Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines is one of the most complained-about airlines flying today. In an effort to be come what it calls an “ultra low cost” carrier, it has cut back or eliminated many of the customer service considerations that air travelers take for granted. Put differently, you should take nothing for granted when you fly Spirit.
Virgin America
Virgin America is the newest, and perhaps the most promising, airline startup in years. Its fares are low (for now, at least) and in-flight entertainment offerings are impressive, from onboard instant messaging to first-class seats that deliver massages.
Princess
Even though Princess is owned by Carnival Corporation, it deserves its own file because of the high volume of complaints that I receive about it. Those included (but aren’t limited to) service failures, problems with onboard amenities and boarding denials because of passport or visa issues.
Skybus Airlines
Skybus is too new to have a reputation, but the early signs are not promising. It won’t allow customers to contact it by phone. It also has “rules” about flying, such as “Hungry? Thirsty? Bring cash,” and “Don’t be late. We won’t wait,” that seem indifferent at best and at worst, customer-hostile.
British Airways
British Airways is the first foreign carrier to get its file, and for good reason. I’ve received an unusually large number of queries about lost luggage, delays in processing lost-luggage claims, and fees relating to overweight luggage. Most of the complaints involve frustrations with its automated system that processes consumer inquiries in North America.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines used to have a less-than-stellar reputation for customer service. But thanks to a shift in management attitudes (and encouraged, perhaps, but its huge financial losses) Delta now seems much closer to “getting it.”
United Airlines
United Airlines has emerged from bankruptcy protection as a different airline. Smaller, more efficient - and when it comes to customer service, somewhat better.
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines does things strictly by the book. Which has its pros and cons (but mostly, cons). The upside: if Northwest doesn’t follow its own rules, you will probably get what you are asking for.
American Airlines
American Airlines is a solid, middle-of-the-road airline when it comes to customer service. Which is to say, there is no abundance of horror stories coming from American.
US Airways
This isn’t the same US Airways you might remember from a few years ago. You know, the one that was in and out of bankruptcy, with chronic customer service complaints. At least it’s not supposed to be.
Continental Airlines
Even though Continental Airlines is credited with coining the onerous “no waivers, no favors” rule, it is, oddly, among the better carriers when it comes to customer service.
Southwest Airlines
OK, so Southwest doesn’t accept customer feedback by email. So what? There’s not much to write about, because Southwest is consistently among the least-complained about carriers in the United States.
Travelocity
Travelocity has come a long way in a short amount of time. Not so long ago, I was inundated by service complaints (some the result of communication issues between outsourced agents for whom English wasn’t a first language, but others the result of apparent negligence). After adopting a service guarantee recently, however, the agency has made a remarkable turnaround.
Expedia
Expedia is not just one online agency. Its parent company, Expedia Inc., owns several other brands, including Hotels.com, Hotwire.com and TripAdvisor. It is difficult to generalize about the service that customers do (or do not) receive from Expedia.
Orbitz
Of the three major online agencies, Orbitz has a well-established reputation for making the most of the latest technologies. But until recently, it hardly applied those innovations where they were most needed: in the customer service department.