University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index study has shown that customer satisfaction with U.S. airlines has reached the smallest value since 2001. The study was conducted on a number of about 26,000 people who had to rate their level of satisfaction with different industries on a scale of 1 to 100.

Even though other industries have seen an increase in customer satisfaction compared with the last study conducted, this is not the case of airline companies. Reasons that have been considered to play a part in this situation are the fact that tickets have become more expensive, flights more crowded, and a whole series of other ways to get money from the customers, like paying for extra luggage, have been introduced.

The main reason for all this is the increasing oil price, which is in a direct connection to the cost airline companies have for each flight. Mr. David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, said, quoted by Reuters, that this year, companies will have to pay $18 billion more for fuel than in 2007, and that they are doing their best to provide better services to the passengers.

Mr. Castelveter also declared that the main reason for customers’ lack of satisfaction is flight delay. According to him, this leads to missed planes, lost luggage and general stress. However, there is nothing airline companies can do to solve this problem. ‘Until this government begins the transformation to the modern technology to improve the air traffic control system, we are going to have delays,’ stated ATA’s spokesman.