This U.S. Airline Has the Most Delays and Cancellations, Study Shows

And how to pick the best flight to avoid any disruptions.

There’s nothing more annoying than waiting at the airport for a delayed flight, and that’s more likely to happen with some airlines than others.

In the United States, Frontier Airlines had the most delayed flights with more than 30.7 percent of all its flights facing some sort of hold up last year, according to a new study from NerdWallet shared with Travel + Leisure. That was followed by JetBlue, which saw 30.4 percent of flights delayed, and Spirit Airlines, which saw more than 28.5 percent of flights delayed during the same time period.

The same held true for cancellations with Frontier canceling 2.13 percent of all flights — the most in the country. JetBlue canceled the second most with 2.1 percent, followed by Spirit Airlines with 1.7 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time percentage of major U.S. carriers with just over 82.6 percent of all flights leaving when they were supposed to. The airline had a delay rate of just over 16.1 percent and a cancellation rate of just 1.02 percent.

Alaska Airlines had the lowest cancellation rate in the country with just 0.81 percent of flights not taking off.

“While flight delays and cancellations are frustrating, there are some tactics you can employ though to improve your odds of an on-time arrival,” Sally French, one of the writers of the study, said in a statement shared with T+L. “The single best thing you can do to lower your chances of delay or cancellation is to book the earliest flight in the day. That’s because the most common cause of delays in 2023 was simply that the aircraft arrived late from its previous destination.”

To avoid delays ruining a trip, NerdWallet also recommended travelers book an airline with multiple flights each day and opt for direct flights when possible since that eliminates the need to worry about missed connections.

Travelers can also find out if their flight is likely to be delayed before they leave for the airport, making the travel snag a bit less frustrating. And to help pack your patience, try packing the right essentials to make delays more comfortable.

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