Ranking Americans' Biggest Airline Complaints

Taking to the friendly skies these days can bring with it a lot of stress as many things are out of travelers' control, from lengthy security screening lines to staffing shortages and overbooked flights. It's all led to a dramatic rise in consumer complaints in recent years. The team of travel experts at Upgraded Points recently surveyed 500 Americans to uncover the biggest inconveniences faced by passengers in 2022, from flight delays to last-minute gate changes. While air travelers may be packing plenty of patience these days, there are some annoyances they're less prepared to put up with. Here are the eight biggest air travel complaints among U.S. travelers right now.

Naturally, flight cancellations are the number one airline complaint among Americans (15.32 percent), based on Upgraded Points' research. It doesn't help that this past year has seen widespread cancellations as carriers short on pilots and other critical staff struggle to keep up with travel demand.

Narrowly trailing flight cancellations at 13.51 percent, flight delays are easily one of the top air travel inconveniences. According to Upgraded Points' recent research, travelers are most likely to encounter delays with Allegiant Air, JetBlue and Frontier Airlines, each of which turned in an average monthly on-time arrival percentage of 70.1 or lower.

Perhaps the only thing worse than having your flight canceled or pushed back is having your luggage mishandled or lost entirely (13.36 percent). The study also found that one in four travelers believe $501 to $1,000 is fair compensation for lost baggage on a domestic flight.

No one wants to be bumped so it's not at all surprising to learn that it's among the leading inconveniences of air travel in 2022 (12.74 percent). While travelers will be compensated and accommodated for the inconvenience in most cases, there's no getting back the time wasted.

People encounter poor customer service in a variety of sectors but poor customer service from an airline (12.08 percent) can be particularly frustrating given that, in many cases, travelers are stuck in limbo at an airport far from home. Nonetheless, poor customer service trails flight problems, mishandled baggage and being bumped in terms of the leading inconveniences that would prompt travelers to contact customer support, according to Upgraded Points.

For most, there's an expectation that the payments end after you've purchased your airline ticket. Therefore, additional and many times unexpected fees (11.96 percent) remain one of the biggest pet peeves among air travelers. This can include extra costs for baggage or an airline offering onboard snacks and beverages for purchase only.

Gate changes (10.97 percent), especially when you're in a hurry to catch a connecting flight, are never fun. To minimize headaches, be sure to check your airline's mobile app for the latest gate information and confirm that it's correct on the airport's flight information display system screens.

While not all travelers are too keen on other passengers bringing their pets onto flights (10.07 percent), it ranks relatively low in terms of the leading air travel inconveniences these days. Most would likely take it over having the back of their seat kicked or receiving a request to change seats.