Admit it, you’re tired of the self-serving “best of” polls that are published around this time of year. You want to know about the companies to avoid. Specifically, you want to know which airlines to stay away from.
A few weeks ago, my friends over at TripAdvisor sent me the raw data from their Fall Travel Survey, and I’ve taken the liberty of doing a little number-crunching.
So here, without further delay, are the worst domestic airlines, according to a survey of more than 6,000 travelers:
1. US Airways (407 votes) *
2. United Airlines (307 votes)
3. Delta Air Lines (305 votes)
4. Northwest Airlines (279 votes)
5. Southwest Airlines (276 votes)
6. American Airlines (229 votes)
7. Continental Airlines (191 votes)
(* includes America West)
Note: these numbers are for North American survey participants only. Another version, which includes the U.K. results, was published in a London newspaper and found — no surprise here — that Ryanair was the worst airline. Since Ryanair doesn’t serve any U.S. routes, I thought it would be best to filter those results out of this list.
I’m not going to comment on these numbers (I’ll leave that to my other blogging colleagues) except to say that it’s more than a little ironic that the airline with the lowest popularity rating is contemplating a merger with the third-most detested carrier. Great minds think alike.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

Elliott is consumer advocate
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