By Each year, a statistical analysis of the major airlines operating in the United States is released based on customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation. Four areas are included in the report: on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage, and customer complaints.
Regardless of what you might have heard about the reputation of a particular airline by word-of-mouth, these statistics allow you to compare across airlines and over time. The past year saw improvements for the airline industry as a whole, with the overall quality rating score improving to a level not seen in the 27 years that the Airline Quality Rating report has been published.
Statistics are one thing, but how does this pertain to you and your travel plans? One word: luggage.
In 2017, the overall industry rate was 2.46 bags mishandled per 1,000 passengers. While this rate is lower than in 2016, it still represents a large number of mishandled bags. What does “mishandled” mean? Typically, this refers to when a bag was delayed, damaged or even lost permanently. This is why we recommend travel insurance for all your trips with flights.
With a comprehensive policy, you can be reimbursed for items you have to purchase as a result of a delayed bag provided the delay meets the terms of the policy. If a bag is lost entirely or damaged, a comprehensive travel insurance plan would provide coverage secondary to what the airline may provide for compensation. Having travel insurance can help you travel worry-free, even if your bag doesn’t appear on the carousel.
You can view the complete report at https://airlinequalityrating.com/
