These airlines had the most and least passenger complaints in 2024

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Flying tin beryllium a hassle adjacent nether the champion of circumstances. When trips are marred by delays, cancellations and mishandled luggage, aerial question tin go a nightmare. 

In 2024, customers lodged a grounds 66,675 complaints against U.S. airlines, according to a caller study from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a user advocacy group, based connected data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Passenger complaints person surged since the pandemic, rising each twelvemonth since 2021, according to PIRG. 

"When you record a complaint, the DOT asks if you talked to airline, truthful it's not similar the DOT ailment enactment is your archetypal stop," U.S. PIRG user watchdog manager Teresa Murray told CBS MoneyWatch. "When radical effort to get their wealth backmost and the hose hasn't done it, that's erstwhile radical record complaints." 

For example, immoderate customers sought refunds they were owed related to formation cancellations oregon delays, portion others sought reimbursement they were owed for mislaid oregon damaged portion of luggage. Airlines present look added unit under caller rules adopted successful 2024 that necessitate them to supply automatic refunds to customers erstwhile their flights are canceled oregon importantly delayed.

Pandemic impacft 

Prior to 2020, erstwhile the COVID-19 pandemic erupted successful the U.S., yearly complaints against each airlines hovered beneath 20,000. That year, they jumped to much than 102,000 during what was a catastrophic play for aerial carriers, fixed question restrictions and plummeting request for flying. Airlines struggled to ramp capableness backmost up successful 2021 and 2022, resulting successful plentifulness of cancellations and delays.

At the apical 10 U.S. airlines, cancellations roseate from 1.28% of flights successful 2023 to 1.36% past year, resulting successful a full of 102,908 canceled flights successful 2024, according to the report. Delays besides worsened, with 78.1% of flights arriving connected clip past year, down from 78.3% successful 2023. In total, astir 1.7 cardinal flights were either delayed oregon canceled successful 2024.

Nationwide air postulation controller shortages could pb to much snarls successful schedules for the remainder of 2025, PIRG said. 

One comparative agleam spot successful the report: Airlines mishandled less bags and wheelchairs successful 2024 compared to the erstwhile year. While that showed immoderate humble improvement, 2.7 cardinal bags were inactive mislaid oregon damaged, arsenic were 11,357 wheelchairs and scooters. 

The bearer with the highest complaint of complaints per 100,000 passengers: Frontier Airlines, which had the worst cancellation record, worst grounds for on-time arrivals and worst grounds for involuntary bumping, PIRG found. It ranked second-worst for the stock of wheelchairs that it mishandled. 

"That's a batch of worsts," Murray said. 

These were the best- and worst-performing airlines past twelvemonth successful presumption of rider complaints, formation cancellations and delays, and different metrics, according to PIRG.

Overall complaints

Best airlines

1. Southwest (1.5 ailment per 100,000 passengers) 
2. Alaska (2.6 per 100,000 passengers) 
3. Hawaiian (3.8 per 100,000 passengers)

Worst airlines

1. Frontier (23.3 complaints per 100,000 passengers)
2. Spirit (12.8 per 100,000 passengers) 
3. JetBlue (10.4 per 100,000 passengers)

Flight cancellations

Best airlines

1. Southwest (0.83% of flights canceled)
2. Hawaiian (1.05% canceled)
3. Delta (1.09% canceled)

Worst airlines

1. Frontier (2.32% of flights canceled)
2. Spirit (1.91% canceled)
3. United (1.74% canceled)

Delays

Best airlines

1. Hawaiian (16.42% of flights delayed)
2. Delta (17.98% delayed)
3. United (20.86% delayed)

Worst airlines

1. Frontier (30.5% of flights delayed)
2. JetBlue (26.94% delayed)
3. Spirit (25.52% delayed)

Mishandled bags

Best airlines

1. Allegiant (0.2%)
2. JetBlue (0.35%)
3. Frontier (0.4%)

Worst airlines

1. American (0.79%)
2. United (0.66%)
3. Alaska (0.58%)

Mishandled wheelchairs

Best airlines

1. Delta (0.63%) 
2. Allegiant (0.75%)
3. United (0.97%)

Worst airlines

1. Spirit (2.07%)
2. Frontier (1.76%)
3. American (1.63%)

Involuntary bumping

Best airlines

1. Allegiant (0 per 10,000 passengers)
2. Delta (0 per 10,000 passengers)
3. United (0.03 per 10,000 passengers)

Worst airlines

1. Frontier (2.25 per 10,000 passengers)
2. American (0.67 per 10,000 passengers)
   
3. Spirit (0.48 per 10,000 passengers)