The Best and Worst U.S. Airlines of 2019 | WSJ

With more and more people taking flight each year, there’s a lot that can go wrong. WSJ’s Scott McCartney tallies the data for a definitive look at which airlines performed best and worst in 2019 in key categories like on-time departures, baggage handling and flight cancellations.
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[@victornderu143]

United: "I will not draw any attention." So united decided to stay at the middle of the park on everything.

[@Videobot9000]

They learned their lesson from the overbooking incident that's for sure 😆

[@nunyabidness3075]

United has a big variability by hub. They managed to lose most any semblance of Continental’s excellent ratings.

[@kimjong-il1547]

Based on my experience as a frequent United flier, I have not had any problems

[@no951]

Consistently bad but not too bad

[@Tunainthebrine79]

AA is the worst. South West is even better than them. Delta is probably the best all around aside from the delays.

[@cancelanime1507]

No american is amazing kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYXXlGmbnpqLZ9E

[@nikobelic4251]

AA all the WAAY

[@billrussell4832]

Agreed, Delta has always been the best. I love them so much. Only airline i travel with, only downside is the price of their tickets.

[@kjdinoc]

@@nikobelic4251 why? With all the stats laid out for all to see it's a fact AA totally sucks.

[@austindarga7307]

@@nikobelic4251 just because you cant afford delta doesnt mean AA is better

[@gilbertnicholas1582]

Delta is my preferred airline even when the price is a little higher sometimes

[@jamesspencer963]

I regularly choose to fly delta for these reasons and for their lounges that are available to Amex platinum cardholders flying with them. Overall, it’s a positive experience and worth paying a slight premium over other airlines in my opinion.

[@user-jg6xu1kk1i]

I've been to the US once. I traveled on American Airlines they shipped my luggage to another state and I had to wait three days to get it back

[@nolan122]

hahahaha that's actually so funny

[@jamesf791]

@@nolan122 only if you are a sociopath.

[@Jack3md]

CARRY ON! Or else don’t go

[@Jack3md]

It’s not as bad as Air France accidentally shipping missiles to Cuba 🙂

[@nunyabidness3075]

I’ve flown to France twice. Luggage delayed both times. I’ve had a dozen connections in France, they failed to get my luggage to the connection about half. Amazing. Had brilliant service from British Airways until around 2002. Then they fell off a cliff, and were not at all apologetic. We were frequent flyers at a high level too. The third time we flew using a coupon from bad service on the previous trip they canceled our flight, downgraded us to economy, and we had to fight to get the difference refunded as a coupon! We never went back. Have hardly gone to Europe since.

[@jbar_85]

I love Delta and I’m shocked JetBlue is dead last. I love JetBlue even when I’m delayed. I wish I could fly Delta more often but their prices can be very high. It seems the happy medium is SouthWest. Though, I still love my JetBlue, but don’t agree with their class limitations.

[@TheStewie00008]

Jess Barnett Whoever created this video messed up. If you look at the list they show when he announces who the best overall airline is for the year and compare that to the list shown for the best airline for on-time arrivals, you will notice that they are the exact same. The narrator also says a few seconds later that Alaska and Southwest are tied for second overall, which does not match the list shown. The actual overall list can be found on their website. JetBlue was ranked 6th overall.

[@stuartlee6622]

So, for you, please go on the bus. Go away.

[@theopashley8821]

This is actually really helpful

[@Bill_Oddie_Face_Mask]

I guess I've been lucky with JetBlue. Never had a flight cancelled, never been bumped, only been delayed once, never had any trouble with luggage, and more often than not the plane arrives earlier than expected.

[@remiko-]

Same here, Jetblue is honestly underated and amazing. They don't even have a single fatality/crash on record, compared to the other airlines. Hopefully they carry this same great service to their future international routes.

[@ExtranjeroyPeregrino.]

I miss flying in Delta...their flights price has increased..... absolutely agree , Delta has been the best aircraft experience I had so far...compare to American or United.

[@MichaelEGriesbaum]

Alaska is also a very good airline. I frequently fly both Alaska and Delta, and their service is about equal. (I am just abtad biased though for Alaska, because I have Alaska's Club 49 member ship [for living in Alaska], so I get 2 free checked bags, I can ship 100 pounds of cargo in state for $20, or out of state for $50, and I get exclusive flight deals with them and their global partners). Both are excellent carriers, though I prefer Alaska.

[@ExtranjeroyPeregrino.]

@@MichaelEGriesbaum very nice!

[@evettej7388]

Yes, Delta is so expensive!!! Ugh

[@owenhaesler6658]

I very strongly disagree with that. Out of the 4 largest US Airlines (AA, Delta, United, and Southwest), Delta has the hardest most uncomfortable seats by far

[@jkjkjk100]

I think flying delta to or from their hub is expensive but i live in non hub region and get awesome business class deal all the time both transpacific or transatlantic

[@AnthonyDelagarza]

Hello Delta! Goodbye American!

[@Montfortracing]

Nope! I'm never going with Delta.

[@nigmosh65]

Montfortracing That’s your loss lol

[@Montfortracing]

@@nigmosh65 nope its my gain. I do fly Alaska though

[@ATLAVIATION]

I don’t fly American carriers international

[@thevirtualcaptain4299]

Delta agent refused to rebook my flight when I missed it. American managed to get me a ticked, bumped my up to business class for free and gave me a hotel voucher and food, all for the price of an economy class ticket. American is my favorite out of all of them

[@xobex5789]

I'm so scared, because I'm flying American myself this summer while the rest of my family is flying Delta without me and I've never flown American Airlines before, so it's comforting to hear some good things about it.

[@Zambi75]

I love JetBlue I would never change my favorite

[@DjProA0]

Nobody: WSJ: 0:50 - Ever been stuck on the *”Tarmac”*?

[@nikobelic4251]

LegendzGaming more like tArMaC

[@therivernile.]

lol, i expected Spirit airline to be last in all categories

[@toptierenergy3129]

River Nile 😂😂😂😂

[@arham360]

Clearly you haven’t flown frontier

[@therivernile.]

@@arham360 you are quiet right there :)

[@thomastipton1155]

They didn't talk about comfort. Spirits upright only seats are torture chamber ready.

[@kateryan6079]

Spirit is so bad

[@brandenmendez8432]

JetBlue with always be my most preferred airline due it’s ranked #1 legroom

[@GioGarnada]

Being short, I’m pretty comfortable with delta on this department hahaha

[@victornderu143]

Congrats Delta. Never disappoints

[@mjhowson2389]

I’m surprised you didn’t include anything related to in-flight experience. Food quality. Leg room. Entertainment. What about using the airline’s website or app? Also pricing/cost, not just for the ticket, but extra fees. I would think these factors would impact the ranking. I normally try and fly JetBlue. I do agree that they rank high in flight delays. But the flight experience is roomy and enjoyable. I’m always shocked how cramped and limiting other airlines feel.

[@ehut12]

this is why i’m glad my dad is a delta pilot

[@qasimahmed445]

My dad is an American Airlines worker.

[@natehiger410]

I just took two frontier airline flight last week, both of the flights were landed earlier than scheduled.

[@hatchetscoured]

Very useful information. Release the spreadsheet!

[@mnguyea]

It is helpful but sometimes you don't have much of a choice depending upon region of travel. For instance, I've never flown with Alaska just because flying from the East coast their flight wasn't convenient. So usually end up with Jet Blue, American or Delta. Of course I try and avoid American as much as possible when choosing a flight.

[@jkjkjk100]

mnguyea alaska is great if you live in Pacific Northwest

[@gus473]

👍 Thanks, Scott! No surprises there, and I have switched to a very few (including your three leaders) that I will take if there's just no reasonable alternative! Most of the fun of flying was over l-o-n-g ago....! 🤷‍♂️

[@RossCampoli]

Delta #1 on time, but also ranking high in extreme delays and cancelled flights. Must be due to their high volume that they can rank so highly across most categories.

[@Jdog1681]

Actually the rankings were the least likely to be canceled or have extreme delays. Delta performed quite well

[@RossCampoli]

Jdog1681 ah that’s what I get for watching with captions. Thanks for the heads up!

[@SamGlasser]

One ranking you forgot: safety! There is a Delta jet sitting at the airport in Ponta Delgada that has a bent fuselage because of a hard landing. I have a few close up photos that show something I never want to see on a plane I just got off of.

[@pioneltapinessi947]

I rarely fly but the difference from a flight with Volaris in an A320 and Alaska airlines in a 737 was huge. The 737 seats are supposedly narrower than on A320s but it seems that the flight in Alaska Airlines was much better and comfortable experience with very fast wifi.

[@carstars]

Spot on my travel usually is on Delta or Alaska. And did have the worst experience of my life with Luggage on Alaska. I hope Alaska can fix those luggage problems, especially at the 1 or 2 flights a day destinations.

[@arandomperson3516]

My main airline is Alaska. Since they have the guarantee you’ll get your bags in 20 minutes you can usually get compensated, but good luck with that because the gate agents will be long gone before that

[@dstblj5222]

Alaska outsources it's ramp operations in it's hubs which generally results in worse performance fine in an outstation with relatively simple ops but it tends to break down in hubs

[@AnneMB955]

Looks like I’ll be flying Delta on our next trip to the US. Thx for sharing.

[@crashweaverda]

I just quit flying and started taking the bus and train. Never been bumped or half to deal with airport security or have they ever lost my bag yet.

[@mavricxx]

For me Delta is my favorite, it just feels more premium, being a T-mobile customer I get free wifi and their service just feels better overall even their aircraft. I even got upgraded for free about 4 times last year for being a Skymiles member. I just recently flew United from Houston to San Francisco, a 5hr flight and the plane didn't even have in flight entertainment screens, I don't even think they offered food on the plane now that I think about it.

[@Aaron-kx7oi]

Spot on

[@Jack3md]

Delta and American are my favorite

[@alienng8]

2:39 That guy hand can carry TV on board? I want to know what airline allow that

[@jpmasters-aus]

Having switched from American to Delta as I moved my Australian preferred airline to Virgin Australia from Qantas, I would say my experience with Delta reflects this report.

[@briangasser973]

Would be good if you included stats such as best seat pitch and width in main cabin as a category.

[@josephreo36]

Jet Blue shouldn't be dead last, American should like omg. SMH

[@TheStewie00008]

Joseph Reo Whoever created this video messed up. If you look at the list they show when he announces who the best overall airline is for the year and compare that to the list shown for the best airline for on-time arrivals, you will notice that they are the exact same. The narrator also says a few seconds later that Alaska and Southwest are tied for second overall, which does not match the list shown. The actual overall list can be found on their website. JetBlue was ranked 6th overall

[@ea7654]

Jet blue is never on time

[@nikobelic4251]

Edwin Marte Jetblue has the worst on time record in the US actually Fun fact

[@josephreo36]

Niko Belic woe thanks

[@abegreenberg9060]

Next year, you should include the food, entertainment, and legroom

[@techpolitics]

Delta, Southwest, or JetBlue? I'm trying to decide if it's worth sticking to one airline and grabbing a credit card for it, or just flying whichever of these three airlines is the most affordable at the time I plan my trip.

[@qychn]

Trevor can start making AA + UA commercials instead of Spirit now lol

[@ianchandler1970]

Imagine being one of the 9 who got bumped by delta

[@jkjkjk100]

Not sure if this included volunteers or not if it did, then i was one of them. Felt like champion and $900 gift voucher richer... lol

[@atlantic7949]

Spirit, the public transportation of the sky

[@TravelAdventureswithEricB]

I Love spirit

[@Gindaman999]

JetBlue on thr last place? I never had a serious issue with JetBlue.

[@ethanstein42]

QQ all the jetblue flights i’ve been on have arrived on time or early

[@chansaicommerce1721]

AWESOME

[@urthere0]

I am surprised I am in the 1% of flight that were canceled by Delta. My flight from SEA to DEN was canceled back in October.

[@kimmie9038]

I've always flown Frontier for the pricing and not once had an issues. Southwest did nothing to accommodate us when an overly large man was breaching our seat space on a sold out flight. Between that and the massive rise in costs we have not flown them in 4 years. We've never heard anything but horror stories about Spirit, based on this we may try them in the future.

[@danielking104]

I encourage you to look into American without Mesa. The stats might surprise you.

[@realjohnald]

Hey they mentioned something called the "tarmac" multiple times, especially around 0:50. Can someone describe what that "tarmac" thingy is?

[@soilder_of_allah]

John McDermott it’s where I think planes park for passengers to board/leave the ✈️

[@adroper62]

After flying with American a week ago, I agree. Their performance is similar to budget carriers, but the price point isn't.

[@sportsMike87]

Glad they took multiple categories into account

[@diegomontoya8889]

Alaska Airlines basically outsourced their baggage handling a few years back and they have fallen mightily in any category involving your luggage as a result. Their rewards program is pretty good though and I think I am one of about 11 people in the PNW without an Alaska Airlines Credit Card. It's insanely popular.

[@matthewwindisch9449]

Very surprised Jet Blue didn’t do that well, I’ve always been very happy with them. Delta has by far the oldest fleet of aircraft.

[@SniPYo]

Yo how’s spirit ranked so high? One of the worst I’ve fly with.

[@spencergold9812]

JetBlue is the worst, for sure. Their flights are always, always delayed. If you need to make a connection, forget about it. Buy a nonstop ticket and plan to arrive 3 hours late, or don't bother. Eventually, I concluded that it wasn't worth the money I might save. Never again.

[@ethanstein42]

Spencer Gold when was the last time you flew jetblue all my flight went well and you arrive on time or early

[@pianemova]

when I was a gate agent for a panamanian airlines AA always gave us headaches, they were late almost every single day and almost delayed our flight as well because we used to use the same computer gate to board the flight..... we were a team of 5, flight on time an average 350 days per year, AA had like 10+ staff and their flight was late almost every single day I promiss.... urghhh disgrace!

[@AvgJane19]

Southwest! Southwest! Southwest!

[@jamesf791]

They are number 4 out of 8... Not that great

[@MichaelEGriesbaum]

Alaska, Alaska, Alaska!

[@MDA325]

I think a key category that's missing in this evaluation is price. A lot of customers are willing to put up with marginally worse service in exchange for a marked decrease in price.

[@jnthnwllmn6499]

Any Airline that's ranked under Allegiant should just Cease all operations

[@Videobot9000]

United has a small chance of getting back up but yeah the "Big Three" legacy carriers are dead other than Delta

[@Rudenbehr]

Wait this isn’t a Wendover Productions video 😳

[@trevordoyle6823]

Like the sign above TechOps in Atlanta says "Fly Delta Jets"

[@fordthecow9838]

I’ve honestly never had a problem with JetBlue except like being stuck on the tarmac for a while

[@LearnToCompound]

.....lol for 2 hours? Unlikely

[@evettej7388]

I wish I would've seen this before I booked my upcoming flight with AA!! Now I'm afraid!!! I love Delta and I see why! This video will definitely influence my flight plans in the future! Only SOUTHWEST and DELTA for me for now on!

[@dltmdwnfkdldjs]

i prefer delta to go asia.

[@saynotop2w]

UA and AA still being who they been, I see

[@owenhaesler6658]

Does the survey account for average fares? Because while Delta may be the best, they are also significantly more expensive than American or United.

[@darealphantom]

For me Delta is my first option then JetBlue both are always on time when I take them

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Please include Hawaiian next time.

[@owensimonsen7520]

Hawaiian would not be fair, a majority of their flights are short island hops in almost perfect weather

[@hilifeboizz7290]

@Lachlan Watkins yes and my dad is a interisland pilot on the 717

[@DaughterOfTheKingdom16]

I feel like most of this is also depending where you’re flying.

[@zcbowers94]

If prices are comparable I fly delta. If there’s a really good deal on southwest I’ll choose them. Otherwise I will usually just wait.

[@shakey2634]

How does Doug Parker and team still have a job?

[@Bringbackcicispizza]

I find it very hard to believe from personal experience and countless stories I hear that Spirit ranked so high.

[@Aaron.Monroe]

Delta is the best all around airlines. With all things considered, Delta has everyone else beat by miles. Delta also has the least delays, don't think a lot of people know that. Also, smaller airlines like Alaska may have higher rates of mishandled luggage but should they get to the size of Delta, that number would be exponentially higher.

[@Bluey]

2:02 sure is fun to have to either miss the flight or miss the rest of the movie

[@ShiftTwentyFour]

The overall ranking at 2:54 is totally different than in the article (www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-and-worst-u-s-airlines-of-2019-11579097301). The ranking in the WSJ article was: 1. Delta 2. Alaska & Southwest 4. Allegiant 5. Spirit 6. JetBlue 7. Frontier 8. United 9. American The ranking in the video appears to be for on-time arrivals, where Delta was first and Frontier was last at 9th.

[@popap1995]

I love Delta. Definitely not surprised to see it top the list! 💙

[@jkt7774]

i love delta, especially their A220 ..superb

[@musicbeginner]

Spirits #3 in on time catalog? Really? For me, I will never take it after it totally ruined my daughter’s vacation.

[@rileyyanek9860]

I mean South West cancelling fights dosen't surprise me. They were replacing there fleet with the MAX, and that plane is still on the ground.

[@fancyguyy]

I really prefer delta but I’m almost always forced to fly with American based on where I live. AA is okay (When everything works out) but being delayed or canceled always sucks. At least I don’t have to step onto a united plane just to get violently dragged off...

[@Dangic23]

Wow....only 9 bumbed passengers.... Unreal

[@oppa91]

Delays are often not the fault of the airline but due to high traffic at airports, delayed passengers, tight time slots for starts etc. The only thing that an airline can do is to plan a bigger layover time at the airport, which will end in higher costs. The luggage also usually got handled by sub-companies of the airport - nothing an airline can much do about. Also, to decide the "best" airline, I think that facts like "leg space" on domestic flights, in-flight meals/ in-flight entertainment, extra costs for checked luggage,... are very important to consider, not just delays and lost luggage.

[@princetandukar9290]

I'm only flying with Delta now thanks!

[@AnthonyM3S58]

Delta is awesome. My last flight arrived 30 minutes early

[@heindoof9]

I‘m always choosing Alaska and never had a problem, looks like I made a good choice

[@GoalHornGeek]

3:02 our airport is a smaller airport. Only handles 14 million passengers a year but a focus city for both Delta and frontier. We have over 80 flights a day from Delta on a regular day (pre-Covid) one of them happens to be our flight to Paris. We currently only have 2 transatlantic flights but there’s speculation that RDU is talking to American and Delta about expanding operations to Asia. This has been an on going talk for years and with delta’s increasing routes, we expect that to keep going up. Our airport currently has 43 gates open. 2 are currently being renovated and the airport should have 23 brand new gates by 2031 as well as an 11,500 foot runway, 23 new hangers (2 capable of holding a320neo), extensions to second runway to 9,000 feet, new general aviation facility, new apron (potential terminal in future) and much more. The airport is growing so fast, that the $2 billion project has potentially become a $4 billion project with a brand new international only terminal

[@macc1311]

U.S. airlines have a bad reputation especially in Australia, and AA confirmed that reputation last time i visited the U.S. in 2017. However over 19/20 Christmas break i visited the states with and flew 5 sectors exclusively with Delta and the service was impeccable.

[@markdavid4637]

spirit over southwest huh??

[@Yeah_Buddy_LIGHTWEIGHT]

"We'll see you next year for the best and worst airlines of 2020." If only he knew what was looming....

[@qasimahmed445]

If only he knew...

[@atlantic7949]

Will never fly frontier again even if I have to walk to my destination

[@iscloudy3922]

Wish comfort was a part of this. Then, maybe it would change the rankings.

[@shantanu925]

Please do a video on top airlines of the world in 2019

[@HiSteOfMnd]

Is this strictly within the continental US? No Hawaiian Airlines?

[@jesses-m]

you should include Air Canada next year. I know its not a US airline but I am curious to see how it stacks up in these categories compared to the US airlines because Air Canada has won Skytrax best North American airline 8 of the last 10 years

[@eru6ite]

This analysis definitely influences the airline I choose for travel. It feels like the various airline companies in the US are in a race for the bottom -- who can provide the least service for the lowest price. :SMH:

[@medreda3457]

Spirit airlines second 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@joannaswerdlow7426]

Med Reda yep

[@bandvitromaniaios1307]

At least they are better than American Airlines.

[@LearnToCompound]

Anything is better then southwest! 😂

[@trevonduncombe5866]

I’ve never had a bad experience on AA, delta is amazing as usual & United is neutral. Never been on the rest

[@schumi246]

I live in Denver, and went to London in May, United has a direct flight, so does American, through alliance with British airways. I flew United basic economy, and with paying to select a seat, it was 488 round trip. I was only going for a week, so I was able to pack everything in a personal bag, and a carryon. BA wanted 750 for the same flight basically, just 2 hours later. Service was wonderful, we left on time, arrived on time, the food was even pretty good. Even when I have the choice of UA, SW, and AA on the Denver to Chicago route, I still fly United 10/10.

[@fancyguyy]

Honestly AA is ok when everything works out but delays and cancellations suck. I hate how bad AA agents communicate when your flight is cancelled it’s just a mess.

[@mega1e]

My favourites are Delta and the former Virgin America.

[@FishyisaFish]

Of course Alaska has the best extreme delays due to the main hub Seattle has some of the most Mild weather in the country and the places that it flies to a lot like Las Vegas and Palm Springs for Example

[@maxwellallard7153]

what about europe?

[@yusikillah6175]

They didnt factor price in the rankings lol

[@lucaschnettler4243]

why is it only U.S?

[@jasonbabila6006]

Delta is my preferred choice for domestic and transpacific flights between Seattle and Hawaii, Delta FTW!