Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines were the major airlines most likely to suffer flight delays during the past 10 winter holiday seasons, according to an analysis of Bureau of Transportation statistics conducted by travel company Upgraded Points.
Compiling data across the 10 largest U.S. airlines from the last 10 years, Upgraded Points found 31.9 percent of Frontier Airlines departures and 31.8 percent of Southwest Airlines departures were delayed during the period from December 14 to January 5.
“When it comes to departures, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines top the list as the 2 airlines most susceptible to holiday flight delay,” Upgraded Points said in its report. “It’s worth noting that Southwest Airlines faced a considerable challenge last year with 16,700 flight cancellations, impacting the travel plans of 2 million passengers.”
Looking at arrivals, Frontier and JetBlue — which also had 30.8 percent of its holiday departures delayed — were the airlines most susceptible to holiday delays.
The two airlines least prone to holiday flight delays, both on departures and arrivals, were Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines. Delta had 19.1 percent of its departures delayed, and Hawaiian has had the lowest rate of departures delayed, 15.6 percent, over the last decade.
Millions of people are expected to travel to airports over the Thanksgiving break, potentially setting records for the busiest travel season ever. Travel last year saw a return to pre-pandemic levels but also left thousands of travelers disgruntled and stranded during the holidays due to weather and staffing issues.
According to the data, the El Paso International Airport sees the most departures delayed, and the Chicago Midway Airport has the most arrivals delayed.
The report found the cause of most delays during last year’s holiday season were the airlines, late-arriving planes and delays within the national aviation system.
“If you’re planning on traveling this holiday season, it might be wise to brace yourself for potential delays along the way,” UP said.