Looking to Boost Service, United Casts a Wide Net

Although United has hired former airline employees, Rotondo says the carrier is also interested in those without aviation experience. Those workers are easier to train in airline customer service, he says, and require less deprogramming. Applicants who have worked at other carriers "may come with some baggage," Rotondo said.

United Rescinds Fare Increase: United yesterday rescinded its $50 fare increase it implemented Friday on last-minute business fares. The airline eliminated the price rise after competitors failed to match.

Airline Performance Declines: Passengers have fewer gripes about service on low-cost, low-fare airlines than they do about treatment on traditional carriers, according to a survey released yesterday.

In the 16th annual Airline Quality Rating of the nation's 17 largest airlines, JetBlue emerged as the most favored carrier based on customer complaints filed with the Transportation Department in 2005.

Behind JetBlue, the top airlines were all low-cost carriers: AirTran, Independence Air and Southwest.

The study ranked the airlines in baggage handling, customer complaints, denied boardings and on-time arrivals. The University of Nebraska at Omaha's Aviation Institute and the Wichita State University School of Business produce the ratings.

Independence Air, ranked third, folded in January after just 19 months in business.

Southwest had the lowest overall rate of consumer complaints. US Airways fell to 15th place, from 12th in 2004.

United Airlines ranked fifth overall, making it the best-ranked traditional carrier. Alaska Airlines dropped to ninth, from fifth place the year before.

JetBlue had the lowest rate of bumping passengers from overbooked flights. AirTran had the best baggage-handling rate.

The biggest source of ire among passengers was lost luggage. Complaints about mishandled bags increased 17 percent in 2005 from the previous year.

And while JetBlue was ranked first last year in customer service, the airline's on-time performance has declined in recent months. From November to February, it had the highest percentage of late flights each month.

The survey came out the same day the Transportation Department reported that only 75.3 percent of flights arrived on time in February, down from 78.8 percent in January. The airlines are also canceling more flights. They cancelled 2.1 percent of their flights in February, up from 1.7 percent in January.