These U.S. Airlines Just Ranked the Highest in Customer Satisfaction

Airlines have new bragging rights ahead of the busy summer travel season. 

For the third year in a row, Southwest Airlines was ranked as the top airline for customer satisfaction for economy or basic economy, according to JD Power’s 2024 North America Airline Satisfaction Study published on Wednesday.

Although when it comes to the front of the cabin Delta Air Lines took the top spot in both the first class or business, and premium economy categories. 

After Delta, passengers in first or business class ranked the order of JetBlue, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Air Canada for the top spots. Delta has been upgrading its business class product, called “Delta One”, while JetBlue has been making enhancements to its “Mint” product.

“The big takeaway from this year’s study is the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience. Airlines that are investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers,” J.D. Power’s Senior Managing Director of Travel, Hospitality, Retail, and Customer Service Michael Taylor said in the study.

As for premium economy, the top scorers were Delta, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, WestJet, United Airlines, and Air Canada. 

Delta’s premium economy experience is branded as “Delta Comfort+” and provides a variety of special perks including early boarding, more legroom, a complimentary beer or wine, and additional premium snacks. 

“This is a wonderful reflection of our elevated customer experience, fueled by the unparalleled service of our 100,000 Delta people worldwide. I’m incredibly proud of our team for continuously raising the bar for our customers,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement in response to the ranking.

For economy passengers, after Southwest Airlines, Delta was second, and Allegiant Airlines was third. Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines were ranked last, respectively. 

The study was based on 9,582 passengers who flew on a major airline within the previous month before completing the survey between March 2023 and March 2024. The participants are asked to score their airline experience on a six point scale with questions about airline staff, level of trust, and value paid for the flight.