National Airline Quality Rating to be Announced April 10 National Airline Quality Rating to be Announced April 10

WHAT: Media are invited to this year's press conference to announce the results of the 27th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR). The most comprehensive study of the performance quality of the 12 largest airlines in the United States, the AQR is conducted by researchers at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott, Ariz., campus. Airline performance, as presented by AQR researchers, encompasses a multifactor look at the overall quality of the airlines. It includes on-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints. AQR is the longest running and most established measure of airline quality. AQR researchers use a combination of performance-based data that allows comparison of the actual performance of airlines with the public perception of airline quality. The new findings cover the 2016 calendar year and rate the following airlines, listed in alphabetical order: Alaska, American, Delta, ExpressJet, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, SkyWest, Southwest, Spirit, United and Virgin America (last year's No. 1 overall airline).

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. EDT Monday, April 10

WHERE: The National Press Club, Zenger Room, in Washington, D.C.

MEDIA INFORMATION: This year's announcement will be streamed live via Facebook (more information and link to come). Audio and video set-ups will be available via the NPC. Advance interviews with researchers Dr. Dean Headley and Dr. Brent Bowen are available upon request. Full results of the new AQR will be distributed immediately as the press conference starts. To view last year's results, profiles and more, go to airlinequalityrating.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
- Melanie Hanns, Director of Media Relations, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; O: (386) 226-7538; C: (386) 283-0753; melanie.hanns@erau.edu
- Joe Kleinsasser, Director of News and Media Relations, Wichita State University; O: (316) 978-3013; C: (316) 204-8266; joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 80 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering and Security & Intelligence. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Worldwide Campus with more than 125 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and through online programs. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.

About Wichita State University
The mission of Wichita State University (www.wichita.edu) is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus (http://wsuinnovationcampus.org/) is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology.