Cancelled Flight, Broken App, No Answer - Why Airline CX Keeps Failing at the Worst Moment

Airline customer-experience strategies often fail at the moment disruptions occur, according to Jeannie Walters and Dr. Alyona Medelyan. In their co-authored report, Experience Is The Promise, they used Thematic’s AI scoring agent to analyze nearly 2,000 App Store reviews across six US airlines, comparing stated brand values with what customers reported. The study found that 60% of negative reviews pointed to a single recurring problem: passengers could not reach support when they needed help most. When service disruptions hit, the lack of contact compounded the impact. Delta stood out, not for avoiding failures, but for designing people, processes, tools, and technology around recovery moments. The report also noted app crashes accounted for 9.5% of Breeze Airways’ negative Ease score.