Air Canada may have been ranked North America's best airline for the fourth year running but it has also received a significant number of complaints from frustrated customers.
A new study finds that Canada's largest airline ranks among the top 10 carriers in the world for the total number of complaints received over a year period.
Compare the Market, a U.K.-based price comparison company, based their ranking of unreliable airlines on the number of complaints each carrier received versus how many of these were rectified. The study also factored in the cause of the complaints, including things like lost luggage, flight cancellations, flight delays, and more.
American Airlines was ranked the most "unreliable airline," with a total of 2,183 flight problems and a staggering 6,491 reported complaints. The report's authors note that it is the largest airline in the world, so it isn't surprising that it has received the highest number of complaints. The airline has the worst record across all factors aside from lost and delayed baggage; it also issued 1,476 refunds for problems.
Following American Airlines was another U.S. airline, United Airlines, in second. The Chicago-based carrier received 5,135 complaints with the most reported incidents regarding baggage, with 763 reports.
Another three American airlines ranked the third, fourth, and fifth-worst of the bunch: Budget airlines Spirit, JetBlue, and Frontier Airlines. Each of them had over 2,500 complaints apiece.
Air Canada lost baggage claims make up the majority of reported complaints
While U.S. carriers dominated the top 10, German airline Lufthansa ranked eighth overall, with 1,796 customer complaints over a 12-month period. Air India followed in ninth with 1,661 reported complaints.
Air Canada received 1,293 complaints, with most of them concerning delayed and lost baggage.
