Flight of fancy: Fly the airline of your dreams

Frequent fliers love to gripe about airlines. And who can blame them? By almost any measure, service at U.S. carriers is at a low.

Just this past summer, the Federal Aviation Administration logged a record number of flight delays. And FlightStats, a firm that tracks planes worldwide, says outright cancellations at U.S. airlines soared to more than 30,000 flights — nearly twice the number of a year ago.

Fliers will tell you, moreover, that coach seats have gotten too cramped; first class no longer is what it used to be; the rollout of in-flight entertainment screens has been far too slow. And then, of course, there's the issue of customer service. Or lack thereof.

Even the U.S. Postal Service, once the poster child for poor customer service, now ranks higher than airlines in the University of Michigan's Customer Satisfaction Index.

Why can't the airlines get it right? Actually, a few carriers do, at least in some areas. Singapore Airlines is praised for everything from its roomier-than-normal seats to its customer service. Southwest wins applause for its upbeat flight attendants. And don't we all wish more airlines had the seat-back TV screens found on JetBlue?

source