Between checking bags, astronomical flight costs, crawling through TSA, and getting stuck next to that seat neighbor, flying is stressful enough. So when you finally make it to your gate only to be greeted by the dreaded delayed announcement, it can feel like the world is ending. Luckily (or maybe not so luckily), Compare the Market just revealed the most unreliable airlines in the U.S.–so if you’re trying to dodge travel headaches, you’ll know which carriers to think twice about booking.
Travel insurance experts at Compare the Market analyzed major U.S. airlines on key factors like on-time performance, cancellations, mishandled bags, and customer sentiment. By using this data, the platform ranked 14 major U.S. airlines on which are pulling their weight, and which are being left in the dust.
Unfortunately, Frontier Airlines takes the top spot as the least reliable airline in the U.S. with a total score of 79.92 out of 100.
While the airline’s cancellation rate is relatively low at 1.2%, it suffers heavily from poor customer perception–it holds a 45% negative sentiment rate on social media, the highest in the study, and a low passenger rating of just 2 out of 5, indicating widespread dissatisfaction with the overall travel experience.
Even more, Frontier Airlines had the lowest percentage of on-time flights at 72.50%.
With a total score of 77.18, American Airlines follows closely in second place. Similarly to Frontier Airlines, American Airlines has the third-lowest on-time flight score at 74.26% and the third-highest number of cancelled flights (1.43%).
Add to this the highest number of mishandled bags per 100 cases (0.60), the carrier faces significant challenges with customer service, reflected in a high volume of complaints and a 32% negative sentiment score.
Regional airlines also struggled, with Envoy Air (61.20 out of 100) and PSA Airlines (53.40 out of 100) coming in third and fourth respectively.
Envoy Air (headquartered in Irving, Texas) recorded the highest cancellation rate in the top five at 2.47%, while PSA Airlines (headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina) had one of the lowest on-time percentages at 72.62%.
Wrapping up the top five most unreliable airlines in the U.S. is Spirit Airlines.
Despite boasting one of the best on-time rates of 82.5%, the budget carrier is weighed down by a 28% negative sentiment rate and a poor passenger rating of 2 out of 5. Adrian Taylor, Executive General Manager of General Insurance at Compare the Market, stated:
Delays, cancellations, and poor service can quickly turn a dream vacation into a stressful ordeal. With this in mind, reliability should be a top priority when choosing an airline…Understanding which airlines struggle the most can help travelers make more informed decisions and avoid frustrating experiences.
Find the full study on Compare the Market’s website.