Though fliers grumble about delays, cancellations and luggage fees, several airlines get gold stars for performance from fliers in a survey released today.

Two small airlines -- Virgin America and Midwest Airlines -- received the highest scores of all U.S. airlines in Zagat Survey's annual poll, in which the travel and dining guide publisher asks fliers to rate how well 16 U.S. and 66 foreign airlines delivered on comfort, service and food.

This year's assessment comes from 5,900 fliers, who averaged 17 flights a year and booked most of them on airline websites. About 60% of the flights were for business. The results show a "gradual, mild increase" in satisfaction with U.S. airlines, says Zagat Survey CEO Tim Zagat.

"Consumers feel some marginal improvement in comfort and service," Zagat says. "The bad news is that the major domestic airlines are becoming more and more like Greyhound buses in the sky."

Big U.S. airlines such as American, Delta and United scored poorly in the survey, found at www.zagat.com/airline. JetBlue was named the top large U.S. airline for coach passengers, scoring 19 points on Zagat's 30-point scale. JetBlue's score was 2 points lower than the 21 scores of Virgin America and Midwest.

Among other results:

*Continental was rated the best U.S. airline for premium-class passengers. Though American and Delta had low overall scores, American ranked No. 2 and Delta No. 3 among U.S. airlines for fliers who travel in first and business classes.