Best and Worst U.S. Airlines of 2013

Think all U.S. airlines are basically created equal when purchasing a flight? Think again. Annually, the Airline Quality Rankings Report looks at the 14 largest U.S. airlines, evaluating everything from passenger complaints to lost baggage based on U.S. Department of Transportation figures of 2012.

Next time you’re booking a flight, here’s the Airline Quality Report for best & worst airlines by category:

Arriving on Time

BEST: Hawaiian Airlines (93.4% flights arrived on time)

WORST: ExpressJet and American Airlines (76.9% arrived on time)

Baggage Handling

BEST: Virgin America (0.87 misplaced bags per 1,000 passengers)

WORST: American Eagle (5.80 mishandled bags per 1,000)

Denied Boarding/Overbooking

BEST: JetBlue (.01 per 10,000 passengers)

WORST: SkyWest (2.32 per 10,000)

Consumer Complaints

BEST: Southwest (0.25 per 100,000 passengers)

WORST: United (4.24 per 100,000)

And all though U.S. airlines in general received more passenger complaints (increase by one-fifth from last year’s airline report) about crowded flights, tight seats, costly tickets and unsatisfactory service, there is a glimmer of hope.

According to the Airline Quality Report, in 2012, eight airlines improved their on-time arrival performance in 2012. Nine of the 14 rated had an on-time arrival percentage of more than 80%.