J.D. Power: Airline Upper-Class Satisfaction Slips

For all the talk by airline executives of premium demand remaining strong despite a nascent softness in overall demand, it turns out passengers are slightly less satisfied with upper tiers compared with economy tiers for North American carriers, according to the J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday. 

The 700-point average for the first/business tier was down one point on a 1,000-point scale from 2024 results. Premium economy’s average dropped seven points to 668. Only average satisfaction with the economy/basic economy tier improved, with a nine-point increase to 621. 

Still, the overall satisfaction average increased six points from a year prior, according to J.D. Power, driven by the increased…