Their service ratings are taking off.
According to JD Power’s 2025 North American Airline Satisfaction Study, overall passenger satisfaction is up six points from 2024 — and three airlines reigned supreme.
Airline passengers have revealed that JetBlue, Delta Air Lines and Southwest provide the highest customer satisfaction rate.
The study analyzed seven core elements: airline staff, digital tools, ease of travel, level of trust, on-board experience, pre/post-flight experience and value for price paid. It also measured satisfaction rates in three different segments: first/business, premium economy, and economy/basic economy.
Looking at these aspects, JetBlue ranked the highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment, while Delta came in second and Alaska Airlines in third.
In premium economy, Delta takes the top spot for a third consecutive year with Delta’s Comfort+, which offers flyers extra leg room as well as free wine, beer and premium snacks. JetBlue ranked second and Alaska ranked third.
Southwest Airlines has the highest customer satisfaction rate in the economy/basic economy category for the fourth consecutive year. In second place for this segment was JetBlue and in third, Delta.
However, Southwest’s top spot could be in jeopardy, considering the survey didn’t account for the airline’s highly controversial decision to end the free checked bag policy, which was met with fiery backlash from loyal customers.
On the other side, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, WestJet, Air Canada and American Airlines ranked in the bottom five for the economy/basic economy category.
“Throughout our one-year study period, we’ve seen a slight decline in both ticket prices and passenger volume, which has helped keep overall passenger satisfaction levels high,” Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service at J.D. Power, said in a statement.
“But it’s clear that market dynamics are changing and will likely affect passenger experience in the coming weeks and months. Airlines will likely have a tougher year this year, economically, but the key to their longer-term success will be how well they manage economic headwinds without compromising on customer experience.”
The survey was based on responses from 10,224 passengers who had flown on one of the airlines within the last month of participating in the survey, with responses collected from March 2024 through March 2025.
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