Survey: People are more satisfied with airlines than ever before

Wait, what? Fliers are less dissatisfied than ever with North American airlines — even when they're saddled with extra fees, fewer flight options, and record-breaking cancelations, a new survey from J.D. Power and Associates reveals. The airline industry earned 712 points out of 1,000 — its highest ranking since 2006.

Passengers said they were pleased with easier check-in, new in-flight services such as Wi-Fi, and are coming to terms with being nickel and dimed for services that were once complimentary, like checking bags. Of course, that doesn't mean customers love paying more: "We certainly would not conclude that people are happy with these fees, but we are seeing it go from worst to less bad," a J.D. Power and Associates told Bloomberg. "There is certainly less dissatisfaction."

For the seventh year, Alaska Airlines was ranked as the the favorite airline among bigger carriers, with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines placing in second and third, respectively. US Airways scored the lowest. Among the budget carriers, JetBlue scored the highest and Frontier Airlines ranked the lowest.

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