Raleigh, N.C.- Southwest is
America’s favorite airline and it’s not even close. Our newest national poll
finds that 43% of voters think Southwest is the best, more than all the other
major airlines combined. Delta takes second at 11%, followed by United and Jet
Blue at 9%, American at 6%, and US Air at 5%. This is one thing that Americans
across the party spectrum agree on- Southwest wins by at least 20 points with
Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike.

58% of voters in the country have a favorable opinion of Southwest to only
5% with a negative one. The other five airlines we looked at are all clustered
in the 31-36% favorability range, with anywhere from 9 to 15% of voters seeing
them in a negative light.

By a 48/36 margin Americans say that they feel safer in a car than on a
plane. This comes despite the fact that by a 69/15 spread they think they’re
more likely to die in a car crash than a plane crash…it seems like there’s a
disconnect between how people respond to the plane/car issue intellectually and
emotionally.

Overall 46% of Americans say they’ve flown in first class on a plane to 53%
who haven’t. There’s a partisan divide on the issue- by a 52/47 margin
Republicans say they have flown first class, but by a 44/56 spread Democrats
say they have not.

Amtrak is a pretty popular organization among voters with an opinion about
it- 46% see it favorably to 13% with a negative opinion. Its +46 favorability
rating with Democrats at 54/8 is much better than the +20 it sports with
Republicans at 39/19.

-16% of Americans think you should be able to bring your gun onto a plane.
There’s a large partisan divide on the issue with 30% of Republicans but only
6% of Democrats supportive of guns on planes. We also asked about expanded
background checks on this poll and a plurality of the people opposed to them
also think you should be able to bring your gun on the plane.

PPP surveyed 800 registered voters between July 19-21,
2013. The margin of error was +/- 3.5%. This poll was not authorized or paid
for by any campaign or political organization. PPP’s surveys are conducted
through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 How often do you travel out of state: weekly,
monthly, a few times per year, once or twice
per year, or almost never?
Weekly …………………………………………………… 9%
Monthly ………………………………………………….. 17%
A few times a year …………………………………… 47%
Once or twice a year………………………………… 13%
Almost never…………………………………………… 14%

Q2 When you travel out of state, what is your
preferred method of transport: by plane, by
train, by bus, or by car?
Plane …………………………………………………….. 32%
Train………………………………………………………. 3%
Bus ……………………………………………………….. 3%
Car………………………………………………………… 58%
Something else ……………………………………….. 3%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%

Q3 Do you feel safer on an airplane or in a car?
Plane …………………………………………………….. 36%
Car………………………………………………………… 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q4 Do you think you are more likely to die in a car
crash or a plane crash?
Car crash ……………………………………………….. 69%
Plane crash…………………………………………….. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Delta Airlines?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 35%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 52%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of United Airlines?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 33%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 54%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Southwest Airlines?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 58%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 38%

Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of American Airlines?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 36%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 49%

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of US Airways?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 31%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 56%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the airline Jet Blue?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 31%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 60%

Q11 What do you think is the best airline: Delta,
United, Southwest, American, US Airways, Jet
Blue, or something else?
Delta ……………………………………………………… 11%
United ……………………………………………………. 9%
Southwest ………………………………………………. 43%
American………………………………………………… 6%
US Air ……………………………………………………. 5%
Jet Blue………………………………………………….. 9%
Something else ……………………………………….. 18%

Q12 What do you think is the worst airline: Delta,
United, Southwest, American, US Airways, Jet
Blue, or something else?
Delta ……………………………………………………… 9%
United ……………………………………………………. 8%
Southwest ………………………………………………. 6%
American………………………………………………… 10%
US Air ……………………………………………………. 8%
Jet Blue………………………………………………….. 11%
Something else ……………………………………….. 48%

Q13 Which of the following best describes how
often you fly: on a weekly basis, at least once a
month, five to 10 times a year, less than five
times a year, or do you never fly at all?
Weekly …………………………………………………… 2%
At least once a month ………………………………. 3%
5 to 10 times a year …………………………………. 20%
Less than 5 times a year…………………………… 58%
Never fly at all …………………………………………. 17%

Q14 What do you think is the worst thing about
flying: the cost, the lack of space, airline food,
going through security, annoying people on the
plane, or something else?
Cost ………………………………………………………. 38%
Lack of space………………………………………….. 19%
Food ……………………………………………………… 3%
Security………………………………………………….. 19%
Annoying people ……………………………………… 6%
Something else ……………………………………….. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%

Q15 Do you think the security measures at airports
are necessary to keep us safe, or do you think
they are unnecessarily invasive?
Necessary to keep us safe………………………… 68%
Unnecessarily invasive …………………………….. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q16 Have you ever flown first-class on a plane, or
not?
Have ……………………………………………………… 46%
Have not ………………………………………………… 53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 0%

Q17 Have you ever hitchhiked, or not?
Have ……………………………………………………… 25%
Have not ………………………………………………… 73%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q18 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Amtrak?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 46%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 40%

Q19 Do you think obese people should have to buy
two airplane seats for themselves, or not?
They should ……………………………………………. 46%
They should not ………………………………………. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q20 Do you think people should be able to take
their guns on a plane, or not?
They should ……………………………………………. 16%
They should not ………………………………………. 79%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q21 Are you a member of the Mile High Club, or
not?
Are ………………………………………………………… 7%
Are not …………………………………………………… 87%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q22 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 47%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q23 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 21%
Moderate………………………………………………… 27%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 26%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 17%

Q24 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 48%
Man……………………………………………………….. 52%

Q25 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 32%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 26%

Q26 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 10%
White …………………………………………………….. 73%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%

Q27 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 18%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 27%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 35%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%