It’s well known that 2023 travel is off to a strong start so far this year, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. American travelers are one demographic that is especially eager to get back to exploring, and many reports an interest in taking domestic and international trips as soon as the time is right.
Of course, the options for travel in America keep growing, with more airlines and routes than ever before. Yet with the expanse of choices (not to mention amenities being added by certain airlines to entice more bookings), air travel in the U.S. doesn’t seem to be getting any more enjoyable overall.
Anyone who has traveled by air in the past couple of years will tell you that it’s much more of a headache than pre-pandemic times, with a variety of factors leading to more stressful experiences from start to finish. Yet, despite the inconveniences of lost luggage, long wait times, and cancelations, post-pandemic travel numbers are skyrocketing, with some reports suggesting that over 90% of Americans are planning on traveling this year alone.
So, with a variety of options to choose from, which U.S. airlines are the most and least reliable? A recent report from American personal finance company Nerd Wallet analyzes data from the Bureau of Transportation statistics from last year to predict this year’s best and worst picks. Using metrics such as cancelations rates, flight diversions, tarmac delays, lost luggage, on-time performance, and involuntarily denied boardings, the list ranks 9 major U.S. airlines’ overall performance.
So, based on these rankings, which U.S. airlines are predicted to be the most and least reliable for 2023? Using the criteria, each airline was given a score of 0-5. It’s important to remember that the key here is a percentage, so while certain airlines might have a higher number of cancellations, it’s all relative to the number of flights offered.
The overall reliability score for U.S. airlines are as follows:
Hawaiian Airlines 5.0
Delta 3.9
Alaska 3.3
Southwest 3.2
United 3.0
American 2.8
Frontier 2.8
Spirit 2.6
JetBlue 1.6
As you can see, the lowest-performing airlines were JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier, American, and United. While Hawaiian Airlines took the top prize, followed by Delta, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest. So, why the low marks for certain airlines? A simple breakdown of the data is necessary to understand.
JetBlue
This beloved airline ranked low in on-time performance, with an average of 65% of flights arriving later than scheduled. JetBlue also scored low marks in the flight cancelations category, with a near 4% of flights being canceled between June 2021-June 2022.
Another area that hurt this airline’s ranking was the number of flight diversions, with over 1,000 diversions in the reported year alone. Tarmac delays and baggage woes also plagued JetBlue last year, but on the bright side, the full entertainment systems, Wi-Fi, and increasingly expanded menus do tend to keep passengers happy enough to keep coming back.
Spirit
This low-cost carrier finished second to last in the rankings of reliable airlines for 2023, with low markings for most performance indicators analyzed for this list. In addition, it seems people either love or hate Spirit on social media, with many bragging or complaining about their cheap flights and lack of amenities.
While the metrics and social media rants might lead some to believe that Spirit is not people’s first choice, the airline’s numerous new routes and low-cost fares ensure that travelers keep choosing this carrier for their flights.
Frontier
A poor on-time percentage of about 69% and a high number of mishandled luggage helped to land this low-cost airline in the bottom 3 rankings in this list. Frontier also reported a high number of flight diversions in 2021-2022, with a diversion rate of around 15%.
While many people do tend to complain about Frontier, the many air passes and promotions that it offers help to keep the business thriving. The airline has reported strong profits in recent times, so they must be doing something right!
American and United
These major airlines are classic staples of the American aviation industry today, although this list ranks them at the bottom for certain metrics reported in the year analyzed. American scored especially low marks for mishandled luggage, with a whopping nearly 900,000 mishandled checked bags between July 2021 – June 2022.
United, however, scored more or less in the middle for all these metrics, ranking it just low enough to be included in the bottom 5. One area United does rank lower, however, is their cancellation percentage, although more recent reports indicate that might be changing. (https://www.traveloffpath.com/these-are-the-least-reliable-airlines-in-the-u-s-according-to-a-new-report/)
