Overall satisfaction with airline travel has reached its highest point in history but customer satisfaction with Air Canada has not been so fortunate, according to a new study.

The study, released on Wednesday by marketing company J.D. Power, found that customer satisfaction with North American airlines has continued an eight-year trend of improvement, increasing by 11 points over the last year.

“Airlines continue to deliver on the operational side of air travel,” Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “New technology investments have dramatically improved the reservation and check-in process. Fleets are newer and travellers generally feel that they are getting great value for their money.”

“These improvements have been most profound in the traditional carrier segment, where customer satisfaction has climbed considerably.”

The North American Airline Satisfaction Study is based on the responses of 5,966 passengers who flew on a major North American airline between March 2018 and March 2019.

The study is based on seven factors:

  • Cost and fees
  • In-flight services
  • Aircraft
  • Boarding, deplaning and baggage
  • Flight crew
  • Check-in
  • Reservations

Among Canada-based airlines, Air Canada saw its customer satisfaction score decline by five points in the last year. WestJet, on the other hand, saw its score increase by 11 point. However, the overall satisfaction score was still below the segment average, according to the study.

Traditional airline carriers Alaska Airlines ranked highest for the 12th consecutive year, the study found, followed by Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

The study said that improvements in digital check-in technologies, self-service kiosks and more efficient pre-flight processes contributed to the higher satisfaction scores.

In-flight services such as entertainment, food and Wi-Fi continue to be a challenge for airlines, the study found.

Low-cost carriers JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines received higher satisfaction scores than both WestJet and Air Canada, but Taylor said that traditional airlines are keeping up with the trends.

“While low-cost carriers have historically had the highest levels of customer satisfaction in our study, due to a strong sense of value for money among customers, that line is starting to blur as traditional carriers improve their services and operations,” Taylor said.