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Bravo, America West
Opinion · October 11, 2002

Criticizing the airline industry is almost second nature to us. We repeat disparaging comments like a tired mantra today. Bad service! Onerous ticket restrictions! Undeserving of government subsidies!

Southwest Airlines, the no-frills carrier that has defied the industry's sad decline, is most often mentioned as the only exception among major airlines. Passengers rave about its low fares, on-time performance and irreverent attitude, and rightfully so.

But Southwest isn't alone. Phoenix-based America West Airlines, the only carrier started after deregulation that eventually became a major airline, has quietly emerged as a company that deserves to be singled out for a job well done. In the last year, America West has taken a brave stand on its ticketing policies, has improved its on-time performance and defied the flock of other airlines flying mindlessly toward their doom.

America West was the first major airline to overhaul its fare structure by removing its burdensome Saturday-night-stay restrictions and shortening the advance-purchase period required for some of its least expensive fares. Saturday-night stay requirements had been used to separate business and leisure travelers in the past, forcing road warriors to pay air fares up to six times higher. The net effect: ticket prices fell by an average of 75 percent. America West's rivals reacted angrily, trying to undercut the airline in key markets and hoping that they would either force it to retreat or drive it out of business altogether. But the airline held fast.

America West also deserves praise for pulling itself up by its proverbial bootstraps on its performance record. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that it was the nation's most punctual airline for the first time since the government began keeping records. In the 12 months ending in August, America West was the second-most punctual carrier with 83.1 percent of its flights arriving on time, and only one-tenth of a percentage point behind Continental Airlines, the number-one carrier. The airline is still far from perfect - its rate of mishandled luggage, for example, is higher than the industry average - but no one can say that America West isn't trying.

The latest, and perhaps most noteworthy, step that America West took was this week's decision not to mimic its competitors' new customer-hostile ticketing policies. It held firm on its rule that allowed unused tickets to retain their value after departure. It kept its senior citizen discounts in place and said it would allow nonrefundable tickets to be used for free same-day standby flights. America West also said that paper tickets issued by travel agents wouldn't cost anything extra. Most of the other major airlines had tightened their policies in a misguided effort to raise revenues, imposing fees for issuing pulp tickets and implementing "use it or lose it" policies on nonrefundable tickets.

So why isn't America West recognized for its achievements? Possibly because it is passenger-friendly in policy, but not necessarily in practice. Some of its actions are almost certainly negated by the number of consumer complaints filed against it. The government's most recent numbers are damning. America West is the most complained-about carrier, with an average of 1.31 grievances filed per 1,000 enplanements. (Topping the list: gripes about reservations, ticketing, boarding and flights.)

Maybe it's also America West's heritage as the only major airline to emerge since deregulation that's keeping it from its well-deserved recognition. People expect a post-deregulation airline to be quick to change where necessary - and slow to change when it isn't.

But ignoring America West's attempts to reconcile its increasingly cost-conscious passengers with its need to turn a profit in a way that doesn't completely alienate air travelers is an error. Here's an airline that's trying to turn itself around, an act for which it deserves our blessing, if not our business.

That's more than can be said for the rest of the airline industry.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.