Between the TSA and the ongoing grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max Jets, traveling this summer is going to be bad enough. You don’t want to heighten that pain by flying on a carrier with a low satisfaction rating.
J.D. Power is out with its rankings of the best—and worst—airlines in North America, measuring customer satisfaction on a variety of factors. And the good news is: Travelers have never been happier when it comes to flying.
Overall satisfaction with carriers was up 11 points in the analytics firm’s 1,000-point scale measurement, the eighth consecutive year of improvements. But while customers might appreciate the savings of low-cost carriers, they’re starting to get fed up with some of the differences in services between those and traditional airlines.
The Power survey measures seven factors among passengers: cost and fees; in-flight services; aircraft; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; check-in; and reservation.
Wondering who topped the lists (and who fell short)? Here’s a look at this year’s top and bottom scoring airlines.
Highest-Ranked Airlines
JetBlue: The budget carrier is ranked “among the best,” tying for best overall score with Southwest.
Southwest Airlines: Despite the heightened number of delayed and cancelled flights due to the carrier’s large 737 Max fleet, Southwest again tied for the best low-cost carrier and overall airline, with a score of 817.
Alaska Airlines: For the 12th consecutive year, this carrier topped the list among traditional carriers, with a score of 801.
Delta Air Lines: The second most popular traditional carrier is ranked “better than most” with a score of 788.
Lowest-Ranked Airlines
Air Canada: The Canadian carrier failed to impress flyers, earning a score of 729.
United Airlines: While it’s one of the largest airlines around, United ranked lowest among traditional carriers, with a score of 723.
Spirit Airlines: Spirit might offer low fares, but its practice of charging for seat assignments and fees for printed boarding passes earned it a score of just 711.
Frontier Airlines: The Denver based carrier received the lowest score among the ranked airlines, coming in at 702.
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