Data Visualization Lab  ·  Airline Passenger Survey
Who Flies Happy?
The Class Divide in Airline Satisfaction
Analysis of 25,976 passenger survey records reveals a stark and consistent pattern: cabin class is the single strongest predictor of satisfaction. Business class passengers report satisfaction nearly 3.6× more often than Eco passengers — and within the Economy cabin, digital and entertainment services drive both the highest praise and the deepest frustration.
Dataset: Airline Passenger Satisfaction  ·  n = 25,976 records  ·  25 variables  ·  Source: Kaggle / TJ Klein

Original Dataset
Sample Data — First 15 Records
Key fields shown · Full dataset contains 25,976 rows and 25 columns including demographics, travel context, 14 service ratings (1–5 scale), delay data, and binary satisfaction outcome
IDGenderCustomer TypeAge Travel TypeClass WifiOnline BoardingSeat Comfort EntertainmentOn-board SvcLeg Room Food & DrinkCleanlinessSatisfaction
19556FemaleLoyal52BusinessEco54355535satisfied
90035FemaleLoyal36BusinessBusiness14544455satisfied
12360MaleDisloyal20BusinessEco22224122dissatisfied
77959MaleLoyal44BusinessBusiness04411134satisfied
36875FemaleLoyal49BusinessEco21222244satisfied
39177MaleLoyal16BusinessEco35354355satisfied
79433FemaleLoyal77BusinessBusiness55555533satisfied
97286FemaleLoyal43BusinessBusiness24544443satisfied
27508MaleLoyal47BusinessEco55552255satisfied
62482FemaleLoyal46BusinessBusiness24444434satisfied
47583FemaleLoyal47BusinessEco41533454satisfied
115550FemaleLoyal33BusinessBusiness23422214dissatisfied
119987FemaleLoyal46BusinessBusiness55555543satisfied
42141FemaleLoyal60BusinessBusiness15455555satisfied
2274FemaleLoyal52BusinessBusiness25444455satisfied
Showing 15 of 25,976 rows · Service ratings are on a 1–5 scale · Full dataset available at kaggle.com/datasets/teejmahal10/airline-passenger-satisfaction

Chart Series 1
Satisfaction Rate by Cabin Class
Percentage of passengers reporting "satisfied" vs. "neutral or dissatisfied" within each travel class · Total n = 25,976
Business Class · n = 12,495
Eco Plus · n = 1,917
Eco · n = 11,564
Analysis & Argument

These three bar charts expose a class satisfaction cliff: Business passengers are satisfied 69.5% of the time, while Eco Plus drops to 24.8% and Economy falls further to just 19.4%. The argument is simple and damning — 80.6% of Economy passengers are not satisfied. This is not a small gap; it represents a fundamentally different product experience for the airline's largest passenger segment. Side-by-side comparison makes this disparity impossible to ignore: the same airline, the same flight, and wildly different satisfaction outcomes depending on which section of the plane you sit in. Airlines appear to be optimizing for the minority who pay more, while leaving the majority of their passengers consistently disappointed.


Chart Series 2
Eco Class — Which Services Make or Break the Experience?
Total score across all Eco passengers who were satisfied (left, high→low) vs. dissatisfied (right, low→high)
Satisfied Eco passengers: 2,242
Dissatisfied Eco passengers: 9,322
Services compared: 14 categories
Satisfied Passengers — Top Rated Services (High → Low)
Dissatisfied Passengers — Lowest Rated Services (Low → High)
Analysis & Argument

Placing satisfied and dissatisfied service rankings side by side reveals a striking contradiction: Inflight Wifi Service ranks #1 among satisfied passengers (total score: 8,701) but is simultaneously the lowest-rated service among dissatisfied passengers (22,168 — the worst of all 14 categories). This means wifi is the most polarizing service in Economy — passengers either love it and it drives their overall satisfaction, or they rate it rock-bottom and it anchors their dissatisfaction. Online Boarding shows the same pattern, ranking #2 for the satisfied group and #3-worst for dissatisfied. These are not peripheral amenities — they are the pivot points. An airline that improves its digital touchpoints in Economy could convert its largest group of dissatisfied passengers at scale. By contrast, physical services like Baggage Handling and Inflight Service appear near the bottom of the dissatisfied rankings, suggesting passengers expect and accept lower physical standards in Economy — it is the digital experience they refuse to forgive.


Chart Series 3
Eco Class — Which Age Groups Are Most Satisfied?
Distribution of age groups among satisfied vs. dissatisfied Economy passengers only
Satisfied Eco (total): 2,067
Dissatisfied Eco (total): 8,089
Age bands: 18–29 · 30–44 · 45–60 · 60+
Satisfied Eco Passengers by Age · n = 2,067
Dissatisfied Eco Passengers by Age · n = 8,089
Analysis & Argument

Comparing the two pie charts reveals that age group distribution is remarkably stable between satisfied and dissatisfied Economy passengers — both groups are dominated by the 18–29 (≈29–30%), 30–44 (≈29–33%), and 45–60 (≈26–31%) cohorts. However, the most meaningful shift occurs at the extremes: the 60+ age group represents 14.2% of dissatisfied passengers but only 7.8% of satisfied ones — nearly double the proportion. This suggests that older Economy passengers are disproportionately likely to be dissatisfied, possibly because digital services (wifi, online boarding) — which we identified in Series 2 as the key satisfaction drivers — may be less accessible or intuitive for this demographic. Airlines designing Economy cabin improvements solely around younger travelers risk leaving their most consistently dissatisfied age segment behind. The middle-aged groups (30–44, 45–60) show the most balanced representation, suggesting they tolerate Economy conditions relatively better — or that they have lower baseline expectations.