Every year, thousands of checked bags end up in a different destination than their owners. While most luggage goes to the right place, a fraction of the luggage ends up temporarily out of place or (in some cases) lost entirely. Which airlines are most likely to lose that checked baggage?
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains meticulous statistics on how many bags are lost for every 1,000 passengers on a particular airline. According to the 2015 Annual Report, the most likely suspects may not be mishandling the majority of passenger luggage. These are the airlines that handled the most luggage in 2015.
1. Envoy Air: 8.52 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers
Envoy Air, once known as American Eagle, topped the DOT list for mishandled baggage in 2015. One of the products of the merger between US Airways and American Airlines, Envoy air has been moved to a single ticket and baggage. handling process. However, Envoy Air still mishandled more than 101,000 bags over the course of the year.
There’s good news for frequent flyers on Envoy Air. In 2014, the common carrier mishandled 9.02 bags for every 1,000 passengers on board its airline. As the airline becomes better aligned to serve passengers, the amount of mishandled baggage will decrease.
2. ExpressJet Airlines: 5.06 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers
At first glance, you may never have heard of ExpressJet. In reality, this regional airline may be one of the largest airlines you have ever seen. This airline specializes in operating regional flights marked as American, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The regional carrier is also responsible for mishandling nearly five bags for every 1,000 passengers on board the carrier.
Due to the large number of flights operated to smaller airports in the United States and custody transfer, there are more opportunities for mishandling luggage. However, ExpressJet also improved its mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers year-over-year compared. Between 2014 and 2015, ExpressJet received more than 36,000 less mishandled baggage reports.
3. SkyWest: 4.05 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers
ExpressJet was not the only regional operator to experience a number of lost luggage. Sister airline SkyWest Airlines also experienced a large number of mishandled bags. SkyWest operates thousands of daily flights for Alaska Airlines, American, Delta and United throughout the eastern half of the American continent. In 2015 alone, more than 28 million passengers boarded a flight operated by SkyWest Airliones.
However, the airline also experienced a large amount of lost luggage. In 2015, the airline received more than 117,000 reports of mishandled luggage, broken down into 4.05 mishandled bags per 1,000 travelers. This number has also decreased compared to 2014, when the airline flew a similar number of passengers, but mishandled 4.69 bags per 1,000 passengers.
How the major airlines are ranked
Possibly counter-intuitive to many traveler experiences, conventional carriers in the United States fared better than their regional counterparts. Southwest Airlines, the largest airline in the United States by passengers, received 3.31 reports of mishandled baggage for every 1,000 airlines carried in 2015. However, the airline still mishandled more than 478,000 entrusted bags.
Delta, the second-largest airline by domestic passengers, received more than 245,000 mishandled baggage reports in 2015, stopping 2.08 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. United flew more than 72 million passengers and received 231,501 reports of mishandled baggage, or 3.21 reports for every 1,000 passengers.
Of the legacy and major airlines, American ranked worst, similar to its regional arm Envoy Air. The DOT reports that the airline received 386,649 reports of mishandled baggage after flying more than 97 million passengers, breaking down to nearly four lost bags for every 1,000 passengers boarding its planes.
Although travelers cannot do much to protect their luggage from mishandling, travelers have some avenues of recourse available to them. From knowing airline policies to purchasing travel insurance, travelers can prepare for the possibility of lost luggage when flying on one of the above carriers.
