America's airline satisfaction at a seven-year high

Published May 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  In this June 11, 2009 file photo, an Alaska Airlines airliner is pushed away from a gate at SeaTac Airport in SeaTac, Wash.AP

Despite the common complaints of airlines imposing insane fees or planes being overcrowded, customer satisfaction is at its highest level since 2006, and is on the rise. 

Overall satisfaction with the airline industry jumped to an average score of 695 out of 1,000, a 14-point increase from last year alone, according to J.D. Power & Associates’ 2013 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday.

“A lot of what’s driving the gain has to do with technology, innovation and people,” study director Jessica McGregor said in a statement. “Those are the areas where there’s been a lot of strong performance.”

She pointed to things such as the ability to check in online and surf the Web in the air as helping boost satisfaction.

So which airline performed the best? 

In terms of low cost airlines, JetBlue Airways, for the ninth consecutive year, was ranked the highest with a satisfaction score of 787 out of 1,000.  Southwest Airlines came in second with 770 points. On average, low-cost carriers improved to an overall score of 755, up one point since last year.

Performance of traditional carriers also rose, jumping 16 points to an overall score of 663 points. Alaska Airlines, ranked first in the traditional carrier segment for a sixth consecutive year, with a score of 717. Delta Air Lines moved up one rank into second space with a score of 682, improving by 23 points from 2012.

The survey was based on responses from more than 11,800 fliers who traveled on a major North American carrier between April 2012 and March 2013.

Click here more on the 2013 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.

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Rays' Price exits early against Red Sox

Published May 15, 2013

Sports Network

St. Petersburg, FL –  Tampa Bays Rays ace David Price left Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox in the third inning with an undisclosed injury.

Price had given up back-to-back RBI singles from Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz with one out in the fourth, before departing.

Jamey Wright took over on the mound.

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Chavez leads Diamondbacks over Braves

Phoenix, AZ –  Eric Chavez went 2-for-3 and recorded two of his three RBI during a four-run fifth inning that paved the way for the Arizona Diamondbacks' 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a three-game set.

Didi Gregorius and Cody Ross each drove in a run during the rally, which made a winner out of Ian Kennedy (2-3), who had given up two runs in his fifth and final inning.

He struck out seven and allowed three runs in all on five hits. It's Kennedy's first victory since defeating the St. Louis Cardinals on Opening Day.

Heath Bell worked around a one-out double in the ninth to notch his sixth save and give the D'backs the series victory. Arizona has won seven of its last 10 games.

Tim Hudson (4-3) couldn't stop the bleeding for Atlanta, which is just 10-17 since its 12-1 start to the season. The righty was tagged for all five runs on eight hits over five frames.

"Just losing two out of three, you feel like we won a couple of those games because of the way we hit the ball," said Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 and plated all three runs for the Braves.

The Diamondbacks had just five hits in their last 56 tries with runners in scoring position coming into the contest, but matched that hit total during Wednesday's performance on eight chances.

"We just try and get good at-bats, for some reason we're not pushing a lot of runs across the board right now," said Chavez. "But that's going to change, just keep swinging the bats, have good approaches and put some runs on the board."

After putting Arizona in a two-run hole in the fifth, Kennedy was pinch-hit for in the bottom half by Jason Kubel, whose one-out walk sparked a four-run inning.

Gerardo Parra followed with a single and Gregorius pounded one up the middle to plate a run. Two batters later, Chavez ripped a double to center to put the D'backs back in front before Ross made it 5-3 with an RBI single into right.

Paul Goldschmidt ripped his first of three doubles on the day in the first inning and Chavez gave the D'backs a 1-0 lead when he grounded a base hit past the diving reach of shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

Kennedy was cruising along until he surrendered a pair of two out singles in the third and then threw eight straight balls in walking Justin Upton and Freeman to force in a run.

Freeman came to bat again in the fifth, and with runners on first and second, sent a double in the gap in center field to clear the bags and stake Atlanta to a 3-1 edge.

Hudson, though, couldn't hold the lead. He gave it right back in the bottom half as eight Diamondbacks came to plate before getting out of the frame behind by two runs.

Game Notes

Hudson suffered his career defeat to the Diamondbacks. He was 7-0 in nine career outings coming in ... The Braves have lost five of their last six games ... Atlanta was just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position ... Arizona had 10 hits and scored more than three runs for the first time in five games.

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9 activists arrested in Equatorial Guinea

Published May 15, 2013

Associated Press

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea –  A human rights group says authorities in Equatorial Guinea have arrested nine activists before this month's legislative elections.

Amnesty International said Wednesday the arrests were "further evidence of the authorities' determination to clamp down on free speech" before the May 26 vote.

Activists had organized a demonstration for Wednesday because authorities in Equatorial Guinea had refused to register a new opposition political party.

Noel Kututwa, Africa Program Deputy Director for Amnesty, said anyone who tries to compete with the ruling party is being targeted by authorities.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who first seized power in a 1979 coup, is Africa's longest-serving strongman. He has insisted that his government is committed to holding fair and democratic elections in the tiny, oil-rich nation.

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UN: $2.5 trillion in disaster losses since 2000

UNITED NATIONS –  Economic losses from disasters since 2000 are in the range of $2.5 trillion, a figure at least 50 percent higher than previous international estimates, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday.

The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction warned in the 246-page report that economic losses from floods, earthquakes and drought will continue to escalate unless businesses take action to reduce their exposure to disaster risks.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the report saying the review of disaster losses in 56 countries clearly demonstrates that "economic losses from disasters are out of control" and can only be reduced in partnership with the private sector.

"Our startling finding is that direct losses from floods, earthquakes and drought have been underestimated by at least 50 percent," Ban said. "So far this century, direct losses from disasters are in the range of $2.5 trillion. This is unacceptable when we have the knowledge to reduce the losses and benefit from the gains."

For too many years, the secretary-general said, financial markets have placed greater value on short-term returns than on sustainability and resilience, which in the long-term are far more attractive and can save millions of dollars.

"In the years ahead, trillions of dollars will be invested in hazard-exposed regions," Ban said. "If that money fails to account for natural hazards and vulnerabilities, risk will increase. Where such spending does address underlying risk factors, risk will go down."

The report said recent major disasters such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the 2011 floods in Thailand and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami put a spotlight on the growing impact of disasters on the private sector.

The report says increasing globalization, the search for lower costs and higher productivity, and quick delivery "are driving business into hazard-prone locations with little or no consideration of the consequences on global supply chains."

For example, it said Toyota lost $1.2 billion in product revenue from the Japanese quake due to parts shortages that caused 150,000 fewer cars to be manufactured in the United States and a 70 percent reduction in production in India and a 50 percent reduction in China.

On the other hand, Orion, which owns and operates one of the largest electricity distribution networks in New Zealand, invested $6 million in seismic protection that saved the company $65 million in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the report said. And preventive investments by fishermen in Mexico saved each individual entrepreneur US$35,000 during Hurricane Wilma in 2005, it said.

But Margareta Wahlstrom, the U.N. special representative for disaster risk reduction, said: "In a world of ongoing population growth, rapid urbanization, climate change and an approach to investment that continually discounts disaster risk, this increased potential for future losses is of major concern."

A new global risk model developed by the U.N. office demonstrates that average losses just from earthquake and cyclonic wind damage are expected to be about $180 billion per year throughout this century — and this figure doesn't include damage from floods, landslides, fires and storms, the report said.

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On the web: www.unisdr.org

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Va. man's lucky lotto streak alive with 4th win

Published May 15, 2013

Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. –  Call Melvyn Wilson is the king of the scratch-off ticket.

The Virginia man recently won his fourth lottery prize of at least five figures, putting his total scratch-off winnings at more than $2 million.

The Virginia Lottery said in a news release that Wilson won $500,000 in November 2004; $25,000 in March 2005; and $1 million in September 2005. Then he retired from his job as a postal worker.

Now 72, Wilson hit another $500,000 scratch-off prize on the Millionaire Mania game.

The lottery didn't say how many tickets Wilson usually buys or how often. Nobody answered the phone at his home Wednesday.

At an event to claim his fourth oversized winning check Tuesday, lottery officials asked what he did with all his winnings. His reply: "I invest in Melvyn."

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No charges for teen after explosion at Fla. school

Published May 15, 2013

Associated Press

A Florida teenager who was accused of igniting a chemical explosion on school grounds — and who became the subject of a social media campaign on her behalf — will not face criminal charges.

Kiera Wilmot was arrested April 22 and faced two possible felony charges after school administrators reported she combined toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in a bottle, and the resulting gas blew the cap off the plastic bottle.

The Polk County state attorney said Wednesday that the case has been dismissed, but the 16-year-old must complete a diversion program.

Details about the program aren't public record because Kiera is a juvenile.

The teen's arrest launched an international outcry on social media by people who thought the arrest was unfair. Nearly 200,000 people signed an online petition protesting her arrest.

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