Which Airline is the WORST to fly with in 2024? 

There is no way that this survey is true. I fly Southwest all the time and my flights are always on time, the flight crew is courteous and professional, and I've never experienced any unsafe procedures. I wouldn't trust anything from this survey company.

Crazy survey! Spirit has cancelled or delayed flights frequently for me. I’ve quit flying them because they’re totally unreliable. Southwest offers two free checked bags , don’t have to pay for your seats - just check in on time and you can board before others to pick your seat, free changes to your flight and of course they always offer a snack. LUV MY SW!!

I fly Southwest all the time and never had a problem. When my dad die I was flying back and forth. They were so nice and made sure I was comfortable.

Well I have flown with Alaska once and will hesitate to do it again. This was from San Francisco to Vancouver and the flight was delayed due to "technical issues" with the plane. I made some inquiries and found there was some technical gadget in the cockpit that had come loose and needed to be re-attached. After an eternity we could see a guy loitering along the tarmac with a tube of glue and a hair dryer - both of which were apparently what they intended to repair the plane with. Not instilling confidence...

Another great video content beautiful! Your communication in delivering content is excellent. Not too fast not too slow with good video editing skills. I’d fly with you just for your wide knowledges of airlines 😎

Just flew Southwest the last of May. No problems. Love that I still don't have to pay for all the baggage I choose to bring. Planning a trip on October with them also.

How on earth was Spirit rated above United??? Spirit Airlines?! C'mon, that puts a massive question mark on the accuracy of the entire poll!

I have been flying Southwest exclusively for more than 20 years primarily because they operate out of Manchester NH near my home. Their service has always been first rate until they tried to expand too fast during the pandemic. I have experienced frequent delays in and out of their Baltimore hub recently. I have not missed a connection but have come very close to being stuck in Baltimore. Still, I am surprised to see them at the bottom of the list. They have the strongest financial position and best long term safety records of any US carrier. With a history of strong management I fully expect them to recover from their recent setback in the year ahead.

hi, can you make video for the best to worst for international too!! thank you for this video. it make me aware which airline should I choose since i am new.

I’ve never had a problem with either Southwest or Jet Blue. I’ll be flying with Jet Blue in 2 weeks so I hope that continues. The last time I flew with American it was on the oldest plane I’ve ever been on. It was really run down and had no entertainment system except those tiny CRT screens every 5 rows. Since it was a transatlantic flight that was really bad. I would like to see ratings for international airlines.

Glad to see Spirit up on list. Years ago I had issues with Spirit also. I travel frequently using Spirit with a carry-on bag. Low cost big front seat, priority boarding and generally efficient service. Need to give Spirit another try. It has gotten a bad rap over the years, but my number one go-to airline when I travel in US or travel to Costa Rica or Colombia.

I’m kind of surprised that American was 4/5 on comfort. I literally just got off one of their planes and it was pretty tight

Delta at #1 is no surprise. I've been flying Delta since 1979, and have never had a complaint.

I flew last week for the first time in 3 years. My airline of choice was Southwest - 54 minute flight. Outbound we were delayed twice with 1 gate change. We waited 1 hour for luggage. Our return trip had no issues.

Hi just recently subscribed here. Could you do a review on airlines premium economy flying out of Toronto to Los Angeles. Much appreciated.

Any word on that merger between Frontier & Spirit? Live in DFW and gave up on AA last year. Love Delta & Southwest (no bag fees) and haven't had any problems with SW so far. Thanks!

Things have changed. Years back I crossed the terminal from Delta to Southwest to beg them to fly to my city. Once they started, I haven't flown Delta since. I will have to give them another try

Megan, when you traveled overseas some banks and stock brokerages allow online web access to your accounts from certain countries but not others. For example, they may allow web access from Thailand but not Vietnam. Did you run into this issue and did the VPN you used enable you with online access to your accounts 100% of the time regardless of the countries that you were visiting? Thanks

Can you talk about lounges acess for economy ticket ? I have an international flight and an 8 hours layover 😒

Thank you!!! I was praying for Delta!! My first time flying and im 68!! Im very nervous, its a 6 hr flight!!

Delta is my favorite airline. I am flying Delta to Roatan in August. I hope it goes well.

We’ve been flying Southwest for 10 years now and we love it! They offer free snacks and I’ve had no problem with luggage. All but one was on time and that one was only 15 minutes late.

We just flew back from Zurich on American Airlines. That flight we had no complaints. I think they were the nicest crew I’ve ever had and only had a very minor delay in taking off. However, our connecting flight, also with AA , was a completely different situation. The plane was late in arriving, then due to weather conditions, the crew was delayed (which wasn’t their fault). After that there was an issue with refueling, then paperwork needed to be signed off on, THEN a light was coming on the controls in the cockpit. Three hours after we finally were able to leave, but we missed our shuttle home and ended up having to spend the night in the airport of our destination. 😐

I've never had a problem with Southwest Airlines. In fact. I've always had pleasant experiences with them. I can ride my bike to the airport they're mainly all in. They've done me well, so yes. I'm surprised that they came in last on this list.

I always fly on Southwest but, I try to take the first non-stop flight of the day. In many years of flying Southwest, I've only been delayed a few times and those were on flights later in the day.

Big laugh when you mentioned "Spirit".....I've never flown them, but wow do I NEVER want to! Frontier, I have flown, twice...and both times were not good, getting in very late. Really surprised to see JetBlue and Southwest near/at the bottom. Maybe a lot has changed over the past 2 years since I flew? Anyways, great video! Blech...Spirit...and now JetBlue owns them. lol

As a travel manager, I love Delta but in the last 6 months, every flight I've been booked on has been cancelled and/or delayed. Southwest when it goes bad, goes very bad. Alaska , I've had very few problems. United is good but dealing with their call centers is awful. American and Jet Blue so far this year are doing very good.

What is West Jet like for safety and reliability and for leg room? I need lots of leg room, I have long legs.

I fly Alaska everywhere… never had a baggage issue. Checked bags are returned within 20 minutes of arriving to the gate….

I like southwest for shorter flights. Their no cost for checked bags is very nice.

Booked a flight NY - LA with United yesterday. In the middle of the comparison, let's see how it turns out. But how the baggage is handled doesn't just depend on the airport staff? I don't understand that.

This list is interesting, but unfortunately we sometimes don't have that much of a choice. I need to fly from Dallas to Philadelphia at the end of the month and the only direct flight is with Spirit airlines. Other airlines have at least one stop, and I don't really fancy to stay in Atlanta for 3 or 4 hours before I get the flight from to Philadelphia!

My wife and I are flying to Austin TX from Fresno CA in 3 weeks with American Airlines. I'll pay more attention to how they perform.. Thanks for the survey.

I only fly Delta and Alaska because I have never had a bad flying experience. I've had really bad experiences with United, mainly around bad baggage and cancellations which could be related. The new (at the time) automatic handling in Denver literally pealed the top of my 28" checked bag and I lost everything. The flight attendants on Delta and Alaska are very experienced and know what they are doing.

Agreed. I was a Northwest guy forever because of their Asian routes but became a Delta guy when they bought NW. very satisfied overall.

Agree with Delta at #1

Love Delta!!! I’m a two million miler, so my life has been less stressful for a long time.

I was surprised by Jet Blue. I’ve flown them and found them comfortable. American Airlines doesn’t surprise me as being near the bottom. ON the newer planes, they got rid of the screens on the back of the seats. You can see movies and tv using your own phone or iPad, but there were many complaints on the last 4 flights I took. I was also rebooked on a later flight when my flight was cancelled and my suitcase was left in Philadelphia for 3 days before having it delivered. Not the best for sure.

Aye, I'm flying AA to/from Spain and they already turned my direct to a stop over in CLT on the way back. Problem is Philly is an AA city and I absolutely hate making that exhausting trip to/from NYC to catch Delta or United. Let's hope AA isn't too bad. Also, Delta's terminal at JFK is one step above a bus station, absolutely horrible!

Yeah I’d be very interested in what data was used for this data because the WSJ has a completely different list order

I've never flown with Delta before, my parents used to fly Delta. They stopped flying with them due to some issues they had had with Delta's service. Since then we have flown United airlines 99 percent of the time. We rarely ever have any issues with United. However they do have a tendency to overbook flights. But being members we have never had to be bumped, so overall I am very satisfied with my service with United

Love Delta Always flying with Delta

I am not so sure about this list. Southwest has always been good to me, even when the plane cancels they rebook fast. I will just not fly if I have to go on a Spirit flight to get somewhere.

Odd. The worst flying experience I've ever had was on Delta. Lied to repeatedly, kept waiting on the tarmac for hours, lied to again to get us off the plane, not given the option to switch to another airline, ridiculously short staffed, so hours long waits for everything, made to sleep on the floor of an active baggage claim area, lied to even more before finally being put on a flight almost 24 hours later.

I flew on a jet blue flight and it was huge on technology and had huge legroom

I've only flown on Alaska Airlines a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Other than Alaska Airlines, my favorite is Delta which I've flown many times. Due to where I live, I usually fly United which is just ok. My least favorite, of the airlines I've flown, is Frontier. One Frontier flight was delayed 8 hours while they put a new engine in the plane. I've flown other carriers and regional carriers, but none in particular come to mind.

I don’t even include flights that happened in 2020 and 2021, as most countries were in lockdown and travel was restricted to essential flying only (not for pleasure). Pity they didn’t include more international airlines. That could have been quite interesting too. I am surprised United ranked as high as it did with the “forcibly removing passengers who did not volunteer their seats” debacle they had in 2017. Were they included in the passenger safety ranking? I have to say I’ve used Air Canada/United, and not really had a problem with either of them. I will be flying West Jet/Delta in October. Hopefully, it will be a smooth trip.

I have been very happy with Southwest for TPA - DEN. Delta works out great for TPA - LAX

I haven’t flown Southwest or any other airline in almost three years but I was always impressed with on time performance. Price was also a big plus. Overall, if I have to fly at all Southwest would be my first choice. In fact I have booked a trip for the Holidays this year so I may change my mind but past experience was very good.

I wonder how much open seating hurt Southwest? I have a Chase RR credit card and get enough points to fly Southwest exclusively in the U.S. I appreciate the 2 free bags and the number of non stops from my home city, Kansas City. In the last year, they have managed to raise their fares quite a bit and I’ve managed to burn through more points than I would like. To bring my daughter for a visit home from San Diego, it cost close to the cost of my ticket in September on Singapore airlines going from Seattle to Bangkok, $672.00. On the other end, I was a big fan of Northwest Airlines from the 1990’s through its merger with Delta in the mid 2000’s. I flew many times to Bangkok because the price was affordable. I flew once on Delta to Bangkok and have never flown them again. I now fly the cheapest international airline to Bangkok, with the exception of China Eastern Airlines. Maybe, if I run out of points, I’ll give Delta a chance on my next flight in the U.S. By the way, I agree with the survey results on Hawaiian Airlines.

Yeah, I'd definitely question those survey results. Any time I'm in the US I fly Southwest. Their staff are great (both at the desks & on the planes), you get to bring 2 bags for free, you can cancel your trip up to 10 mins. before departure, I was late getting to Sunport (ABQ) because of holiday delays & they put me on the next flight, no fuss, no charge; I've always been comfortable & felt safe, & once the captain came down to talk to me before boarding when I was the only one to stay on the plane for the 2nd leg of my journey through San Diego 😀 I'm flying with them again next month (twice).

The issue with the safety component is that it is not based on plane crashes or incidents but rather the number of onboard injuries. Since Southwest's business model is lots of short flights versus the hub and spoke model where airlines like Delta will have fewer and longer flights. That means way less people boarding and deplaning each day which will result in fewer injuries. Southwest's model also results in more delays because if one flight is delayed all of the remaining flights with that plane are delayed, hence far more delays.

For years I flew primarily American and Southwest, without too many issues. Delta and United were usually more expensive. However, after a cancelled flight to LAX from PHL left me stranded in the airport overnight, I have branched out and took my first flight with Delta in August. Unfortunately, we were delayed and diverted to Chattanooga but Delta made up for it by depositing 5,000 miles into our FF account. The return trip had no issues, and even arrived early for both segments of the trip. I will say that if a flight is cancelled, being nice during the rebooking process will go a long way. A simple please and thank you to the gate agent who is trying to rebook 200 or more passengers to the same destination does help. We were originally rebooked through MCO with a 5 hour layover, but once I politely asked if there was a better option; the agent not only found me a more direct flight, but she appreciated the kindness. We are all busy, and cancellations are out of our control; but there is no reason to be nasty about it. It wasn't the agent's decision to cancel the flight.

I flew Delta last April from Amsterdam to Detroit to Orlando and had no problems on either flight. Next up will be Delta from Amsterdam to Atlanta to Tampa in November, so we'll see how that goes. Tampa to Atlanta will be Delta again in February 2023 and then KLM to get back to Amsterdam.

I have been flying United to Europe since 2000 and never had a problem in any category. I tried American one year and hated the seats and service.

Spirit is much cheaper than the major carriers and not much more to have your bag under the plane the others charge too. I can pack a week in a backpack by wearing the heaviest clothes. Their accessibility service is good too.

I m southwest member ..travel only with them over the ststes but internationaly ..i recomend delta specialy if you travel to the middle east

I’m shocked at southwest coming in last. I’ve never had a problem. But I don’t fly very much. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The survey is an eye opener. I thought American Airlines would be near the top. Thank you Megan.

I absolutely love southwest have never had a problem and checked bags are included in the cost. Not nickeling and diming folks to death

Very interesting and unexpected results of the airlines comparison. Too bad for jetBlue, because they are definitely comfortable. I guess we have to take these ratings with a grain of salt. I personally don't agree with the rankings but then I have not flown the last few years.

Spirit the Best! My backpack and I flew all over America for so cheap. short trip only.

I’m a Southwest frequent traveler too. I did not fly 2020-2022, so I missed the very bad times. I like their check baggage policy and I am used to not having assigned seating - and actually prefer it! Their prices are very competitive, but they have eliminated many non-stop flights which I prefer to take. I had a HORRIBLE experience with United when I traveled to a from Europe!! I will avoid them as much as possible!! So I will try Delta.

My favorite is Alaska Air..it's my go-to airline...no issues at all..I hope I don't jinxed them. American used to be ok but I was delayed 8 hours from PDX to JFK and I found out in the airport..never again. Hawaiian was ok..I like their guava drink. Never flown the other ones although maybe I should consider Delta.

Southwest? No crashes, just runway overshoots.

Agree completely with the study: Delta deserves its first place.

I'll definitely have to disagree with Frontier Airlines. I've made them my first choice for both price and reliability. So far in the past 3 years I've never had a canceled flight with them. They do have tight seats but I recently had a flight canceled through American then delayed by over 8 hours. Therefore, I would rather have tight seats versus canceled flights any day.

Delta is the best. I usually fly southwest but occasionally splurge and fly Delta … it’s like going from the outhouse to the penthouse!

I had a horrid experience with Delta 20 years ago and have avoided them ever since. I still miss Continental Airlines - they were great.

Hard to believe southwest is last. I live in California to go from bay to south and beyond never had a problem. Crew have alway been wonderful. Now, spirit, yeesh. I’d rather pay extra just for the leg room

I’ve never had a problem with Southwest Airlines

I think your expectations are set by cost vs. comfort. Delta lost my luggage as well as my girlfriend''s to and from St. Thomas which meant purchasing additional items since we had no change of clothes or anything to wear to the beach. Frontier and Southwest fly to some of my favorite places and I've never had a bad experience with either. However, if you schedule with a "budget" airline, don't expect VIP treatment. I will say that Southwest's score may be skewed by union people since Southwest grew up as a "non-union" airline (which explains why their fares are often cheaper). This also explains why Southwest flights are often not listed on major travel apps.

I agree with the Delta rating.

2 days later?! That's terrible! And if you're flying with no luggage, or anything then spirit and similar airlines are cheaper, but get more expensive as you add in bags, etc

You been working out on those arms if yours at the gym?

I actually live in Hawaii and omg Hawaii Airlines are THE BEST they only limit to the islands so all flight from island to island are SUPER quick like I live in maui and I went to Oahu in November and the flight was like 5 to 15 minutes long! 100% recommend

Would have thought Sprit would be in last place!

I like spirit when I fly solo and I can just pack a booksack.

Shocked SWA was the worst in the study. I thought Spirit & Frontier would be at the bottom. Your "and very tiny legs" comment was hysterical. Hawaiian is excellent. Flew them Mother's Day week.

Im shocked....I have a jet Blue/American trip coming up to Texas .... Hope it doesn't stink

I do know that flights are cancelled frequently due to lack of workers because vaccination mandates caused a lot of airport employees to be let go. And this also caused lack of pilots and now they are just struggling to meet their scheduled flights.

I do win Delta Sky Miles with my Amex card, so I'm using them next time I fly.

Long as I have companion pass I’m flying southwest 🤷🏾‍♂️😆

Southwest should be better than Delta

I have traveled with Southwest a lot and honestly they are not bad they’re like really the only airline I know so I find it kind of wrong for them to be at the worst I think they should trade places with spirit airlines

Quite surprised by Southwest. They often have delayed flights but confort, safety and friendliness scores high in my experience. Totally agree with Delta as #1.

Southwest reliability is not good. Flew with them this summer a few times...many delays. Had to switch planes because they cannot maintain their planes.

We fly Southwest all the time and have never had a problem. 😁

I have never flown on these: Hawaiian, Alaska, Jet Blue. I will never fly on these: Spirit, Frontier. Having been banned from the AA program, I'd need a good reason to take an AA flight. United has limited service from Atlanta, so there are only a few destinations that make sense. Flights with them are usually fine. Delta is my choice when they have sales, or have tickets with Virgin Flying club. Otherwise I fly Southwest. The last three I use CC miles/certs exclusively. Surveys like the one referenced here are skewed by the questions. I find it hard to believe the SW is less safe than any of the others. Jet Blue will always have a problem with on-time as they fly so much to/from the NE.

How is jetBlue so low, and Frontier and Spirit so high?! Someone must have bribed somebody! XD

The worst one is TAP. They just make overbooking and who is left stays out.

TBH, the domestic airline pool is not great. Given that, Delta is definitely the best of a bad pool of options. I am surprised to see Southwest at the bottom though.

Southwest is an acquired taste. It's fans love the free bags, unassigned seats, and no-frills; allowing low prices. All others dislike it (very little middle ground). Most ignore it because you can only book through their site (which you should anyway) so you cannot compare prices on fare aggregator sites like Kayak.

Im flying delta today so let's see

Personally I liked flying Southwest. They always gave me good value. I am not favorable to United. I remember being grounded for hours in BWI because the plane was experiencing mechanical issues. I liked the old Continental company much better. But this is just my personal opinion.

I would have thought budget airlines would be lower in rank

I was expecting Spirit to be the worst 💔

Alaska Airlines is a bit of a surprise given that a long time ago (probably 10-20 years ago) they were found to be exceeding the plane mfrs recommended service intervals and it took a catastrophic fatal crash to bring this to light. But then again, many airlines particularly budget airlines may stretch this a little. They even went as far as to fire the maintenance supervisor when he questioned the service intervals and blew the whistle. In the end, he was right and they were causing unecesary risk to cut costs. To be honest, out of Delta, United and Spirit, I would rank Spirit the worst from my experience (only flew them maybe twice, but that's all, and thats all I will fly with them; for one, they nickel and dime you to death unless you're just flying with a backpack. If you have a carry-on and/or checked bag, you're essentially paying about the same as competition (that offers free carry-on but at a slightly higher ticket price than Spirit) but worse service and comfort from Spirit. Of the airlines I've flown, I would probably rank Delta, United (almost a tie), Southwest / American, and then Spirt and Frontier as last/worst from my flight experience. I think int the some 20 United flights I've taken the past 2 years, only one was delayed and it wasn't even the flight, but rather the jetway bridge at the particular airport that was having issues, thus delaying boarding by 30 minutes. Being a short person, say 5 ft 5 inches, leg room was never really an issue for me personally, but for Frontier it's more comfort. Now on one flight I did sit in an exit row, and the seat was basically plastic (think of the metal folding chairs) so it was not comfortable for the 3.5 hour flight back home (which was a red-eye as well) and the tray table was basically non-existant as it was about the sizee of a VHS cassette, but this was likely to allow more room. There was plenty of leg room of course being an exit row, but in the future, I'm not sitting in an exit row, or the rows in front of or behind either as these rows tend to be slightly different than the rest (yes you do get leg room in some exit rows but I almost think for someone who is shorter, it's not really a benefit you'll need). Affordabitility IMO is not a huge deal if the risk of your flight being cancelled, delayed or denied boarding. I'd rather pay a bit more and ensure that the chances of that are significantly reduced especailly if I'm on a tight time table (like flying for business and not leisure, where with leisure, a 1-2 hour flight delay may not be a big deal or deal breaker in many cases as I space out my connections and reservations usually just in case I'm late or things are delayed).

1:19 This would make a good picture. Dogs are the best. I am so sad right now. I lost my male German Shepherd on Dec 23, 2023. I am heartbroken. I still have his sister and she is sad too. I just had to give her a big hug and kiss after seeing this.

I'm not surprise about Delta but Spirit better then Jet Blue. Something is not right. I've been flying with Jet Blue and I don't have any complaints.