You're right — flying got worse in 2014

You're right — flying got worse in 2014

(S. Keller/Southwest Airlines)


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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — If you think airline travel is getting worse, now you have numbers to back up that feeling.

The annual Airline Quality Ranking from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, tracks measures that affect a passenger's experience — on time performance, lost bags, customer complaints and being involuntarily bumped off of a flight. All got worse in 2014.

"Things are going in the wrong direction, that's for sure," said Wichita State professor Dean Headley, one of the report's authors. "This is just going to confirm the traveling public's perception that things aren't as good as they used to be."

The study's authors don't hold out hope for any improvement in the near term, especially with more people flying.

"I don't think it was an aberration. The data shows we've started a period of decline and there's no evidence that it's going to change," said Brent Bowen, dean of the college of aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "I think it comes from a decision to not reinvest in customer service."

Best and Worst Airlines

Best on-time performance: Hawaiian Airlines. Alaska Air came in second despite the fact that it has much more difficult weather to deal with.

Fewest customer complaints: Alaska Airlines

Fewest lost bags: Virgin America

Biggest decline in quality: Envoy, which used to be known as American Eagle

Most complaints: Frontier Airlines. The industry's overall complaint rate jumped 22% from 2013.

The increase in problems was spread across almost the entire industry, according to the report, with only two airlines, Frontier and JetBlue, improving their on-time performance. But that wasn't enough to stop Frontier from having the highest consumer complaint rate in the industry.

In addition, only five airlines improved their mishandled baggage rates, while only two bettered their rate of bumping their passengers. And the complaint rate jumped by 22 percent.

But while customers had problems, the airlines themselves and airline investors did very well in 2014. The four major airline stocks — American Airlines, United Continental, Delta Air Lines and Southwest — were all among the best-performing stocks in the market with Southwest more than doubling to post the biggest gain in the S&P.

The airlines enjoyed filling a record percentage of their seats with paying passengers, a rise in air fares and a significant drop in fuel prices, their biggest expense, at the end of last year.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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