Washington, D.C. ? Airlines carried fewer people last year, but did a better job for those who did fly.

The rates of lost bags, late arrivals, passengers bumped from overbooked flights and consumer complaints all declined, private researchers say in their annual study of airline quality, based on government statistics.

While the industry had its best overall performance in the ratings in four years, the picture was not entirely rosy.

High fuel costs and a poor economy led many airlines to reduce schedules, raise ticket prices, jettison frills and put in place fees for everything from luggage to pillows.

Nevertheless, consumer complaints for the 17 airlines included in the study dipped from 1.42 per 100,000 passengers in 2007 to 1.15 in 2008. Southwest Airlines had the best rate, only 0.25 complaints per 100,000 passengers; US Airways had the worst rate, 2.25.

Half of all complaints involved baggage or flight problems such as cancellations, delays or other schedule deviations.