For all the talk by airline executives of premium demand remaining strong despite a nascent softness in overall demand, it turns out passengers are slightly less satisfied with upper tiers compared with economy tiers for North American carriers, according to the J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday.
The 700-point average for the first/business tier was down one point on a 1,000-point scale from 2024 results. Premium economy's average dropped seven points to 668. Only average satisfaction with the economy/basic economy tier improved, with a nine-point increase to 621.
Still, the overall satisfaction average increased six points from a year prior, according to J.D. Power, driven by the increased economy/basic economy segment, which represents a majority of airline passengers.
"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," J.D. Power senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service Michael Taylor 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 time 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 J.D. Power report measures passenger satisfaction with North American carriers in seven core elements, in alphabetical order: airline staff, digital tools, ease of travel, level of trust, on-board experience, pre/post-flight experience and value for price paid on a poor-to-perfect ascending six-point rating scale for each of the three cabin segments.
The 2025 study is based on responses from 10,224 passengers who flew on a major North American airline within the past month of completing the survey. The study was fielded from March 2024 through March 2025.
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JetBlue (738) was back on top of the rankings for the first/business tier, swapping rankings once again with Delta Air Lines (724), which was second, while Alaska Airlines (709) landed in third. The tier's average fell mostly because of declines for Delta and United Airlines, each with 19-point dips, while JetBlue and the carriers below last year's averages improved. The airline that made up the most ground was Air Canada, which moved from last place to fifth with a 57-point increase to 686.
Delta retained its first-place position for premium economy for the third year in a row with an average score of 717, up one point from 2024. While three carriers in this category saw year-over-year average increases—JetBlue soared 32 points, which landed it in second, up from fourth last year—the declines from three carriers brought down the average. WestJet's score dropped 50 points to 614; American Airlines declined 34 points to 650; and Air Canada fell 12 points to 616.
Southwest not only held onto its first-place ranking for the economy/basic economy tier for a fourth straight year, its average score increased nine points from 2024 to 694. JetBlue, in second, improved by 33 points to land in second, up from fifth. WestJet fell 54 points to 537, finishing in ninth place compared with sixth last year, while Frontier remained in last place despite improving its average 48 points to 520.
Other findings from the study include a nine-point increase in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment for positive passenger experiences with airline staff. Fewer than 10 percent of passengers experienced problems, but those who did cited flight delays as the most common challenge.
The study also found that passenger experience is directly linked to brand loyalty. Among passengers who described their overall air travel experience as "perfect," 81 percent said they "definitely will" fly that airline again, according to J.D. Power. That level of brand loyalty falls to 4 percent among passengers who describe their experience as "poor."
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