I’m one who believes in being loyal to an airline, and not just because of the perks that come with that loyalty. But a new survey conducted by GfK for TheStreet, found that most Americans do not favor any specific airline.

For years, I was loyal to Northwest Airlines after how well they treated me after the death of my grandfather in 1990. But I switched over to United in the late 1990s, then moved to Continental in 2002.


And except for two stints when I worked for the airlines, Continental kept my business until I moved to Baltimore and switched my loyalty to Southwest Airlines because of all the destinations it offered.

I am currently a Southwest A Plus member and carry a Southwest credit card, which helps ensure my continued loyalty. And I will admit that in the past, I have done mileage runs to keep my premium status on United and flown some crazy routes all in the name of keeping my status.

But the survey found that 63 percent of respondents don’t have a preferred airline, and that only 5 percent (including me) consider getting frequent flier miles to be the most important consideration when selecting a flight. So what are customers looking for in an airline?

When selecting a ticket, outside of price, 28 percent of respondents said non-stop service was the most important consideration. Another 20 percent said time of departure was most important, then airline's reputation, 15 percent and frequency of service, 11 percent.

Of the options, only 5 percent felt getting frequent flier miles was the most important consideration.

The survey also looked at travelers’ pet peeves, and there were plenty: 73 percent are annoyed by high ticket costs; 70 percent find bag fees to be annoying; 68 percent are annoyed by cancelled or delayed flights; 64 percent are annoyed by uncomfortable seats; 63 percent are annoyed by rude staff; 56 percent are annoyed by charging for snacks; and 48 percent are annoyed by closing the gate early.

"The airline industry believes that bag fees are immensely logical and that airlines are able to build customer loyalty, but our new poll shows that most Americans still hate bag fees and feel little loyalty to individual airlines," said Ted Reed, TheStreet's Transportation Reporter.

The poll, in which 1,004 people were interviewed by telephone, was conducted from July 25 through July 27.