While much of life and one’s enjoyment of it comes down to a matter of trust, aviation is where trust issues are front and center.
Passengers either sit back, relax and trust the pilot to get them there safely or spend the entire flight fretting over every bump or sign of turbulence.
In a survey of how well passengers trust different airlines, charter airline booking platform Jettly identified Delta Air Lines (DAL) as the most trusted airline in the U.S. — 69% of the 1,016 American adults polled said that they trust pilots from that air carrier.
By comparison, that number was at 68% for American Airlines (AAL) and 58% for United (UAL) . Out of the ten airlines covered in the survey, Allegiant Air (ALGT) was at the bottom with 18% while Spirit Airlines (SAVE) was just one percentage behind at 19%.
In this particular survey, the airlines with lower passenger trust ratings don't necessarily have worse safety records than the ones rated higher.
The general trend identified was that passengers trust pilots on low-cost airlines far less than on mainstream ones — Frontier Airlines (FRON) has the third least-trusted pilots with 20%.
Airlines like JetBlue Airways (JBLU) , Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) landed squarely in the middle when it comes to levels of pilot trust — the numbers generally leaned toward the lower side amid a general worsening of passengers’ perception of the travel experience in 2024.
“Over one in 10 American travelers say their trust in commercial pilots has decreased due to recent events, like the Alaska Airlines pilot incident [in which a pilot with a history of mental health problems tried to cut the engines off during an Oct. 2023 flight],” Jettly said in summarizing the findings. “Visible fatigue, showing up late, and lack of communication about in-flight changes are the biggest behaviors that reduce travelers' trust in pilots.”
Another issue identified by the survey is that many male passengers don't trust female pilots.
One in every five male respondents polled said they trust male pilots more than females. Passengers also shared their opinions about age. Gen Z are more likely to trust other Gen Z pilots while older generations (baby boomers and Gen X) are less likely to trust younger generations.
Different rankings often put the same airlines at different places in the ranking when it comes to everything from trust to reliability, but the overall trend is that low-cost airlines have to work much harder to earn their customers’ trust and respect — Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant were all, at different points, rated “worst of the year” due to what in large part comes down to passengers comparing them with mainstream airlines and experiencing a perceived decrease in service.
In reality, the “no-frills” experience is part of budget airlines’ business model that allows them to offer rock-bottom base fares and then make up for the difference by charging for things — like baggage or seat selection at differing times in the check-in process (as one buys the ticket for business fares)— that often come included on mainstream carriers.
