What Are the Worst and Best U.S. Airlines? Consumer Complaints Revealed

Air travel can be convenient, but it often comes with delays, cancellations, and unexpected fees that leave passengers frustrated. PissedConsumer surveyed 1,577 travelers about their experiences with major U.S.-based airlines, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.

This report ranks airlines from worst to best based on how effectively they resolve complaints, communicate with customers, and handle issues such as refunds and lost baggage. Whether you’re booking your next trip or comparing carriers, these insights can help you understand which airlines consistently meet consumer expectations and which ones fall short.

Key Insights

• All airlines face delays and baggage issues, but what matters most is how well they resolve them. Top-rated airlines stand out by handling problems quickly and effectively.
• Airlines like Southwest and JetBlue demonstrate that affordable fares can coexist with strong customer support and high satisfaction. Good service isn't limited to premium pricing.
• Low-ranked airlines according to consumers, such as Frontier and Spirit, struggle with rigid policies, slow resolution times, and customer service that is difficult to reach. These shortcomings drive consistently low satisfaction scores.

What Are the Most Common Issues With US Airlines?

Based on 31,700 airline reviews on PissedConsumer, travelers most often report these issues with US airlines:

• Lost or damaged baggage (18.3%): Travelers report luggage being lost or damaged during flights.
• Delays (17.9%): Complaints include missed connections and lost time due to delays.
• Refunds (16.5%): Consumers feel unfairly treated when trying to get refunds.
• Customer service (15.5%): Many struggle to reach or get help from support teams.
• Fees (9.1%): Unexpected charges for baggage, seats, or boarding frustrate travelers.

What Are the Worst Airlines According to Customer Reviews?

According to PissedConsumer data collected from May 2024 to May 2025, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Breeze Airways, Allegiant Air, and American Airlines were rated as the worst airlines based on low issue resolution rates, poor communication satisfaction, and low likelihood of recommendation. A detailed explanation of our methodology is provided at the end of this article.

Here's how PissedConsumer users rated the worst-performing airlines:

Frontier Airlines: Poor Customer Service, Refund Issues, Deceptive Practices

Frontier Airlines positions itself as an ultra-low-cost carrier known for its no-frills service and budget-friendly fares. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the airline primarily operates domestic routes and emphasizes à la carte pricing, allowing passengers to pay only for the services they use.

However, while the airline is praised for its low fares, it rates poorly across many other areas of the business, including customer service, refund issues, damaged and lost luggage, and even suggestions of deceptive practice, resulting in the passengers missing flights and incurring additional charges, as highlighted in the Frontier Airlines review. 

My flight was but 2 hours and 20 minutes one way. I was in the airport for BOTH flights a total of 33 hours!!!

With an issue resolution score of just 22.12% and only 5% of reviewers recommending the airline, it results in a consumer score of 555 and a PissedConsumer rating for Frontier Airlines of just 1.5 out of five. 

Spirit Airlines: Flight Delays and Cancellations, High Baggage Fees

Spirit Airlines is another ultra-low-cost carrier offering "Bare Fares" with pay-for-what-you-use extras, such as bags, seat assignments, and refreshments. Headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, it operates more than 700 daily flights across more than 90 destinations in the US, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

PissedConsumer reviewers tell us that while their “bare fares” are cheap, baggage fees are excessive and lack flexibility. This was highlighted in review #6032621, where a passenger accidentally booked carry-on luggage instead of check-in luggage on the app and was forced to pay $65 for each service with no refund on the accidental purchase.

This lack of flexibility is evident in the fact that only 38.24% of customer issues are resolved, resulting in a consumer score of 987 and an average PissedConsumer rating of 1.7 out of five.

Breeze Airlines: Direct Flights but Poor Customer Service

Breeze Airways is a low-cost carrier launched in May 2021 by airline industry veteran David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue, WestJet, and Azul. The airline focuses on connecting underserved secondary cities with direct service. The airline promises a seamless booking experience with no change or cancellation fees. 

Customer reviews of Breeze Airlines on PissedConsumer suggest that the airline could improve in several areas, including poor customer service, flight delays and cancellations, and refund issues. Those same reviews also indicate that while they appreciate the airline's affordable and direct flights, they dislike the airline's automated customer service tools. 

A customer review #6648426 highlights their problem with accessing customer services after making a mistake with their booking.

If you do book with Breeze, you had better be certain you have everything correct before you confirm and pay.

The airline's reliance on AI-enabled customer service chatbots, in particular, leaves customers confused and frustrated when issues occur, resulting in less than 50% of customer service issues being resolved and a consumer score of 1228.

Allegiant Air: Flight Delays and Refund Issues

Allegiant Air is an ultra-low-cost airline based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Allegiant specializes in connecting small and mid-sized US cities with popular leisure destinations via non-stop flights.

Like many of the other low-cost airlines featured in this report, Allegiant Air has issues related to flight delays and customer service problems. However, review #5994990 on PissedConsumer also highlighted a very unusual complaint: a flight leaving too early.

The flight left 30 minutes earlier than posted. I was stranded with no alternate flight and no hotel. Gate agents said pilot wanted to leave. I asked why there is no announcement. She said there wasnt any time.

With a 41.94% resolution rate, only 18.64% of survey respondents said they would recommend Allegiant Air, resulting in a consumer score of 1256 and an average PissedConsumer rating of 1.8 out of five.

American Airlines: Flight Delays and Cancellations

American Airlines has the dubious honor of being the only full-service airline to appear alongside a list of budget and low-cost airlines ranked as the worst airlines. American Airlines is the largest US legacy carrier and one of the world’s most extensive airlines, operating more than 6,800 scheduled flights daily to nearly 350 destinations across 48 countries.

While American Airlines is a very different entity from Allegiant or Breeze, reviews on PissedConsumer reveal that the airline shares a great deal of commonality in terms of customer service expectations and issues related to flight delays and cancellations, refunds, and damaged or lost luggage.

One review on PissedConsumer highlights American Airlines’ problematic customer service, reporting multiple dropped calls when trying to resolve a problem with a delayed flight.

American Airlines can take heart in the fact that it outperforms all the other airlines rated as "worst" in terms of resolved issues at 57.97%. However, the airline should be concerned that only 34.04% of PissedConsumer reviewers would recommend their service, resulting in an a of 1473.

What Are the Best Airlines in the US?

Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and JetBlue Airways were considered the best airlines, achieving higher scores for resolving complaints, clear communication, and positive consumer recommendations.

Here's how PissedConsumer users rated our list of the best airlines:

JetBlue Airways: Good Prices, Attentive Flight Attendants, Fast Issue Resolution 

JetBlue Airways is a New York-based low-cost hybrid carrier. Headquartered in Long Island City, it operates a modern fleet of jets serving more than 100 destinations across the US, Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe.

Customer reviews on PissedConsumer highlight how a low-cost airline doesn't have to offer a threadbare service. That doesn't mean the airline doesn't face challenges related to flight delays or damaged and lost luggage. However, where the airline excels is in the speed at which it resolves consumer issues. 

Reviews like this show that even when customers have a negative experience checking in sports equipment at the airport, the experience on the flight can make all the difference.

I will say the flights themselves were great. The flight attendants were cheerful and personable and the seats are relatively spacious and the extra legroom is awesome.

With a 60.88% issue resolution rate and 40% of PissedConsumer reviewers recommending the service, JetBlue Airways enjoys a consumer score of 1623.

United Airlines: Affordable Prices, Attentive Flight Attendants

United Airlines is a major US legacy carrier headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest airlines in the world. United operates an extensive domestic and international route system, serving over 300 destinations across six continents, with hubs in cities such as Newark, Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Although PissedConsumer reviews of United Airlines suggest that the company has issues with problems related to lost and damaged luggage, as well as frequent mechanical issues, it is also highly praised, as seen in review #6044112, for the speed of resolution for issues such as ticket refunds.

Everything went really well. I refunded a ticket within 24 hours so far everythings good people I was dealing with were very healthful professional respectful.

But it's not all good news for United Airlines. Despite a healthy customer issue resolution rate of 61.29% and 41.18% of online reviews suggesting they would recommend the service, scoring a consumer score of 1671, the airline only receives an average PissedConsumer customer rating of 1.9 out of five (lower than the worst-ranked Breeze Airlines).

Delta Airlines: Great Inflight Service, Poor Customer Service

Delta Air Lines, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the world's oldest and largest legacy carriers. With a history dating back to 1925 as a crop-dusting service, it now operates more than 5,000 flights daily to over 300 destinations worldwide.

In customer reviews, Delta Airlines is praised for its attentive flight attendants, in-flight service, choice of destinations, and quality of aircraft. However, it also receives criticism for damaged and lost baggage, as well as poor customer service when issues do arise.#

A recent review on PissedConsumer (#6112994) also highlighted that Delta Airlines' customer service operations might fall short when helping passengers with additional needs.

Customer Service is NON-EXISTENT…Instead of trying to milk every penny out of customers, why don't you try hiring more staff to help customers. Maybe you would make more money in the long run with happy customers returning to Delta.

Delta Airlines currently enjoys a customer resolution score of 68.22%, with 37.76% of PissedConsumer reviewers saying they would recommend the service, giving the airline a consumer score of 1687.

Sun Country Airlines: Affordable, Timely Flights and Good Destinations

Sun Country Airlines is a Minneapolis-based hybrid low-cost carrier that initially launched as a charter airline. Today, it operates scheduled passenger flights, focusing on leisure travel to sunshine destinations. It is known for offering à la carte pricing, in-flight streaming entertainment, and in-seat power, making travel affordable yet functional for its core market.

While Sun County Airlines may be considered a small airline compared to many of the other airlines featured in this report, it certainly outperforms many much larger operators in terms of customer satisfaction.

Sun County Airlines boasts an enviable issue resolution rate of 68.18%, with 83.33% of passengers contacting their customer service team satisfied with the outcome. This gives Sun County Airlines a consumer score of 1950, making it the second-highest-rated airline on our survey.

Despite this success, Sun Country Airlines can’t rest on its laurels, as demonstrated by this very pissed consumer highlighting how the airline lost her son’s golf clubs twice!

After many days and numerous phone calls with numerous hours of hold times, his clubs were delivered to the wrong address. He had to drive over 200 miles to collect his clubs.

Southwest Airlines: Affordable Prices, Good Baggage Policy, Friendly Staff

Southwest Airlines is a major US low-cost carrier headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1967, it serves over 100 destinations across the United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. It's currently ranked as the fourth-largest airline globally, and while pioneering the no-frills approach, it offers point-to-point services with perks, including free checked bags.

Ranked as the best airline by PissedConsumer survey respondents, Southwest Airlines highlights how low cost doesn’t have to mean poor service.

While Southwest isn’t immune to problems relating to damaged and lost luggage, customer reviews, including this one on PissedConsumer (#6438939), highlight how positive the customer experience can be.

The service representative was wonderful. She helped me out with my problem and had it solved in mere minutes. It was a pleasure to speak with someone whom I could understand and understood me.

This positive experience is reflected in sky-high issue resolution rates (78.18%), customer satisfaction (80.43%), and the highest rate of customers stating they would recommend the service (58.82%), which rewards Southwest Airlines with a consumer score of 2174.

Customer Service: The Real Difference Between The Best and Worst Airlines

All airlines experience issues beyond their control. The weather, delays caused by airport security, technical and safety-related problems, and third-party check-in and baggage handling can all lead to negative customer experiences. And what about all those additional and unexpected charges? Do they feel more like airline scams than good customer service?

The difference between how the best and worst airlines in our survey performed wasn't about when these problems arose – it was how their customer service teams responded to them and resolved the issue. 

If you believe your experience with a US airline wasn’t first class (or even premium economy), tell us all about it and write a review.

What Can You Do If You Experience Airline Issues?

Whether it’s a delayed flight, a refund dispute, or a booking mistake, you have options. Here are practical steps you can take, including expert advice from travel analyst Jamie Larounis.

1. Know your refund rights
   If an airline cancels your flight outright, you are usually entitled to a full refund, not just a credit. This applies whether you booked directly or through an online travel agency. If you have trouble getting a refund, request written confirmation from the airline and contact your credit card company to dispute the charge if needed.
2. Act quickly and document everything
   Save emails, receipts, and screenshots of confirmations or cancellation notices. If you see a schedule change, respond promptly to avoid losing options.
3. Consider booking directly with airlines
   As Jamie Larounis advises, booking directly can make it easier to manage changes, track refunds, and avoid extra fees charged by intermediaries.
4. Be aware of changing policies
   Many airlines have updated their change fee and cancellation policies since the pandemic. Review the latest terms carefully before booking or rescheduling.
5. Share your experience.strong
   If you’ve had a negative or positive experience, you can help other travelers by posting a review on PissedConsumer. Your feedback can also encourage airlines to improve their service.

Our Methodology

Between May 2024 and May 2025, PissedConsumer.com conducted an online survey among its US-based visitors, focusing exclusively on the airline industry. A total of 1,577 respondents participated, although the number of answers varied by question.

The survey aimed to assess customer experiences with airline customer service. For the purpose of this report, we are highlighting responses to the following key questions:

• Did the customer service representative resolve your issue?
• How satisfied were you with the customer service representative you interacted with?
• How likely are you to recommend the airline to a friend or colleague? (Net Promoter Score)