Delta Air Lines has topped a new report that ranks the best US airlines based on on-time performance, mishandled baggage, involuntary denied boardings and consumer complaints.
UKRAINE – 2019/02/17: Delta tops US airline survey. Photo by: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The study also revealed that US air travel is, on the whole, getting better, with fewer reports of lost luggage, overbooked flights and general passenger complaints.
The annual Airline Quality Rating, now in its 29th year, comes from professors at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, who used 2018 data from the US Department of Transportation to compile the report.
Delta was the only airline to improve in all four categories, jumping from the No 2 spot last year. This year’s list also had JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska in top spots at No. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Discount carrier Frontier Airlines was at the bottom of this year’s ranking, thanks to customer complaints, delayed flights and bumped passengers, the report says.
The full 2019 ranking is:
- Delta
- JetBlue
- Southwest
- Alaska
- Hawaiian
- United
- Spirit
- American
- Frontier
Spirit Airlines heads list for baggage handling.Photo by: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
According to the report, Spirit Airlines is the best carrier for handling passenger luggage, with just 1.76 cases of mishandled baggage per 1000 passengers, while American misplaces 3.83 bags per 1000 passengers – the most out of all airlines. For on-time arrivals, Hawaiian Airlines is your best bet, with 89.3% of planes touching down as scheduled. The worst? Frontier, which has just 69.4% of scheduled flights arriving on time.
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