Low-cost Airline Usage

If air travel is your method of choice, there's no cheaper way than airlines like Southwest Airlines or Ryanair.  Low-cost carriers are used more frequently and are relatively inexpensive -- unless you've got to reschedule that flight, need to carry more luggage, or violate any of a host of fees that add to the ticket's cost.

The Economist, via Amadues, has released a map detailing the range of countries that rely most heavily on low-cost airline services.  Countries that are more red have a higher percentage of citizens that rely on the cheaper alternatives to flying.

The Philippines were the nation with the largest percentage of citizens using budget airlines at 65% of all passengers using these services.  Russia, Japan, and China all had markedly low use, at 5%, 4%, and 1% of passengers using budget carriers, with China's fierce protection of the nation's three major airlines being cited as reasons for low participation.

Airline Customer Service Rankings

The Wall Street Journal's Middle Seat article presents its rankings of major airlines based upon different aspects of customer service, including on-time arrivals, flight delays, baggage handling and canceled flights.  The chart from the article shows the rankings across the various categories of seven major airlines, among which American placed last overall and Alaska, the smallest of the seven, placed first.  Also noteworthy was Delta's second place ranking, which is up from ninth in 2010 among major airlines.  American Airlines' poor ranking comes as no surprise, as the airline filed for bankruptcy in November.  According to the article, the airline blames its aging fleet, as frequent mechanical breakdowns have caused increased cancellations.  It also blames extraordinary weather, including a hailstorm in Dallas that damaged 50 jets.  The article also points out the detrimental effect that United and Continental's 2010 merger has had on customer service.