Posted on 10/20/2025 8:58:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
In A Nutshell
* American Airlines ranked as the world’s most disliked carrier with a dissatisfaction score of 56 out of 100, earning just 2.9 out of 10 from passengers.
* Budget carriers Frontier and United took second and third place, with Frontier posting the lowest passenger experience rating at 2.0 out of 10 despite serving 33.3 million travelers annually across 105 destinations.
* British Airways led all airlines in lost luggage complaints with 319 searches per 100,000 passengers, while Air France matched American Airlines with 11 safety incidents and showed the second-highest baggage complaint rate.
* The analysis examined four key metrics including passenger experience ratings, Skytrax evaluations, normalized complaint search volumes, and safety records, with higher scores indicating greater passenger dissatisfaction across major global carriers.
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LONDON — Flying commercial has never been a glamorous affair, but for passengers on American Airlines, the experience appears particularly rough. A new analysis identifying airlines with the worst customer satisfaction worldwide has placed the Dallas-based carrier at the top of the list, with passengers rating their experience a dismal 2.9 out of 10 and the airline recording 11 major safety and operational incidents.
The findings come as air travel frustrations reach new heights globally. Nearly one in four flights worldwide arrives late, and over 30 million bags disappear annually, creating a perfect storm of passenger dissatisfaction that many airlines seem unable or unwilling to address.
London-based Click Intelligence developed a “Dissatisfaction Index” by examining four key quality indicators: passenger experience ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, evaluations from airline reviewer Skytrax rated from 1 to 5 stars, normalized complaint search volumes, and safety records. Airlines received scores from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater passenger dissatisfaction.
American Airlines earned a dissatisfaction score of 56 out of 100 in the ranking, which examined major global carriers. Despite connecting travelers to 350 destinations worldwide and carrying 211 million passengers annually, the airline posted some of the lowest passenger experience ratings in the study. Its safety record added to passenger concerns, with 11 major failures marking the highest count among all carriers examined.
The study provides some bumpy air for American Airlines passengers. (Photo by Ross Sokolovski on Unsplash) Budget Carriers Dominate Complaints
Close behind American Airlines, budget carrier Frontier Airlines secured second place with a dissatisfaction index of 55. Transporting over 33 million passengers yearly across 105 destinations, Frontier managed the lowest passenger experience rating of any airline studied at just 2 out of 10. The airline also recorded five major incidents and received a mediocre three-star rating from airline reviewer Skytrax.
United Airlines claimed third place in customer dissatisfaction despite operating one of the most extensive networks among carriers analyzed. Moving 173.6 million passengers annually to 373 destinations, United still couldn’t satisfy its customers, earning only 3.3 out of 10 for passenger experience and three stars from Skytrax.
European and Asian Carriers Join the List
Air France landed in fourth position, distinguishing itself with 11 significant incidents related to safety and flight operations, matching American Airlines for the most recorded failures. The French flag carrier, serving 31.5 million passengers across 190 destinations, also struggled with baggage handling, showing the second-highest rate of online searches about lost luggage at 281 queries per 100,000 passengers.
Irish budget giant Ryanair rounded out the top five with a dissatisfaction index of 51. Despite transporting 184 million passengers annually to 234 destinations, the airline scored just 2.8 for passenger experience while receiving only three stars from Skytrax.
Other carriers making the unfortunate top 10 included AirAsia (sixth), Aeromexico (seventh), Scandinavian Airlines (eighth), Wizz Air (ninth), and British Airways (tenth). BA’s inclusion proved particularly noteworthy given its premium positioning. Flying 46 million passengers yearly across 200 destinations, the carrier managed only a 6 out of 10 passenger rating while recording 10 safety and operational accidents. British Airways also led all airlines in lost baggage complaints, with roughly 320 online searches per 100,000 passengers.
When Small Problems Become Big Grievances
According to James Owen, co-founder and director at Click Intelligence, airlines consistently ranking lowest share a troubling pattern in how they handle service failures.
“The airlines with the worst customer satisfaction share a common pattern: they treat service problems as isolated incidents rather than connected experiences that build up passenger frustration over time,” Owen said. “When an airline loses your bag, delays your flight, and then makes you wait on hold for hours, each problem makes the others feel worse, turning minor issues into major grievances.”
Owen added that passengers judge airlines not simply on whether problems occur, but on how carriers respond when they do. Airlines at the bottom of satisfaction rankings have failed to grasp this fundamental aspect of customer service, continuing to approach each complaint as a standalone issue rather than recognizing the cumulative effect of repeated failures on passenger trust and satisfaction.
Top 10 Airlines With Lowest Customer Satisfaction
1. American Airlines (Dissatisfaction Index: 56)
Passengers carried annually: 211 million
Passenger experience rating: 2.9 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 350
Accidents: 11
Search volume per 100K passengers: 152
2. Frontier Airlines (Dissatisfaction Index: 55)
Passengers carried annually: 33.3 million
Passenger experience rating: 2.0 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 105
Accidents: 5
Search volume per 100K passengers: 37
3. United Airlines (Dissatisfaction Index: 54)
Passengers carried annually: 173.6 million
Passenger experience rating: 3.3 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 373
Accidents: 0
Search volume per 100K passengers: 136
4. Air France (Dissatisfaction Index: 53)
Passengers carried annually: 31.5 million
Passenger experience rating: 5.0 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 190
Accidents: 11
Search volume per 100K passengers: 281
5. Ryanair (Dissatisfaction Index: 51)
Passengers carried annually: 184 million
Passenger experience rating: 2.8 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 234
Accidents: 0
Search volume per 100K passengers: 8
6. AirAsia (Dissatisfaction Index: 50)
Passengers carried annually: 34 million
Passenger experience rating: 2.8 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 130
Accidents: 1
Search volume per 100K passengers: 5
7. Aeromexico (Dissatisfaction Index: 49)
Passengers carried annually: 24.7 million
Passenger experience rating: 3.0 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 89
Accidents: 6
Search volume per 100K passengers: 8
8. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) (Dissatisfaction Index: 47)
Passengers carried annually: 23.7 million
Passenger experience rating: 3.4 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 150
Accidents: 3
Search volume per 100K passengers: 39
9. Wizz Air (Dissatisfaction Index: 45)
Passengers carried annually: 63.4 million
Passenger experience rating: 3.0 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 3 out of 5 stars Destinations: 134
Accidents: 0
Search volume per 100K passengers: 6
10. British Airways (Dissatisfaction Index: 43)
Passengers carried annually: 46 million
Passenger experience rating: 6.0 out of 10
Skytrax rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Destinations: 200
Accidents: 10
Search volume per 100K passengers: 319
Methodology
Click Intelligence developed an airline Dissatisfaction Index by analyzing four key quality indicators across major global airlines. Researchers examined passenger experience ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, evaluations from airline reviewer Skytrax rated from 1 to 5 stars, normalized complaint search volumes, and safety records documenting major accidents and operational failures. Airlines received scores from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater passenger dissatisfaction. The analysis included data on passengers carried annually, destinations served, and specific metrics related to customer complaints and safety incidents for each carrier studied.
Disclaimer:
This article is based on research conducted by Click Intelligence analyzing major global airlines. The Dissatisfaction Index scores and rankings reflect data collected on passenger experience ratings, Skytrax evaluations, normalized complaint search volumes, and safety records. Individual passenger experiences may vary. Airlines and their services are subject to change, and readers should conduct their own research when making travel decisions.
I am suprised to see american the worst.
They seem fine to me.
I used to fly British Airways all the time to London back in the 1990s. It was really good. In fact, I turned down the opportunity to fly first class on Virgin or American to fly business class on BA. I guess they’ve fallen a bit since then.
I would put Delta Airlines at the top of the list only because I have a fear of flying and when I have flown Delta there are noises coming from the bottom of the plane that, if it were a car, I would say the differential is about to go. Grinding sounds.
I was on the whole flight terrified.
Did not hear any noises like that on American Airlines.
I have lifetime Gold status on AA so we get some preferential treatment making it tolerable. I’ve used up over 500,000 frequent flier miles.
We just flew United Athens to Dulles to Houston and home, and were impressed. Decent food, good flight attendants, and on-time flights. It seemed like they are trying to improve every aspect of the customer experience. I’ll be looking into getting more United miles, although AA does have lower redemption rates.
We took two United flights to the UK in late August and returned on United in September. We were very happy with the airline from start to finish.
FTA: “Budget carriers Frontier and United...”
When did United become a “budget carrier”?
I used to always fly American also because unlike others I never had a problem with the airline.
I wish these types of stories would have specific examples so a person could judge the data itself. A good example is that Jeep has almost always had bad ratings, and recently they have deserved a lot of it.
Historically though when you looked at the complaints filed a huge amount of it was things like girls wanting the Barbie experience of driving the off road models through town while shopping then complaining that those aggressive tires made too much noise.
Its like reading that someone is complaining that they just discovered that a semi-tractor didnt get as high MPG as a Fiesta “even though they are both diesel” so they determine that semis are bad.
In the same way I have to wonder what it is that those dastardly “bad” airlines are doing to those people that they never did to me.
The airline business is probably the most complicated in the world. The logistics of flying millions of people all over the place on any given day is nothing short of miraculous. If people want to complain about the service airlines provide, they should just walk, run, bike, drive, or sail to their destination. 🙄
I loved it. Always on time, good customer service, good planes, lots of direct flights to everywhere from Philly, easy to redeem frequent flyer points, inexpensive.
Lots of people disagreed with my sentiment but I had zero complaints. Today, for me the comparison between US Airways and American Airlines is night and day.
I stopped reading right there. This bogus operation called "Click Intelligence" has been publishing a rash of nonsense over the last few days to get their name out there. It looks like a "pump and dump" scheme.
Airlines are practically monopolies in their hub cities. Good luck getting a flight in DFW that isn’t on American Airlines, or their partners.
Surprised to see Wizz Air in there: flown them several times, never had any issues.
I swear that when I can finally talk my wife into moving out of South Jersey, one factor on where we move will be proximity to a decent airport with lots of direct flights, at least while I am working still. Bonus points if it's not dominated by American Airlines.
I’ve heard that Emirates is the best airline.
I fly eccoṇome so I can’ speak to business or first classes but: American Airlines seems okay to me. The happiest I have been on US airlines is with Delta. The worst is United for anything lasting more than an hour. Economy passengers stand a good chance of losing their luggage and instead of getting it returned are apt to get a letter explaining that their legal department has determined that the airline is not liable so you don’t get compensated and you don’t get your luggage back. Economy passengers likely don’t have attorneys on retainer and that seems to drive the attitude. I encountered surly stews as in “sorry, you had water an hour ago.” They also have some severely overweight staff so if one of them is in the aisle one is NOT going to get past her.
“Budget airlines like ... United”
Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark, like back in the day when Temple and UMass were excellent and the A-10 still had West Virginia, Rutgers, Xavier, Virginia Tech, etc., and the A-10 would get described as a “mid-major,” a term usually used for conferences which could get a team, but usually only one, into the tournament on the strength of its record (as opposed to conferences which only ever saw the tournament because of the rule that one team in every conference gets an automatic berth).
I remember when taking a flight was a big deal. You wore you best clothes and your best manners. Seating was comfortable and meals came with the ticket served on real tableware instead of trays and then plastic. Kids were given a tour of the cockpit. There was no grantee that you’d get there so bought flight insurance. It was an adventure not a bus ride.
Southwest is working hard to gain a place on the list.
,,, Qatar Airways is legendary as well. Singapore Airlines and Swiss are two that I've found to be great. Once I took a flight from Orly to Milan with Vueling - low cost carrier - and had a thought that Greyhound Bus network should give the airline business a go.
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