Traveler surveys agree on at least one thing

Depending on what surveys or rankings you read, Delta Air Lines either is the nation’s best domestic carrier or employs the rudest flight attendants and serves the worst food in the industry.

While one business travel magazine ranks Los Angeles International Airport as one of the best domestic airports, a survey of regular fliers says it’s one of the worst.

With the start of the summer travel season, consumer survey companies and travel magazines have released several new rankings of airlines, airports and hotels. Sometimes the surveys and rankings concur; often they don’t.

For example, the editors of Executive Travel Magazine declared Delta the best domestic airline overall. But when Airfarewatchdog.com asked more than 2,100 fliers which airlines had the rudest flight attendants and served the worst food, Delta topped the list.

Still, many of the latest surveys echo a consistent message: Travelers still care most about saving money.

Last week’s Airfarewatchdog.com survey found that fliers are willing to pay for alcoholic drinks and Internet access on a plane, but 69% said they expect non-alcoholic drinks to be free. In addition, 87% said they expect bathrooms to be clean and free and 63% said airlines should provide blankets and pillows at no charge.

And when asked what matters when booking a flight, 85% said price was extremely important.

Fee bundles are reappearing

In airline industry parlance, the practice of charging separate fees for extra services and products — such as blankets and pillows — is called “unbundling.” It’s the equivalent of ordering off an a la carte menu.

American Airlines recently became one of the first U.S. carriers to “rebundle” some of those extras. Think of it as the equivalent of ordering a combo meal at a fast-food chain.

Under the new deal, passengers who buy the “boarding and flexibility package” get to board the plane early; pay only half of the regular service fee if they need to change flights at the last minute; and get to fly standby on an earlier flight at no extra charge.

The package price ranges from $9 to $19, depending on the route.

Rick Seaney, founder of the airline pricing website FareCompare, said he expects more airlines to start rebundling.

“You are seeing the first wave,” he said. “It’s a marketing and merchandizing strategy.”

Customer complaints go viral

The Internet is fast becoming a weapon of choice for passengers who feel they have been wronged by an airline.

Last summer, Canadian musician Dave Carroll got tons of publicity when he posted a music video on YouTube about how United Airlines baggage handlers broke his guitar during a stopover at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Time magazine named his video, “United Breaks Guitars,” one of the top 10 viral videos of 2009.

In February, Joe Lotus, a Chicago attorney and cyclist, launched a Facebook page to blast the airline for charging $175 one way to check a bicycle. (United has since lowered the fee to $100.)

Now comes Richard Martin of San Diego, an avid bicyclist who launched a Facebook page and posted a video on YouTube to bring attention to his gripe against American Airlines.

Martin says American busted up his expensive road bike last summer as it was being loaded into a flight from New York to Brussels. He says he saw his bike box torn open on the tarmac before the flight departed.

American Airlines denies responsibility, saying Martin waited too long to file a claim and failed to pack the bike in a hard-sided case.

Martin is not giving up. “Everybody should be careful how they take care of their customers,” he said, “especially if they want to keep them in the long run.”

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