The WORST Airlines According to Traveler Complaints

The airline industry has struggled to keep up with current travel demands — and passengers are noticing.

From staffing shortages and rising airfare costs to delayed and even canceled flights, traveling hasn’t been easy lately. Several airlines are having issues, with multiple major players having reduced their schedules to try and get ahead of potential delays. And now, the United States Department of Transportation has released a report showing which airlines are the BEST and the WORST according to customer complaints.

There’s been a travel boom thanks to a pent-up desire to see the world after the COVID-19 pandemic halted most of the travel industry. Airlines have struggled to keep up with demand, and passengers have been making their voices heard when it comes to consumer complaints.

The travel industry is a little all over the place.

According to new data from the Department of Transportation, the airline industry received a total of 4,344 complaints for the largest carriers during May 2022, with 2,413 of those complaints coming from U.S.-based airlines.

©USDOT | Total airline complaints for the largest carriers, May 2022

The company that received the most complaints was American Airlines with 575 total across its fleet and codeshare partners, with United Airlines having the second highest number of complaints at 400.

©USDOT | Number of complaints for largest domestic carriers

However, it’s important to note that Frontier had the highest number of consumer complaints per 100,000 enplanements (boardings) at a whopping 13.77. Spirit Airlines came in second with the most complaints at 7.99, with American and United having 3.31 and 4.05 complaints per 100,000 enplanements, respectively.

Which airlines had the least complaints? Smaller players Mesa and Skywest came in the lowest — Mesa had .52 complaints per 100,000 enplanements, and Skywest had just .68.

©USDOT | Number of complaints per 100,000 enplanements

The average number of complaints per 100,000 enplanements was 3.15.

It certainly comes as no surprise that passenger satisfaction has decreased recently, with air travel being a total gamble right now. Airlines delayed or canceled 5,000 domestic flights per day during the last week of July, and although airfares could decrease soon, you still run the risk of potentially missing your flight altogether thanks to a cancelation.

So, if you’re heading to the airport to catch a flight soon, try to book your flight as early as possible, and be sure you check your airline’s app or website for the most up-to-date information!

Looking for more travel news? Click here to read about Southwest Airlines’ new flight credit policy, and check out the latest potential airline merger here.

We asked our readers to share their BEST tips for getting to Disney World from the airport, and you can read all about that here. Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for the latest travel news and more!