The annual survey of frequent fliers by Seatguru.com, the popular online guide to airline seating, doesn't have a lot of highlights for U.S.-based airlines.
U.S. carriers serve the worst food -- if they serve food at all, that is -- and have the least comfortable seats, the survey of 1,600 fliers found.
Meals on American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways were considered the worst of the bunch.
The best? Singapore Airlines, followed by British Airways, Houston-based Continental Airlines and Air France. Many U.S. carriers have eliminated meal service on domestic flights.
One domestic carrier, JetBlue Airways, did come out on top for the most comfortable economy-class seats, according to the survey, while Singapore Airlines led the field for business class. The least comfortable: American, United and US Airways.
The survey also asked which airline had the rudest flight attendants, and again United, American and US Airways topped the list. Singapore and Southwest airlines were voted as having the most polite attendants.
"Domestic airlines have been making strides in recent years to better compete with international airlines, but it is clear that they still have a ways to go in the eyes of fliers," said Matthew Daimler, founder of Seatguru.com.
Most of the people surveyed flew at least eight times last year.
--
A timely upside to the downturn
Travel experts insist that there has never been a better time to fly, and they may well be right. The latest air travel data show that the recession-induced travel slump is not only lowering fares but also causing fewer flight delays.
With fewer planes in the air and even fewer passengers flying, U.S. carriers are posting some of the best on-time performance numbers in 15 years. The industry's performance for the first three months of 2009 was the third-best since the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics began keeping track.
Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance, with 91% of its flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule. Comair, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, had the worst at 68%.
Among the nation's largest carriers, Southwest Airlines was on time most often, and Continental Airlines had one of the worst records.
Among major airports, Los Angeles International jumped from 11th to fourth in the nation, with 86% of the flights taking off within 15 minutes of scheduled departure, while Newark, N.J., fell to last place. Salt Lake City again topped the list.
