Air Canada has yet again landed low on a ranking of North American airlines, with passengers apparently not too happy with the company’s operations compared to its competitors.
In the new survey released on Wednesday, Air Canada placed ninth out of 11 brands — not great for the nation’s biggest airline, which offers some 1,600 flights daily.
“There are many aspects to the overall air travel experience that airlines cannot control, but one area in which they can profoundly influence is the positive effect that staff has on passengers,” reads the preface to the J.D. Power 2024 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, which examined the satisfaction levels of recent leisure and business customers in different classes.
It asked nearly 10,000 participants to score major carriers on things like ease of travel, onboard experience (as well as pre/post-flight experience), value for the price paid, level of trust, and more.
And, while a few American firms came out on top, their Canadian competitors — particularly Air Canada — did not.
Air Canada ranked poorer than many might expect from the nation’s biggest airline. Charts from J.D. Power’s latest North America Airline Satisfaction Study.
For economy and basic economy consumers, Southwest Airlines took the top spot, with a score of 685 out of a potential perfect 1,000. Next was Delta with a score of 651, Allegiant Air with 633, Alaska Airlines with 630, and JetBlue with 630.
Westjet came in seventh — below the segment average of 613 — with 591 points, while Air Canada ranked ninth, with 542. It came only above notoriously awful budget brand Spirit (507) and Frontier Airlines (472).
Among those who paid a little extra for premium economy seats, the best carrier was voted to be Delta with 716 points, followed by Alaska Airlines with 687, American Airlines with 684, JetBlue with 667, and WestJet with 664.
Air Canada landed in seventh out of seven, with a score of 628.
Finally, the results from business and first-class passengers were in. They also chose Delta as the best, with a score of 743. Second was JetBlue, with a score of 736, United Airlines, with 698, Alaska Airlines, with 695, and American Airlines, with 676.
Air Canada again ranked last out of all competitors, with a score of 629 — far from the segment average of 701 for the best of the best experience available.
J.D. Power’s findings indicated that passengers simply want their flight experience to be easy and to get there safely. It also noted that carriers’ investments in their staff and the “people side of their business” tend to see the best results in the survey—some advice Air Canada can hopefully heed.