An airline was just crowned the worst in the country — and surprisingly, it wasn’t a budget carrier like Spirit. Despite filing for bankruptcy, the bright yellow low-cost airline actually outperformed the “winner”: a major U.S. carrier that passengers say should be doing much better.
According to data collected by the United States Department of Transportation in the August Air Travel Consumer Report, American Airlines was the worst of all domestic airlines.
Rankings were determined based on criteria such as delays, cancellations, lost or mishandled bags, and other details. The report covers the first six months of the year.
Frontier was the only airline with a weaker performance than American; however, Frontier is not considered a major airline carrier in the same category as American, United, or Delta.
American Airlines ranked the worst, according to data
American Airlines was at the bottom of multiple categories
Sadly, and embarrassingly, American Airlines ranked at the bottom among major airlines in categories such as mishandled bags, consumer complaints, flight cancellations, and denied boardings.
American Airlines is aware that it has received this dubious honor. In a statement to the aviation blog, Cranky Flier, the airline said:
“We are laser-focused on further strengthening our operation for the holidays and next summer — learning from where we fell short and making continued improvements and investments to deliver for our customers. One such improvement we’ve already made was our best-ever baggage handling performance this past summer.”
How did the other airlines rank?
Hawaiian Airlines was rated the best, according to the data
Across all metrics, the complete ranking was as follows:
The bottom line
There is no excuse for a struggling budget airline like Spirit, which recently filed for bankruptcy, outperforming a major carrier like American. In a marketplace where airlines are competing for loyalty, American will have to clean up its act if it wants to retain its loyal customers.