Newswise — The results of the 24th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) will be announced at 9:30 a.m. EDT, Monday, April 7, at a news conference at the National Press Club, Murrow Room, in Washington, D.C.

The AQR is the most comprehensive study of the performance and quality of the 15 largest airlines in the United States. The study helps sort out the difference in airline performance for the business community, the media and the general public. The rating is conducted annually by researchers at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Ariz., campus. The rating is a multifactor look at the overall performance quality of the airlines based on elements such as on-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints. It is the only rating to include multiple criteria by which airline performance is measured in a quantitative and unbiased manner. The new findings cover the 2013 calendar year. The following airlines, listed in alphabetical order, are rated: AirTran, Alaska, American, American Eagle, Delta, Endeavor Air, ExpressJet, Frontier, Hawaiian, Jet Blue, SkyWest, Southwest, United, US Airways and Virgin America.

Additional issues the researchers will speak to reporters about include: — How 2013 airline performance compares to 2012.— How on-time performance, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled bags and customer complaints have changed during the past year.— How airline performance is affected by airline mergers.— How the airline industry has performed during the past two decades.— How key industry elements have changed since 1991.

Researchers also will address the impact new pilot training and qualification regulations are having on the industry.

For more information about the Airline Quality Rating, go to www.airlinequalityrating.com.# # # # #

For information about the AQR or to schedule interviews with the researchers, contact Joe Kleinsasser, director of news and media relations, Wichita State University, at 316-978-3013, cell 316-204-8266 or [email protected]; or Melanie Hanns, director of university communications, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 386-226-7538, cell 386-283-0753 or [email protected].