Using US government data, researches pick top airlines

By The Associated Press

Posted Apr 4, 2016 01:23:50 PM.

Last Updated Apr 4, 2016 02:20:43 PM.

This article is more than 5 years old.

An aviation dean and a marketing professor ranked the largest 13 U.S. airlines after analyzing 2015 U.S. Department of Transportation figures for on-time flights, lost baggage, bumping passengers off flights, and complaint rates:

1. Virgin America (ranked 1 in 2014)

2. JetBlue (4)

3. Delta (3)

4. Hawaiian (2)

5. Alaska (5)

6. Southwest (6)

7. SkyWest (10)

8. United (9)

9. ExpressJet (11)

10. American (7)

11. Frontier (8)

12. Envoy Air (12)

13. Spirit (n/a)

Source: “Airline Quality Report” by Dean Headley, a marketing professor at Wichita State University, and Brent Bowen, dean of the aviation school at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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