受的程度。”他说，飞行计划正在重新制定，但调整要到2014年下半年才会稳定下来。

Then bad weather, fuller airplanes that took longer to load and unload and the tight schedule combined to create more delays. 'It did slow down our operation more than I'd like, ' said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest's chief operating officer. Schedules are being rewritten, he said, but the changes won't take hold until the second half of 2014. Seattle-based Alaska has the benefit of few flights on the East Coast of the U.S., where weather and airport congestion can be punishing. It does, though, face the challenge of sometimes harsh conditions in Alaska.

总部位于西雅图的阿拉斯加航空在东海岸航班数量很少，这一点有利于提升其表现，因为东海岸的天气和机场拥堵有时候让人疲于应付。但阿拉斯加的条件有时候也很恶劣，给它形成了挑战。

The airline has been a pioneer in new-generation, satellite-based navigation that can let planes fly into and out of airports that otherwise would be shut down by low visibility.

阿拉斯加航空一直是使用新一代卫星导航系统的先行者。这套系统使飞机能够进出本来会因为能见度低而关闭的机场。

Delta, 2012's top-ranked airline by our analysis, led the industry with the lowest rate of canceled flights -- just 0.34% of its schedule, according to FlightStats. The industry's average of canceled flights last year, 1.65%, was almost five times higher than Delta's rate.

FlightStats 数据显示，2012年在我们的分析中排名第一的达美航空，以最低的航班取消率引领全行业──只占计划航班数量的0.34%。去年全行业取消航班的比例为1.65%，差不多是达美航空的五倍。

Delta worked last year to speed up trips by minimizing taxi times, as well as speeding up loading and unloading, Mr. Lentsch said. 'It's fine-tuning. We've made some really targeted investments that give us back a few minutes in operations, ' he said.

伦奇说，去年达美航空通过最大化降低飞机滑行时间、加快上下客的办法来缩短航班时间。他说：“这属于微调。我们已经做了一些非常有针对性的投入，为我们的运营节省了一些时间。”

Meanwhile, United and American have occupied the bottom rungs of the industry ladder for the past three years. American canceled nearly 2% of its flights last year. That ranked worst among big airlines in that category.

与此同时，联合航空和美国航空过去三年一直处在行业最末端。去年美国航空有将近2%的航班被取消，为大型航空公司之最。

United had the highest rate among its peers of involuntarily bumping ticketed passengers from flights.

联合航空强制取消乘客订位的比例位居同业之首。

United and American both promised big improvement in 2013 after major problems in prior years. And both saw some, especially in on-time performance. But it wasn't enough to catch rivals, even as those rivals' reliability declined.

继之前几年出现重大问题之后，联合航空和美国航空都承诺要在2013年做出大的改进。两家公司都有一定的改进，特别是在准点率方面，但还是不足以赶上竞争对手，尽管这些对手的可靠性也有所下降。

United, which saw on-time arrivals perk up to 79.4%, from about 76.5% in 2012, says its improvements are gaining momentum and internal customer-satisfaction surveys are showing big gains since mid-2012, when it was still struggling with its merger with Continental Airlines.

联合航空的正点到达率从2012年的大约76.5%上升到了79.4%。该公司表示，

它做出的改善正在发力，内部客户满意度调查也显示2012年年中以来进步很大。彼时联合航空还在勉力应对与大陆航空(Continental Airlines)合并后的局面。

Last year, 43, 000 front-line employees took new customer-service training, including techniques borrowed from the hospitality industry. It was the first time United offered recurrent customer-service training to all front-line workers. United also began collecting more specific data on its operation, such as how often jet bridges get hooked up to planes right away after arrival.

去年联合航空有4.3万名一线员工接受了新的客户服务培训，其中包括一些师法酒店行业的技术。那是联合航空第一次为所有一线员工提供重复性的客户服务培训。联合航空还着手收集更加具体的运营数据，比如飞机抵达后马上连接上登机桥的频率有多高。

'We have had a material improvement but we know we have more to do, ' said Jeffrey Foland, executive vice president for marketing, technology and strategy.

联合航空分管营销、技术与战略的执行副总裁杰弗瑞·弗兰德(Jeffrey Foland)说：“我们取得了实质性的进步，但我们也知道还要进一步努力。”

Vice Chairman James Compton, who oversees United's operations, said the airline also focused more on maintenance, recalibrating the number of spare planes available and the inventory of spare parts at key airports. Improving maintenance helped reduce long delays, he said.

联合航空负责运营的副董事长詹姆斯·康普顿(James Compton)说，联合航空还更进一步地重视维护，随时调整备用飞机数量和关键机场的备用件库存。他说，维护的改善从一个方面减少了长时间延误的情况。

A spokeswoman for American said the carrier is intensely focused on its merger with US Airways, and improving reliability will be a fundamental goal of the new company. 'In this next year, you'll see American step forward with a renewed focus on our customers' needs, as well as making safety and

reliability part of the fabric of the new company, ' she said.

美国航空发言人说，美国航空正在集中精力与全美航空(US Airways)合并，提高可靠性将是新公司的一个基本目标。她说：“在接下来这一年，美国航空将重新以客户需求为重，并让安全性和可靠性成为新公司机体的一部分。”

Mr. Van de Ven said Southwest's baggage handling, worst among the nine carriers in the scorecard, reflects not only the heavy volume that comes from not charging baggage fees but also the airline's willingness to accept bags late for check-in. To reduce mishandled bags, the airline would have to get more restrictive with customers.

西南航空的包裹处理在记分卡上九家航空公司中表现最差。范德文说，这不仅反映了不收托运费导致的庞大数量，也反映这家航空公司愿意接受来不及办托运手续的包裹。如果要减少误处理包裹数量，西南航空将不得不对客户实施更多的限制。

Southwest is upgrading baggage sorters and equipment in the next year or two at its major airports, he said. And the airline can point to its industry-leading low rate of customer complaints filed at the DOT.

他说，接下来一两年，西南航空将升级主要机场的包裹分类机和设备。而且这家航空公司有一点是值得一提的：其客户向运输部投诉的比例是全行业最低的。