U.S. Airline Rankings for 2021: Who Handled the Passenger Surge Best?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Here's your Money Briefing for Monday, January 31st.
How were U.S. airlines tested as passengers returned in 2021?
I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Attention passengers, it's report card time for the airlines. After the pandemic crippled the air industry for most of 2020, carriers were cleared for takeoff in 2021. Now it's time to check out The Wall Street Journal's ranking of the best and worst airlines to see which ones were up for the challenge.
Some airlines really ramped up their schedules and then found that they ran into problems with weather and staffing issues as they were trying to meet demand from customers.
So which airlines pass with flying colors? Coming up, we'll talk with our travel reporter, Allison Poley, and find out which airlines offer the best value for your money. That's after the break.
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How did The Wall Street Journal compile its 14th annual U.S. airline rankings?
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Passengers returned to the friendly skies and droves last year as pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, and that put airlines to the test. So how'd they do? WSJ travel reporter Allison Pohle is here with results from our 14th annual ranking of airlines. Hey, Allison, thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
So Allison, people coming back from lockdown to travel last year ended up running into delays and various other issues with the airlines. Before we get to the results, can you just walk us through how the journal put together the rankings and what kind of things did you take into account?
So there are seven categories that we look at, and those categories have data from Mass Flight, which is an aviation data platform, as well as the Department of Transportation. And so to calculate the rankings, we look at seven categories and weight them each equally. And those categories are on-time arrivals, canceled flights, extreme delays, which means delays 45 minutes or longer, two-hour tarmac delays, mishandled baggage, involuntary bumping, and complaints.
Which airlines finished at the top and bottom of the 2021 rankings?
All right, well, let's not beat around the bush anymore. Which carriers finished on top and which carriers didn't fare so well?
So this year, Delta finished in first place, and they had the top spot in five of the seven categories that we look at when we evaluate the airlines. So they reclaimed that spot after Southwest finished in first last year, and this year Southwest fell to third place. And in last this year was JetBlue.
So you know, Allison, as travel restrictions eased last year, airlines rolled out pretty ambitious flight schedules. How did that affect their rankings?
There was mixed success. So some airlines really ramped up their schedules and then found that they ran into problems with weather and staffing issues as they were trying to meet demand from customers.
How did aggressive post‑pandemic schedule ramp‑ups affect airline performance?
Others were a little bit more conservative in the number of flights that they planned. Of course, still had to deal with weather and other staffing challenges as well, but maybe weren't stretched quite as thin.
Now, the number of complaints an airline received from passengers is a factor in their ranking.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:38
2
How were U.S. airlines tested as passengers returned in 2021?
0:38–1:43
3
How did The Wall Street Journal compile its 14th annual U.S. airline rankings?
1:43–2:57
4
Which airlines finished at the top and bottom of the 2021 rankings?
2:57–3:46
5
How did aggressive post‑pandemic schedule ramp‑ups affect airline performance?
3:46–4:40
6
Which carriers had the fewest passenger complaints and which had the most?
4:40–6:19
7
How did Delta avoid involuntary bumping while increasing travel in 2021?
6:19–9:20
8
What operational changes helped American improve and why did JetBlue struggle?
9:20–10:21
Speakers
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