Airline performance improves slightly in 2011, research shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. airlines scored their second best performance last year in the more than two decades that researchers have been measuring airline quality, with Virgin America the leader, says an annual report released Monday.

(kevindean)

A new airline is creating a stir with a policy that determines ticket prices based on passenger weight. Samoa Air, which launched last year to provide service around Samoa and neighboring islands, says its "pay-by-weight" system is the "fairest way" to charge travelers.

U.S. air carriers led by Hawaiian Airlines took some of the hassle out of flying last year. The airline industry had its best performance in four years in 2008, private researchers said Monday in their annual study of airline quality, based on government statistics.