These U.S. Airlines Were The Worst For Mishandled Luggage Amid Travel Chaos

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Air journey has been a big supply of frustration for these trying to get away after years of restrictions stored them at house. Delays, cancellations, and misplaced baggage have plagued vacationers this summer season and can doubtless proceed into the autumn.

Knowing which airline to fly with, which airports to fly from, and tips for navigating the chaos might assist vacationers get via unscathed. But what about their luggage? Recent data from The Department of Transportation (DOT) make clear which U.S. airways have been the worst for mishandling baggage amid this yr’s journey chaos.

Major airways thought-about have been; American Airlines Network, Alaska Airlines Network, Allegiant Air, Delta Airlines Network, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Jetblue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines Network. “Networks” embrace the operator’s self-branded planes and its branded codeshare companions. (For instance, Envoy Air, or American Eagle, is a branded codeshare companion of American Airlines.)

2019 Vs. 2022: Surprising Results

To get an thought of how dangerous 2022 has been, we’ll evaluate it to the final pre-pandemic yr’s knowledge, 2019. This yr noticed a large improve in journey demand because the world reopened its borders after years of restrictions. Unfortunately, the aviation trade as a complete is wildly understaffed in comparison with earlier than the pandemic. This led to the chaos all of us witnessed this summer season.

Surprisingly, a number of airways carried out higher this yr than they did within the pre-pandemic yr of 2019. Allegiant, Hawaiian, Frontier, and United all carried out higher this June than they did throughout the identical interval in 2019. This is predicated on mishandled luggage per 1,000 luggage enplaned. American, JetBlue, Delta, Spirit, and Southwest carried out worse this June than in June 2019.

Top 6 Worst Performers For June 2022

1. American Airlines – 11.3 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 108,095 Total Bags Mishandled
2. JetBlue Airways  – 7.5 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 9,672 Total Bags Mishandled
3. United Airlines – 6.9 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 42,689 Total Bags Mishandled
4. Delta Airlines – 5.6 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 47,502 Total Bags Mishandled
5. Spirit Airlines – 5.6 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 6,737 Total Bags Mishandled
6. Southwest Airlines – 5.5 Bags Per 1,000 Mishandled & 62,337 Total Bags Mishandled

Another shocking results of this comparability is how shut the charges have been between June 2019 and 2022. Of the airways that carried out worse in 2022, a number of have been very near their 2019 metrics. With the headlines virtually screaming about misplaced baggage this summer season, it’s shocking that the charges have been practically the identical for a lot of main airways. At first look, this doesn’t appear so as to add up. However, whenever you dig into the totals for mishandled luggage, it turns into extra obvious.

Mishandled Luggage Totals – Why Was This Year Worse?

In complete, June 2022 was solely about 3.9% worse than June 2019 relating to mishandled baggage. So what was all of the fuss about this summer season? Less than 4% might not sound like a lot, however that equates to an extra 10,655 mishandled luggage for June 2022. Again, 10,655 might not sound like a big quantity in comparison with 283,713 items of mishandled baggage. However, the extra 1000’s of individuals affected this yr by the rise in all probability really feel in another way.

Another issue to think about when evaluating June 2022 to 2019 is the definition of mishandled baggage per the Department of Transportation; “The number of mishandled bags displayed in these tables represents the number of check bags that are lost, damaged, delayed, and pilfered, as reported by or on behalf of the passenger, that were in the airline’s custody for its reportable domestic nonstop scheduled passenger flights.”

Considering this, we will see just a few causes for this yr’s vital improve in chaos and unfavorable sentiment resulting from a comparatively small improve in mishandled baggage. While the full variety of mishandled luggage is probably not overwhelmingly giant, this metric doesn’t contemplate how lengthy vacationers are ready for his or her baggage to show up. Piles of misplaced baggage, baggage turning up in dumpsters, and baggage ending up in cities that the house owners have never been to have all been reported occurrences this summer season.

The aftermath of misplaced baggage is far worse this yr than in 2019. Thus, creating a large distinction within the notion of the issue. Even although the precise numbers haven’t elevated exponentially, the problems vacationers face resulting from misplaced baggage are worse than in 2019. If there was ever a yr to avoid checking a bag, it’s this one. If vacationers should verify a bag, they need to minimize the probabilities it should make it onto the DOT’s subsequent report. As the summer season season involves an finish, we will all hope that the aviation trade will enhance the journey expertise because it continues to recuperate from the pandemic.

This article initially appeared on Travel Off Path. For the newest breaking information that can have an effect on your subsequent journey, please go to: Traveloffpath.com

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