Airlines Mishandled 2.8 Million Bags In 2023, These Were The Worst Offenders
It would be easy to presume that airlines would spare no expense to ensure that passengers’ luggage meets them at their destination, considering how lucrative the attached fees are. Airlines globally made more than $29 billion in checked bag fees in 2022. However, frequent flyers are well aware that bags can be lost or damaged while in a carrier’s custody.
The numbers are quite staggering. Every U.S. airline with more than 0.5 percent of total domestic revenue is requested to report its statistics monthly to the Department of Transportation. From that data, 2,801,968 bags were reported mishandled in 2023. Mishandled is a catch-all synonym for lost, damaged, delayed, and/or pilfered.
The USDOT uses the number of bags mishandled per 100 bags enplaned as the measure to compare airlines fairly. I’ll use the initialism ‘BMPH’ to avoid constantly using ‘bags mishandled per hundred.’ For example, 0.58 BMPH is the national average with 485,919,932 bags being enplaned in 2023. Here’s how the figures break down on an airline-by-airline basis:
10. Allegiant Air - 0.19 BMPH
Allegiant Air proved to be the most competent airline in getting bags to their destination last year. The Nevada-based carrier mishandled only 10,590 bags in 2023. However, the lower rate might be down to the airlines’ smaller size.
9. Southwest Airlines - 0.45 BMPH
Southwest Airlines spent most of 2023 answering for its holiday season meltdown in December 2022. The low-cost carrier ranked ninth after ranking fifth worst in 2022. Did Southwest improve on its own, or did the record $140 million fine and Congressional inquiry serve as encouragement?
8. Delta Air Lines - 0.47 BMPH
Delta Air Lines remained a solid eighth place in the rankings. It’s clear that the Atlanta-based airline is willing to put the effort in after it flew a plane filled with nothing but lost luggage across the Atlantic Ocean in 2022.
7. Hawaiian Airlines - 0.49 BMPH
Hawaiian Airlines slipped into seventh place in 2023 after finishing in ninth place the previous year. This will likely be the final year that Hawaiian appears on this list, as Alaska Air Group purchased the carrier for $1.9 billion in December 2023.
6. Frontier Airlines - 0.51 BMPH
Frontier Airlines was the first carrier to surpass 0.5 BMPH in 2023. The low-cost airline seems desperate to attract customers, offering an unlimited flight pass and holding a 5 million frequent flyer mile lottery. Mishandling bags isn’t going to help.
5. JetBlue Airlines - 0.52 BMPH
JetBlue opens the worst five airlines on this list. At the moment, the New York-based carrier is attempting to correct its financial tailspin after its blocked $3.8 billion merger with Spirit. JetBlue even introduced surge pricing for checked bags.
4. Spirit Airlines - 0.53 BMPH
Spirit Airlines didn’t fare much better than JetBlue in 2023. Its organizational woes stretched beyond mishandling bags as a technical issue impacting the Spirit website and mobile app delayed 90 percent of its flights on a single day last August.
3. Alaska Airlines - 0.57 BMPH
Alaska Airlines might still be reeling from a 737 Max 9 door plug blowout caused by quality control issues at Boeing, but things weren’t spotless at the Seattle-based carrier in 2023. Let’s not forget the sleep-deprived off-duty pilot who tried to shut off a plane’s engines during a flight.
2. United Airlines - 0.73 BMPH
I’m not surprised to see United Airlines here. CEO Scott Kirby blamed the FAA for his airlines’ cancellations and simply promised to keep passengers safe in the wake of multiple high-profile mechanical failures, mainly with Boeing 777 aircraft. The string of incidents happened a year after United was caught allegedly skipping pre-flight checks on over 100,000 Boeing 777 flights.
1. American Airlines - 0.76 BMPH
American Airlines rightfully deserves the worst spot in the rankings. The Fort Worth-based carrier mishandled 800,198 bags in 2023, 28.5 percent of the national total. American’s employees can’t even remember where they put unaccompanied minors.
Things Are Getting Better
Okay, the DOT’s statistics do contain some good news. The national average of 0.58 BMPH mentioned earlier is an improvement over 2022’s average of 0.64 BMPH. In raw numbers, over 185,000 fewer bags were mishandled. Good things happen when regulators hold airlines accountable for how they treat their passengers.
