Customer satisfaction with North American air carriers has increased in each of the three segments surveyed by JD Power's 2026 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday.
Satisfaction in the First/Business Class segment increased 17 points year over year on a 1,000-point scale to an average of 717. For Premium Economy, the satisfaction score gained 14 points to 682, while the Economy/Basic Economy score increased six points to 627.
The overall satisfaction score rose eight points in the 2026 study after gaining six points in 2025—despite heavy flight delays and cancellations during the survey period, as well as crowded airports and rising ticket prices and baggage fees, according to JD Power.
"Despite many challenges, the airlines returned to basics of passenger communication, friendly service and providing slightly better value for money compared to past years," JD Power senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service Michael Taylor said in a statement.
"The big question now is how long that can continue," he added. "With airfare prices for some routes tripling over the past few weeks and baggage fees increasing to cover rising fuel costs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for airlines to continue to drive the high levels of customer satisfaction in the year's study."
The JD 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 an ascending six-point rating scale, with one indicating "poor" and six indicating "perfect," for each of the three cabin segments.
The 2026 study is based on responses from 10,914 passengers who flew on a major North American airline no more than a month before completing the survey. The study was fielded from March 2025 through March 2026.
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The improved overall satisfaction was driven by strong scores for the on-board experience, the day-of-travel pre-boarding and post-flight experiences, and the perception of value for price paid, according to JD Power, "underscoring how airline efforts to deliver on the basics of customer service and clear communication have succeeded in mitigating many of the frustrations travelers have encountered as a result of travel delays and rising costs."
JetBlue led the First/Business segment for the second straight year with a score of 759—21 points higher than in 2025. But the gap is beginning to close between the New York-based carrier and Delta Air Lines, which again was second in this segment at 750. Delta's score increased 26 points year over year. Alaska again was in third at 720, 11 points higher than a year prior. American Airlines was the only carrier whose score declined for this category, dropping 14 points to 684.
For Premium Economy, Delta led for the fourth consecutive year with a score of 736, 19 points higher than in 2025, followed by Alaska at 720, which vaulted from third place last year. JetBlue dropped from second to third at 701. Scores for each of the carriers in this category improved from last year, with WestJet increasing the most—27 points.
Scores tightened up for the Economy/Basic Economy segment. Southwest Airlines led the category for a fifth consecutive year with a score of 670, but that is 24 points lower than its 2025 score. Since the prior survey, Southwest has added baggage fees and assigned seating. Delta, however, lagged by just three points, improving from last year's third place with a five-point increase.
JetBlue slipped from second to third with a score of 655, seven points below its 2025 score. Allegiant Air was the only other carrier in this segment to lose points from 2025, dropping six to a score of 630. Spirit Airlines, which shut down May 2, had the most-improved score from last year, gaining 34 points to 560.
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