The Best and Worst Airlines in the US Ranked

For most people, airline rankings are subjective; they really depend on your beliefs, your personal experience, and your individual preferences.

However, when looking at airlines through a data lens, there are some ways of measuring the best and worst airlines in the US.

One such way is to use publicly available tools — such as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Airline Arrival Performance Dashboard — that can be used to effectively visualize and analyze flight data for any airline in the United States.

By leveraging airline data, federal agencies can track and receive credible information, understand transportation’s role in society, and measure the consequences of transportation on the economy and environment.

For purposes of this article, we’ll look at 10 major air carriers — Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines — and rank them by flight on time/delay, baggage lost, passengers denied confirmed space, and consumer complaints.

The Best Airlines (By Flight On Time)

Rank	Carrier	Total Flights (2022)	On Time	Delayed	Canceled	Diverted
1	Delta Airlines	672,571	82.73%	15.64%	1.45%	0.19%
2	Alaskan Airlines	172,895	80.21%	17.88%	1.67%	0.24%
3	United Airlines	468,574	79.91%	18.27%	1.54%	0.28%
4	Hawaiian Airlines	55,178	78.76%	20.83%	0.33%	0.08%
5	American Airlines	654,692	74.35%	22.15%	3.20%	0.29%
6	Spirit Airlines	172,675	73.77%	23.16%	2.88%	0.20%
7	Southwest Airlines	982,308	73.48%	24.44%	1.86%	0.22%
8	Frontier Airlines	115,889	67.07%	30.23%	2.50%	0.19%
9	JetBlue Airways	204,383	65.15%	30.92%	3.53%	0.39%
10	Allegiant Air	89,620	63.54%	33.20%	3.03%	0.24%

The Worst Airlines (By Flight Delay)

Rank	Airline	Total Flights (2022)	Delayed	On Time	Canceled	Diverted
1	Allegiant Air	89,620	33.20%	63.54%	3.03%	0.24%
2	JetBlue Airways	204,383	30.92%	65.15%	3.53%	0.39%
3	Frontier Airlines	115,889	30.23%	67.07%	2.50%	0.19%
4	Southwest Airlines	982,308	24.44%	73.48%	1.86%	0.22%
5	Spirit Airlines	172,675	23.16%	73.77%	2.88%	0.20%
6	American Airlines	654,692	22.15%	74.35%	3.20%	0.29%
7	Hawaiian Airlines	55,178	20.83%	78.76%	0.33%	0.08%
8	United Airlines	468,574	18.27%	79.91%	1.54%	0.28%
9	Alaskan Airlines	172,895	17.88%	80.21%	1.67%	0.24%
10	Delta Airlines	672,571	15.64%	82.73%	1.45%	0.19%

Worst Airlines (By Baggage Lost)

Rank	Airline	Mishandled Bags per 1 Million Bags Enplaned	Total Mishandled Bags (2021)	Enplaned Bags	Mishandled Bags (As Percent)
1	American Airlines	6,680	236,711	35,433,340	0.67%
2	JetBlue Airways	4,725	52,452	11,101,136	0.47%
3	Alaska Air	4,492	27,669	6,159,207	0.45%
4	United Airlines	4,344	87,182	20,069,210	0.43%
5	Spirit Airlines	4,215	40,720	9,659,748	0.42%
6	Southwest Airlines	3,665	325,940	88,943,087	0.37%
7	Delta Airlines	3,615	68,638	18,988,360	0.36%
8	Frontier Airlines	2,957	22,715	7,680,657	0.30%
9	Hawaiian Airlines	2,188	8,316	3,801,593	0.22%
10	Allegiant Air	1,666	8,067	4,842,544	0.17%

Worst Airlines (Passengers Denied Confirmed Space)

Rank	Airline	Number of Passengers Denied per 1 Million Boardings	Total Denied Boarding Involuntarily	Total Boardings (2021)
1	Frontier Airlines	95	2,063	21,780,718
2	Southwest Airlines	33	4,017	122,436,514
3	American Airlines	20	2,139	107,654,791
4	Spirit Airlines	13	374	29,158,299
5	Alaska Airlines	5	118	22,346,992
6	JetBlue Airways	2	59	26,421,052
7	United Air Lines	1	27	65,305,262
8	Allegiant Airlines	0	0	13,625,848
9	Delta Air Lines	0	0	97,887,032
10	Hawaiian Airlines	0	0	6,485,564

Best Airlines (By Consumer Complaints)

Rank	Airline	Complaints (2022)	Systemwide Enplanements	Complaints per 100,000 Enplanements
1	SOUTHWEST AIRLINES	1,552	116,462,836	1.33
2	ALASKA AIRLINES	540	23,557,281	2.29
3	DELTA AIR LINES	2,646	105,350,076	2.51
4	HAWAIIAN AIRLINES	231	7,346,723	3.14
5	AMERICAN AIRLINES	5,843	110,913,179	5.27
6	UNITED AIRLINES	4,438	81,911,759	5.42
7	ALLEGIANT AIR	1,028	12,891,014	7.97
8	JETBLUE AIRWAYS	2,603	29,122,976	8.94
9	SPIRIT AIRLINES	2,654	28,158,200	9.43
10	FRONTIER AIRLINES	2,818	18,638,822	15.12
	Total	26,150	617,706,027	4.23

Worst Airlines (By Consumer Complaints)

Rank	Airline	Complaints (2022)	Systemwide Enplanements	Complaints per 100,000 Enplanements
1	FRONTIER AIRLINES	2,818	18,638,822	15.12
2	SPIRIT AIRLINES	2,654	28,158,200	9.43
3	JETBLUE AIRWAYS	2,603	29,122,976	8.94
4	ALLEGIANT AIR	1,028	12,891,014	7.97
5	UNITED AIRLINES	4,438	81,911,759	5.42
6	AMERICAN AIRLINES	5,843	110,913,179	5.27
7	HAWAIIAN AIRLINES	231	7,346,723	3.14
8	DELTA AIR LINES	2,646	105,350,076	2.51
9	ALASKA AIRLINES	540	23,557,281	2.29
10	SOUTHWEST AIRLINES	1,552	116,462,836	1.33
	Total	26,150	617,706,027	4.23

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What years do these tables cover?

We collected and used the most recent data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Please look at the source below each table to find observed years/months.

Do the airlines listed include branded codeshare partners?

No, for purposes of this article, we looked at the 10 most popular airlines in the U.S and did not include their branded codeshare partners. If you’d like to access that data, we recommend downloading it from bts.gov.

Are there interactive tools to explore this information further?

Yes, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics has several tools that users can explore. One such tool is the Airline Arrival Performance Dashboard as seen below.