Discount airlines top the 2011 Airline Quality Rating

Discount airlines trounced the full-fare airlines in the 2011 Airline Quality Rating (AQR), an authoritative tally of who offers the best customer service and lowest fares done annually by Wichita State University and Purdue University.

It's often been said that you get what you pay for. But the exact opposite is true among airlines. AirTran is at the top of the heap (though it's now being absorbed by Southwest). This particular discounter has a simple fare structure with all one way fares; it's easy to do business with them; and they're reliable in the air.

Here's a brief rundown of other top spots in the 2011 AQR:

No. 2 is Hawaiian Airlines
No. 3 is JetBlue
No. 4 is Alaska Air
No. 5 is Southwest

So you have 2 more discounters -- JetBlue and Southwest -- in the top 5 along with 2 niche airlines in Hawaiian and Alaska. And who ranks toward the bottom of the tally? All the big full-fare airlines! That's been consistent year after year in the AQR.

If you ask me who has best fares and the overall best experience, again and again it's going to be the low-cost airlines.

Editor's note: This segment originally aired in April 2011.