Zagat Rates Airlines, Too

Most of us have been consulting Zagat’s restaurant guides for years, but not everyone knows that Zagat also rates airlines. The 2009 Zagat Airline Survey was released at the end of October and the results are available for viewing on the Zagat web site.

Almost 6000 frequent flyers (who flew an average of 16 times in the past year) rated both domestic and international carriers as well as 30 domestic airports for various criteria including premium and economy seating, in-flight entertainment, baggage policy, and on-time estimates. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was the newer, smaller carriers such as Virgin America, Midwest, and JetBlue that got some of the highest domestic ratings, and Singapore got the top score for international carriers.

Depending on your destination, you may not have much choice about which carrier to fly, but seeing how others rated them and whether your experience matched theirs can be interesting and informative. Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to fly Midwest several times recently and have had very positive experiences both with the ground crew and in-flight.