Few things can mess up your holiday as dealing with delayed flight. Sitting around in an airport waiting for your plane to finally depart is certainly not a great way to jumpstart a holiday. With the winter holidays just around the corner, which represent the busiest season for air travelling, plane delays and cancellations are more common than ever.
But not all airlines fare as good (or as badly) when it comes to delaying flights. Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 5 worst airlines for holiday travelling. The airlines were ranked according to their percentage of delayed flights, based on the statistics issued by Forbes Magazine earlier this year. The rate takes into account the average percentage of delayed flights the airlines have registered over the past three years, during winter holiday season. The winter holiday rate was chosen as this tends to be the busiest time of the year for airline companies.
Preparing to fly out this winter season? Check the list below for airlines notorious for delaying flights.
Note: only airlines operating in the US were taken into account for the purposes of this countdown.
No. 5: American Eagle
American Eagle is a regional carrier operating a multitude of both short and long flights throughout the US. But if you are planning to book a flight with them this holiday season, you should know that the company has a 18.39% rate of delayed flights during Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
No. 4: American Airlines
Pending the imminent merger with US Airways, American Airlines is one the worst faring airlines in the country, with a percentage of delayed flights during winter holiday season of 19.5%. Hopefully, the company’s performance will improve once it joins forces with US Airways, which ranks as one the country’s best airlines in terms of delayed flights.
No. 3: Frontier Airlines
Admittedly, Frontier Airlines’ headquarters in Denver make the company’s job somewhat hard when it comes to keeping with flight schedule during the cold weather. But this does little to soothe the nerves of passengers who happen to be seated on one of the company’s 19.8% delayed flights.
No. 2: Express Jet
Despite its name, Express Jet is one of the least performing companies when it comes to promptness. A whopping 20.5% of all Express Jet flights arrive or depart late during winter holiday season. Express Jet acts as a carrier to several other airlines, such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
No. 1: JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU)
Although one of the most popular commercial airlines amongst US travelers, JetBlue Airways ranks as this year’s worst company you could be flying during the holidays. Well, that is if you are keen on being on time. Almost a quarter of all JetBlue flights (22.02%) are delayed during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. On the plus side, flights with JetBlue are rarely cancelled, which means that you will at least make it to your destination.
