More turbulence

When it comes to passenger service, the airline industry in the United States fared poorly in the last year.

At least that is what the annual Airline Quality Rating found. There were more lost bags, bumped passengers and consumer complaints than in the previous year, the Associated Press reported.

Study co-author Brent Bowen, pronounced 2007 "the worst year ever for the U.S. airlines. Overall operational performance and quality declined once again to the lowest level that it's ever been," said Mr. Bowen, a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Aviation Institute.

The overall rate of consumer complaints increased 60 percent over last year. US Airways fielded the most, Southwest Airlines had the fewest. All but one of the 16 airlines studied received more complaints.

Flights were late. On-time arrivals decreased for the fifth straight year. More than one-quarter of flights did not arrive on time.

There were more passengers bumped from overbooked flights in 2007 than the previous year. More bags were lost, stolen or damaged as well.

Financial difficulties have hit U.S. airlines hard, particularly high fuel costs. Major airlines have cut jobs and passenger amenities, sparking complaints.

The study is based on Transportation Department statistics and includes airlines that transport at least 1 percent of the passengers who flew inside the United States last year.

Financial pressures forced three airlines to stop flying last week — ATA, Aloha Airlines and Skybus. The industry definitely is encountering turbulence.

AirTran and Jet Blue came off best in the quality survey, followed by Southwest, Northwest and Frontier airlines.

No word on how the industry plans to improve service. But the other co-author of the study, Dean Headley of Wichita State University, said: "The trend is bad and it doesn't look like it gets any better."

Travelers, be advised — and be patient.