Airline satisfaction study

Not loving the airlines right now? J.D. Power says you’re not alone

We may be flying again, but that doesn’t mean we’re happy with the service airlines are providing.

In fact, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, overall passenger satisfaction with airlines is down due to higher costs, pandemic-era restrictions, and a host of other factors.

“Customer satisfaction with North American airlines climbed to unprecedented highs for all of the wrong reasons during the past two years,” Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power said in the report’s release statement. “Fewer passengers meant more space on airplanes, less waiting in line, and more attention from flight attendants. But that business model was simply not sustainable.”

Now, Taylor says, volumes are surging, some pandemic-era constraints are still in place, and passenger satisfaction declined in all three study segments—first/business, premium economy, and economy/basic economy.

The charts below show how passengers ranked North American carriers by segment, using eight measurement factors: aircraft; baggage; boarding; check-in; cost and fees; flight crew; in-flight services; and reservation.

The overall score was 798 – on a 1,000-point scale – which is down more than 20 points from a year ago.

You’ll see that JetBlue and Alaska Airlines topped the rankings in the First/Business segment; JetBlue and Delta Air Lines finished first in the Premium Economy sector; and that Southwest and JetBlue led in the economy segment.