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Travel + Leisure

These U.S. Airlines Just Ranked Highest (and Lowest) in Customer Satisfaction for 2025

A new survey has ranked Southwest Airlines No. 1 for passenger satisfaction in economy or basic economy class. Delta Air Lines was ranked highest in satisfaction within the premium economy fare class. The findings were published in a recent report that surveyed over 10,000 airline passengers. Airline passengers have spoken, and they've named the airlines that provide the highest customer satisfaction ahead of the busy summer travel season. JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest each ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction in the recently released J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. Southwest Airlines maintained its top ranking in the economy category for the fourth year in a row. That could change in the future as the survey did not account for Southwest's controversial decision to end its free checked bags policy, which led to some passengers expressing disappointment with the carrier on social media. Following Southwest, JetBlue and Delta also ranked highly for their economy or basic economy offerings, rounding out the top three. On the opposite end in the economy category, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, WestJet, Air Canada, and American Airlines ranked in the bottom five. For passengers in premium cabins, JetBlue ranked as the highest in the first or business class category, followed by Delta and Alaska. In premium economy, the No. 1 spot was award to Delta's Comfort+, which offers free wine, beer, premium snacks, and extra legroom. JetBlue and Alaska also ranked in the top three for premium economy. The study was based on responses from over 10,000 airline passengers who had flown with one of the airlines within the last month of participating in the survey. Responses were collected between March 2024 and March 2025, and the survey has a rating scale to measure various metrics such as staff, level of trust, and the value of their experience. 'Throughout our one-year study period, we've seen a slight decline in both ticket prices and passenger volume, which has helped keep overall passenger satisfaction levels high,' Michael Taylor, J.D. Power's senior managing director, said in a statement to Travel + Leisure. 'Airlines will likely have a tougher year this year, economically, but the key to their longer-term success will be how well they manage economic headwinds without compromising on customer experience.' The survey revealed that fewer than 10 percent of passengers surveyed actually had a problem with their flight, however those who did reported flight delays as the number one issue.