Airlines with the fewest customer complaints in 2026

A new report-style guide explains how the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report turns passenger complaints into a comparable metric across airlines. The DOT counts complaints filed by travelers, then converts them into a rate per 100,000 passengers boarded, allowing smaller carriers and large carriers to be compared without raw-volume distortion. Filings are categorized into areas such as flight problems (delays, cancellations, missed connections), baggage, refunds, reservations and ticketing, customer service, and disability-related issues, among others. The guide stresses a timing caveat: verified full-year 2026 figures won’t be available until 2027, meaning any “fewest complaints in 2026” lists earlier than that rely on projections. It also points to operational practices that can keep complaint rates low and encourages travelers to cross-check multi-year DOT data.