Upgraded Points' latest data study reveals the airlines that received the most complaints in 2022, as well as who ranked highest for cancellations, mishandled bags, and delayed arrivals. To find the biggest flight pet peeves, the company also surveyed flyers about their travel woes—From stale air to crying babies, forced small talk, lack of legroom, and more.

Airline Study – Methodology

Upgraded Points analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Consumer Protection's Air Travel Consumer Reports from August 2021 to August 2022 to find the U.S. airlines with the most on-time arrivals, flight cancellations, and mishandled baggage. The study also surveyed 500 Americans on their grievances when traveling by air: from inflight mistakes to appropriate compensation and more.

Airlines with the Most Complaints Overall

Complaints were tallied per 100,000 enplanements, then averaged. The top airlines with the most complaints overall include Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air. Spirit Airlines has the most complaints per passenger, at 4.74 complaints per 100,000 enplanements, and is also the airline Americans refuse to fly with most often, with 24% saying they wouldn't fly with them even if they have the lowest ticket prices.

Airports with the Most Complaints Overall

When surveyed on the 20 largest U.S. airports, respondents reported the biggest complaints about Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), at 14% of respondents. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) followed closely at 13% and 11%. The airports with the least reported complaints are John Wayne Airport (SNA), with 0.31% of respondents, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) 0.63%, and Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) 0.63%.

Inflight Complaints by Category

Mishandled Bags: Envoy Air ranked #1 for most mishandled bags, with 3.8 bags mishandled for every 100 passengers. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Republic Airways followed behind.

Cancellations: Republic Airways ranked #1 for most cancellations, with 4.3% of monthly flights canceled. Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines came in at No. 2 and 3.

Delayed Arrivals:  While Endeavor Air leads the pack with the most on-time arrivals (83.8%), just 64% of Allegiant Air flights were on-time this year. Jetblue, Frontier, and Southwest also had some of the most delayed arrivals.

Biggest Airline Pet Peeves

• The number one inflight pet peeve reported involves one person behind another, kicking the back of the seat. Cutting in line or being rude to airport staff also rank high on Americans' pet peeves list
• 55% would rather sit next to a crying baby than a fighting couple, though 54% would rather sit next to a dog than a baby
• Three out of every four prefer sitting next to a talker over sitting near someone who smells bad
• 63% are irritated by those who stand up before it is their turn to deplane, and another 41% dislike when people clap after landing

To check out the complete results of the airline pet peeve study along with full lists of the travelers' complaints by category and airline, specific airline compensation charts, detailed graphs and more, please visit the full study here.

"[Upgraded Points] analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Consumer Protection's Air Travel Consumer Reports from August 2021 to August 2022 to find the U.S. airlines with the most on-time arrivals, flight cancellations, and mishandled baggage.". This will provide your readers with easy access to our resources and updates.