I just read a post on the brand builder blog about the study that showed that air travel complaints are up 60% from the year before. For some reason, this post made me passionately angry. Not because I disagreed with it or felt that it was somehow unfair, but because I was fresh off an airplane with an airline that is cited in this study as being one of the worst in traveler dissatisfaction, and it made me want to tell everyone I know how horrible my flight experience was and then never book a flight with that airline again. This makes me think: how long can these airlines sustain this level of customer dissatisfaction?

Many airlines cite the rising cost of oil and the inability to raise fares comparable to these cost increases, causing them to cut staff, amentities and other service elements that make flying tolerable. OK. From a numbers standpoint that makes sense. Wait a minute. Then, how come other airlines such as Hawaiian and Southwest are able to deliver a positive brand experience within those same constraints? Take Hawaiian Airlines for instance. They have figured out that they are an important extension of their customer’s vacations and have designed their entire on and off-board experience around those positive associations. From their great customer service before you board to their in-flight videos of Hawaiian places and culture, free food (gasp), and their flight attendants’ flowery uniforms, they manage to create an atmosphere of peace and beauty on board a huge aircraft crowded with people. It’s simple really. They just took the time to understand what their customers were buying and then consistently delivered it, making them one of the most profitable airlines in business.

With Aloha Airlines, ATA and SkyBus going under this past week, an important lesson can be learned: if you focus more on the numbers than you do on your brand and your customers, you WILL end up taking a nose dive–it’s only a matter of when. Maybe all the short-sided airlines will weed themselves out and we’ll end up with only the best ones to choose from. Please let it be soon.

–Jen Travis