Is there anything worse than when you’re trying to plan the best holiday ever—not to mention using your hard-earned vacation time and savings—than having airline BS screw everything over? If you’re like most of us and you’ve had some whopper experiences with airlines, read on for the 9 airlines to avoid this summer, and why—one will surprise you.
1. JetBlue.
Everyone loves a budget airline. But everyone always forgets that you get what you pay for. This year, according to an Upgraded Point study, JetBlue boasts the lowest customer service metric of assessed airlines, with a score of just 32.64/100. It doesn’t take a mathematician to note that this is a terrible score. So next time you see visions of yourself on a beach up the coast when that summer sale hits, just remember why it’s so cheap!
2. Allegiant Air.
This airline might sound like a young adult dystopian book series by the same name, but it’s unlikely to deliver the punchline that you expect. Allegiant Air—based on the above study—is one to avoid this holiday season as it delivered the lowest proportion of on-time arrivals of any airline in the study. Factors such as the disruption, lack of trust in the service, and the inevitability of causing stress to your packed itinerary make this an airline to avoid. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
3. Hawaiian Airlines.
Don’t let the appealing name—and its association with paradise—deter you from the reality that much of Hawaiian’s service leaves a lot to be desired. While you’re picturing palm trees, Hawaiian Airlines quietly boasts a meager customer satisfaction score of just 47.17/100. While JetBlue is discernably worse, these figures don’t make those with tickets feel better. The name might have you walking through airports in your bikinis, but the experience will have you chasing your tail to change your return carrier!
4. Envoy Air.
Envoy Air has the dubious pleasure of being named one of the worst airlines for mishandling luggage, scoring the highest in the number (six) of bags that were mishandled per 1000 bags per month. That’s a lot of expensive bags to register insurance claims, and for many travelers and passengers, it isn’t worth the hassle. This is an example where the short-term decision to find a budget airline will cost you far more in time and effort during reclaim processes! Keep it in hand luggage or steer clear.
5. United.
No one thought United would escape this list, did we? Despite being one of the larger airlines on this list of shame, United cannot sugarcoat its extremely high rates of average monthly complaints, currently sitting not-so-pretty at 0.42 per 10,000 passengers. Those of us who have had experiences using United’s website on high-volume days, or using their service in transit will understand these figures.
6. Mesa Airlines.
You would be forgiven for not necessarily having heard of Mesa Airlines. Still, according to a CBS News study, the brainchild of American and United holds the questionable honor of having the highest proportion of canceled flights, at 3.67% of scheduled flights being canceled. With parents like American and United, I’m sure few are surprised at the results.
7. Frontier.
Although noble sounding in name, Frontier is not quite the industry leader that it suggests by its ambitious moniker. In fact, Frontier sits in the lowest 1% of airlines scored on their overall average passenger satisfaction levels (from the CBS study above) at just 705 out of 1000 (over 100 points lower than the top scorers!). It’s a stark indication of the low levels of quality customer support in airlines across the country.
8. Spirit Airlines.
While Spirit may have that gumption and go-getter attitude in its marketing campaigns, it certainly can’t back up all that talk about supporting the customers with action. Spirit has an equally poor customer satisfaction score of 727 out of 1000. Nothing can hide the abysmal performance of Spirit here.
9. American.
Bringing up the rear on this esteemed list of troubled airlines is American, which, in some ways, is the best of the very worst, in having a marginally higher average passenger satisfaction score of 764 out of 1000. That’s kind of like saying—to borrow a quote from the comedy-musical classic, Heathers—that you’re the “smartest guy on the football team”. While some people might swear by it, American is not worth risking your holiday over. You’re better off going to a bigger company with better customer engagement metrics, such as Delta. For all their flaws, at least their customers aren’t being left by the wayside.
Use this list to help plan your next trip—take the advice with a pinch of salt, and good luck! If these figures are to be believed, you’ll need it!
