U.S. Airlines Ranked by Negative Twitter Mentions

Rhode Island, RI, 2022-Oct-13 — /Travel PR News/ —Understaffing, technical problems, extreme weather, and soaring demand for travel have all pushed airlines to the limits this year. The Department of Transport revealed U.S. airlines have almost doubled the percentage of canceled flights (3%) in the first half of this year, compared to last year’s period (1.58%).

And research shows three negative reviews can drive away customers by almost 60 percent.

So, with 486 million active users, Twitter has become an extensive platform for engaged consumers to announce both praise and complaints in equal measure.

Considering this, travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip analyzed nearly 4,000 tweets over a two-week period* – using a unique sentiment analysis tool – to discover which of the nine largest U.S. airlines received the most positive and negative mentions across an industry still struggling to cope with the effects of a global pandemic.

Airline % Of positive mentions % Change positive from 2021 % Of negative mentions % Change negative from 2021
Frontier Airlines 13 -11 61 3
American Airlines 19 -8 59 7
Spirit Airlines 14 -7 59 0
Delta Airlines 17 -13 52 7
JetBlue Airways 14 -11 52 0
Alaska Airlines 29 -14 51 20
Southwest Airlines 18 -14 49 4
Hawaiian Air 23 -13 43 9
United Airlines 26 -6 37 -5

For the second year running, Frontier Airlines has the highest proportions of poor reviews, with more than 60 percent of its Twitter mentions containing a negative sentiment. 50 percent of negative keywords in Frontier’s mentions are due to ‘delays’, ‘cancellations’, or ‘money’ issues.

Percentage of keywords mentioned in negative tweets
Airline Delay %

 

Cancel % Luggage %  Customer Service % Flight Attendant % Money %
American Airlines 11 4 2 7 4 8
Delta Air Lines 6 5 6 3 3 10
United Airlines 5 5 1 2 6 5
Southwest Airlines 11 3 7 4 6 8
JetBlue Airways 11 11 1 6 5 7
Spirit Airlines 10 5 5 9 2 14
Alaska Airlines 5 5 5 7 5 3
Frontier Airlines 14 16 1 6 2 20
HawaiianAir 3 7 4 3 1 5

This may not come as a total surprise, since it was revealed the airline canceled more than 3.2 percent of its flights within a week of the departure date and 35.5 percent of its flights were delayed in the first half of this year.

American Airlines and Spirit Airlines follow closely with 59 percent of negative mentions. American received the second highest number of complaints about ‘delay’s’ (11%) and ‘customer service’ (7%) compared to any other airline analyzed.

The summer season has not been a good one for American Airlines. The airline was exposed as the worst performer for mishandled bags, with 11.3 per 1,000 lost, damaged or delayed this summer alone.

Spirit Airlines received the highest negative tweet score for ‘customer service’ (9%) and the second highest tweet score for ‘money’ (14%).

Delta Airlines and JetBlue Airlines complete the top five worst performing airlines for negative tweets with 52 percent respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum, Alaska Airlines tops the list for the second year running with 29 percent of its Twitter mentions considered positive. When analyzing the sentiments, ‘money’ and ‘delays’ are the words with the best scores.

United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines follow closely with 26 and 23 percent positive mentions, respectively.  Hawaiian Airlines is featured in the top 20 best airlines around the world, ranking 17th overall.

This year ‘money’, ‘delay’ and ‘cancellation’ are the most tweeted negative keywords with Frontier Airlines receiving the highest negative percentages for all three (20%, 14% and 16%).

Marketing Director, Sarah Webber, at InsureMyTrip, commented:

“Issues at the airport dominated the news this summer, so this study can be an important one for those planning on traveling this fall and winter.  The hope is this study will help travelers choose the right airline for them – knowing in advance what they may be getting themselves into.”

To view the full study, click here