America's Worst Airlines
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Stories of canceled flights, lost luggage and late arrivals abound. It might seem that the whole system is a mess, but which carriers are the biggest culprits? To measure the worst performers, ForbesTraveler analyzed the U.S. Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report for the criteria that consumers say are closest to their hearts -- flight delays, cancellations and mishandled bags.
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Up Next: Expressjet -
5. Expressjet
On-Time Performance:
73 percent (ninth worst)
Baggage Mishandling:
8.9 per 1,000 passengers (fifth)
Cancellations: 3.4 percent (fourth)
Universal Problem: Number of mishandled bags -- those lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered has nearly doubled over the past three years to more than four million incidents.
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Up Next: Mesa -
4. Mesa Airlines
On-Time Performance:
72.5 percent (seventh worst)
Baggage Mishandling:
10.1 per 1,000 passengers (fourth)
Cancellations: 2.7 percent (sixth)
Reason: Problems unique to specific airlines like plane readiness and crew availability are compounded by factors beyond their control, such as airport mismanagement, air traffic congestion, bad weather and, these days, longer security lines.
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Up Next: American Eagle -
3. American Eagle
On-time performance:
69 percent (fourth worst)
Baggage mishandling:
13.5 per 1,000 passengers (second)
Cancellations: 4.4 percent (third)
Reason: American Eagle was no doubt hurt by rough weather this past year at its main Dallas-Fort Worth hub. As a small regional airline, the company's Embraer jets are more weight restricted than larger planes, meaning more bags get left behind.
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Up Next: Comair -
2. Comair
On-Time Performance:
66.6 percent (second worst)
Baggage Mishandling:
11.9 per 1,000 passengers (third)
Cancellations: 5.4 percent (worst)
Reason: Comair had a 40 percent spike in demand in the Northeast this past year, where weather was also tough during the winter of 2006 to 2007. While blaming weather can be an easy cop-out, it's certainly a factor.
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Up Next: Atlantic Southeast -
1. Atlantic Southeast
On-time performance:
63.3 percent (worst)
Baggage mishandling:
16.9 per 1,000 passengers (worst)
Cancellations: 4.4 percent (second)
Reason: Atlantic Southeast, which was sold to Skywest Airlines by Delta in 2005 but continues as Delta's connector partner, tends to get short shrift during weather delays by an Air Traffic Control system that would always rather delay flights with fewer people.
More Airline Statistics -
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