Good news: the travel industry is BACK! The business of travel has returned to prepandemic levels, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, and were all so relieved. In particular, airlines have rebounded. The airlines have hit an all-time high of customer satisfaction (a grade of 77 out of 100) after their second straight year of improving from the previous year by 1 percent, a small but significant number. Hotels, car rentals, and online travel agencies have all also seen growth.

　　A side result of the study, which was released yesterday and covers 2023 to 2024, is that we learn which airline Americans consider the best. So, if you want to follow the recommendation to head toward colder climes and Northern Lights (or just hit some U.S. cities), Alaska Airlines has an ASCI score of 82, the highest on the list.

　　American is in second place, with a score of 79. Both Alaska and American have raised 1 percent since last year.

　　But other airlines have made huge gains in the last 12 months. Spirit Airlines has bolstered its reputation by 5 percent to land a score of 67. Allegiant is up 4 percent to 78, and Frontier is up 3 percent to 67. Allegiant took third place on the overall list.

　　The only airline to lose customer satisfaction points since last year was United, which slipped 3 percent to a score of 75.

　　What can explain these differences, according to ACSI? Airlines are hiring back staff after the pandemic layoffs, making the parts of flying that are staff-driven much easier. That includes check-in, boarding, cleaning cabins, and general courtesy in the interactions staff have with passengers.

　　Here is the full list:

　　1. Alaska: score of 82

　　2. American: score of 79

　　3. Allegiant: score of 78

　　4. Southwest: score of 78

　　5. Delta: score of 77

　　6. JetBlue: score of 77

　　7. United: score of 75

　　8. All Others: score of 73

　　9. Frontier: score of 69

　　10. Spirit: score of 67