Virgin America, however, has turned the whole mess into a savvy promo opportunity.
American says its selective surveying gets an 18% response rate and Virgin America gets 20%.
Virgin America even went so far as to give high-scoring Klouters free flights.
Virgin America, for instance, went on Facebook to advertise its cheaper flights because of the lost tax.
Lunardini believes the Virgin America social media experience carries important lessons for other brands, regardless of industry.
FORBES: After Snafu, Virgin America Rebuilds Trust One Tweet at a Time
Virgin America did the best job for its customers among leading U.S. airlines last year, a report says.
Virgin America added the popular HBO show "Girls" to its in-flight entertainment because of customer requests on surveys.
JetBlue and Virgin America were the industry leaders in avoiding denied boardings, with rates of 0.01 and 0.07, respectively.
The process was a lot like ordering food on a Virgin America flight.
And the miles accrue not only on flights on Virgin America, but Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic as well.
FORBES: Virgin's Top Frequent Flier Gets To Fly For Free - Into Space
Low-cost US carriers Virgin America and JetBlue also offer upgraded economy class options.
Virgin America dropped the process in 2011, after about half a year.
FORBES: Will American's New Boarding Process Work? It Failed At Virgin America.
Saying you love Virgin America is a badge of hipness these days.
U.S. carrier Virgin America is among the leaders in a movement to offer passengers more flexibility in how they use their time on board.
Virgin America now has 285, 000 Twitter followers and clearly takes that relationship seriously, using the tool to dispense, gather feedback and to resolve issues.
FORBES: After Snafu, Virgin America Rebuilds Trust One Tweet at a Time
At Virgin America, a handful of flight attendants recently traded places with colleagues at Virgin Blue (now Virgin Australia) as part of a one-year exchange.
By embracing all types of conversations and not hiding from a crisis a company like Virgin America can build trust with its customers and enhance brand loyalty.
FORBES: After Snafu, Virgin America Rebuilds Trust One Tweet at a Time
The experts singled out the simplicity of jetBlue's snack boxes and the variety of offerings at smaller airlines such as Alaska, Virgin America and Hawaiian.
He talked to the CIO of General Electric, the CEO of Virgin America, and even motivational guru Tony Robbins as part of his keynote.
Virgin has now been granted permission for its Virgin America operation.
Virgin America is the highest-quality major airline in the United States, according to the 2013 Airline Quality Rating report, an annual study of airline performance.
The airlines covered in the report are Air Tran, Alaska, American, American Eagle, Delta, ExpressJet, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, SkyWest, Southwest, United, US Airways and Virgin America.
Virgin America was the first airline to install the new technology and currently plans to roll out the service on more aircraft in the months ahead.
ENGADGET: Gogo launches next-gen in-flight internet, with better speeds and more capacity
In addition to Delta Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America, Gogo is expected to launch ATG-4 service on American Airlines and United's p.s. fleet in 2013.
ENGADGET: Gogo launches next-gen in-flight internet, with better speeds and more capacity
Virgin America would like to repeat the swap in the future, but for the moment its resources have been tied up in other initiatives, she adds.
Using Virgin America as the use case example of Salesforce Communities and Chatterbox which allow customers to get realtime information on the flight schedule and route.
FORBES: Salesforce Uses Virgin America To Announce Chatter Communities and ChatterBox
"We are seeing fewer phones left behind, but a lot more iPads and Kindles, " said Tim Thornton, director of airport operations and guest services for Virgin America.
Virgin Group, which has been frustrated in trying to set up Virgin America for the past two years, might find it easier to raise the capital it needs.
United, Southwest and Virgin America say they watch NPS closely.
Virgin America has done something similar with commodity air travel.
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