By John Yantis, Tribune

JetBlue beat often-awarded Southwest Airlines and trounced Tempe-based America West Airlines in a J.D. Power and Associates survey of customer satisfaction.

The 2005 Airline Satisfaction Index Study, which was released Monday, used 2,600 passenger responses between May and October. The study ranked customers’ satisfaction with 11 major U.S. carriers in five categories: Check-in/ boarding/deplaning process; flight reservation/scheduling process; aircraft interior; inflight amenities; and flight crew.

JetBlue, which began flying in 2000 and offers one red-eye flight daily between Phoenix and New York’s JFK Airport, received the highest marks across the board, beating out Southwest.

Southwest ranked lower in aircraft interior and in-flight amenities. Delta Airlines finished third in the survey.

``JetBlue basically set the new standard,`` said Linda Hirneise, J.D. Power partner and executive director of travel industry research. ``They started out with a very simplistic model, and they remain true to that model, and the customers understood that.``

America West ranked ahead of only Northwest Airlines. J.D. Power said the Tempe carrier’s check-in, boarding and reservation pro- cess ``didn’t really stand out,`` and the airline ranked lower for aircraft interior, in-flight amenities and the crew.

An America West spokesman said the carrier’s place on the list comes as no big surprise given its poor ontime performance last year.

``We’re just looking at trying to rectify this and move forward and hopefully make sure this type of ranking doesn’t happen again,`` Phil Gee said, adding the company recently started a marketing effort to tell passengers it offers perks similar to those given by larger airlines.

Gee said the company plans to launch improvements in in-flight entertainment this summer. On longer flights, the carrier offers movies to its passengers. On short flights, on-screen trivia is available, he said.

JetBlue’s service includes new planes, leather seats and live satellite television. Southwest recently introduced leather seats on its planes.

It was J.D. Power’s first airline survey since 2000. The company did a study in November 2001, but it did not release the details because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The company decided to conduct the survey again because the travel industry has shown a strong rebound, Hirneise said.

The 2005 Airline Satisfaction Index Study was expanded to measure customer satisfaction of both business and leisure travelers with major U.S. carriers that earn at least $1 billion a year in passenger revenue.

The study showed customers were more satisfied with the airline industry’s efforts in reservations and scheduling. The lowest scores in the study were for comfort and roominess of the passenger seats, the lack of amenities and the lack of overhead storage, J.D. Power said.