Frontier and Southwest planes pass each other at Seattle. Photo: Wikimedia / rsocol
In two different surveys recently released, Frontier takes the cake…sort of. On one, it was the airline garnering the most complaints; on the other (perhaps not be coincidence) it was rated with the worst on-time record of U.S. airlines. On both, the runner-up was another ultra low-cost carrier, Spirit Airlines.
But Frontier was not alone. The federal Department of Transportation’s March survey of passenger complaints registered more complaints than the previous month, and more than the same month a year ago. We’re not happy, even though only on in every 50,000 passengers makes a formal complaint. On the other end of the scale, the lowest complaint rate came from perennial winner Southwest.
And then there’s the lateness issue. DOT defines late as more than 14 minutes behind schedule…and guess who has the worst record for on-time arrivals? Frontier and Spirit. There are other “winners” in the delay race, too. Envoy, AA’s regional affiliate, had the worst record for cancelled flights and lost or damaged bags.
On the plus side of the world, the best on-time records went to Hawaiian, Alaska and Delta, with 84% or better.
