By Leslie Miller
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Budget airlines generally provided better service in 2003 than traditional airlines, an annual study of aviation quality finds.

Newer, cheaper carriers like JetBlue and Southwest were more likely to arrive on time, according to the report being released today. They were also less likely to mishandle baggage, bump passengers or generate complaints than their network competitors.

Dean Headley, a co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University, said most of the low-cost carriers were above the industry average on four performance indicators last year. Most of the traditional airlines were below the industry average, he said.

"You can deliver good service at a decent price, or you'd better figure out how to do it or you won't be around," Headley said.

JetBlue had the second-best on-time performance, arriving punctually 86 percent of the time. JetBlue's passengers also filed fewer complaints - 0.31 per 100,000 - to the Transportation Department than all other airlines but Southwest.

Southwest, with 0.14 complaints per 100,000 customers, consistently generates the lowest complaint rate in the industry, the report said.

Continental and Northwest were tied for most complaints, 0.95 per 100,000 customers.

The report rated the 14 U.S. airlines that carried at least 1 percent of the 587 million passengers who flew last year. Four low-cost carriers - AirTran, ATA, Atlantic Southeast and JetBlue - met that threshold for the first time in 2003.

"The airline industry is in a major reorientation mode," Headley said.

The report was co-authored by Brent Bowen, director of the University of Nebraska's aviation institute, and based on Transportation Department statistics.

Tops in quality

Here are the number of complaints to the Transportation Department per 100,000 passengers of the top two airlines for quality, according to an annual report:

1. Southwest - 0.14

2. JetBlue - 0.31