According to a yearly analysis, passengers were treated better last year than in the past.

With less travelers flying in 2009, airlines did better at taking off and landing on time, as well as keeping up with their customers’ luggage.

Due to this, passengers complained less despite carriers offering less flights and charging for everything from pillows and bags to getting through boarding lines faster. US airline performance has actually gotten better over the last 2 years.

In 2007, there were 770 million passengers serviced during a time when performance suffered, but nearly 70 million passengers boarded planes last year and airlines did a lot better on the basics of service like mishandling bags, on-time performance, consumer complaints and overbookings.

Dean Headley, the co-author of the analysis and a professor at Wichita State University, said that they turned a corner in 2008 and are glad to say that airlines are continuing a generally positive trend for customers. Nearly every airline improved from 2008 to 2009, he added.