Best and Worst Airlines Based on Delays and Complaints
Have you ever suffered a long delay just to land in the wrong state and stay on the runway without food? I have! And I would not recommend it.
If you’ve ever come across any version of this hellish scenario, you know that not all airlines are created equal. And according to this year’s Airline Quality Report , which compares the top nine US airlines, you now have a good reason to reconsider your travel plans when you book your flight through certain airlines.
A new report gives each airline a ranking based on mishandled baggage, on-time arrivals, forced denied boarding (or collisions) and customer complaints for 2018. In other words, if they were wrong, this is probably reflected in the report and does not contribute to their ranking.
And which airline was the biggest offender? Well, you may have the fewest favorites, but you may have to rethink your flight on Frontier and American Airlines, both of which scored low on timeliness, baggage and customer satisfaction.
On the other hand, Delta Airlines and JetBlue ranked best, with the former having the lowest number of passengers of all airlines and performing well in on-time departures.
From 2017 to 2018, the researchers said airlines generally improved their performance across all categories, with the exception of timeliness. And the sharp drop in forced collisions should come as no surprise given the much-publicized incident with United Airlines, which prompted many airlines to rethink their collision (and overbooking) policies.
Here’s how the rest of the airlines are ranked:
- Delta Airlines
- JetBlue
- Southwest Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- Hawaiian airlines
- United airlines
- Spirit airlines
- american airlines
- Frontier Airlines
And what if you are booked on a Frontier Airlines flight and cannot be rebooked? First , check your seat map on SeatGuru to see if your seat is at least comfortable. If you are stuck in the middle seat, wait 24 hours before departure when the aisle and window seats may open. Download your airline’s app for last-minute seat changes and entertainment. (Here’s another handy tip on how to survive those long-haul flights in Economy.)
And if you want to take a look at the full report, you can also take a look at the AQR website .