Delta Bumped Zero, American Worst for Cancellations and Bags in H1 2025

ATLANTA- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has published its August Air Travel Consumer Report, covering airline performance for June 2025 and the first half of the year.

Hawaiian Airlines (HA) once again topped the rankings for punctuality, while American Airlines (AA) continued to post the industry’s weakest results across several categories.

Photo: Facebook/Randy Alexander

Delta Bumped Zero Passengers

Delta Air Lines (DL) achieved a standout record by not involuntarily bumping a single passenger during the six-month reporting period. In contrast, American Airlines led the industry in cancellations, mishandled bags, complaints, and denied boardings

The DOT report evaluates on-time arrivals, cancellations, baggage handling, denied boardings, and customer complaints.

Between January and June 2025, Hawaiian Airlines posted the highest on-time arrival rate at 83.1%, followed by Southwest Airlines (WN) at 78.9% and Delta at 78.7%. At the bottom were American Airlines at 73.3% and Frontier Airlines (F9) at 70.0%.

Year-over-year comparisons reveal Hawaiian and Southwest improved, while Delta slipped from 82.2% to 78.7%. Spirit Airlines (NK), despite financial headwinds, outperformed several larger rivals with a 78.3% on-time record.

Photo: Aero Icarus | Flickr

Flight Cancellations

When it came to cancellations, Allegiant Air (G4) and Hawaiian Airlines reported the lowest rates, both under 1%.

American Airlines, however, cancelled 2.69% of flights, nearly triple the industry average of 1.56%.

United Airlines (UA) and Delta also saw higher cancellations than the previous year, with Delta nearly doubling its rate from 0.65% in 2024 to 1.22% in 2025.

Baggage Handling

Mishandled baggage remains a major point of frustration for passengers. Allegiant Air led the industry with just 0.07 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned in June 2025. JetBlue Airways (B6) and Southwest also ranked among the best performers.

At the other end, American Airlines reported 0.78 mishandled bags per 100 enplaned, the highest of any U.S. carrier, with United close behind at 0.77.

Photo: London Gatwick

Denied Boardings

Delta Air Lines stood out by recording zero involuntary denied boardings across more than 91 million passengers in the first half of 2025. Instead, Delta focused on voluntary rebookings, offering passengers compensation in cash-equivalent gift cards or travel credits.

American Airlines forced 7,163 passengers off flights, the highest in the industry. Frontier Airlines also ranked poorly, with 2.79 involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 passengers.

Passenger Complaints

American Airlines drew the highest volume of DOT complaints in June 2025, logging 1,996 cases—more than double the totals for both United and Delta. Issues ranged from cancellations and delays to civil rights complaints.

American also reported the only case of an animal injury during June. Among international carriers, Turkish Airlines (TK) and Qatar Airways (QR) topped the complaint charts, followed by Air France (AF) and Lufthansa (LH).

Photo: Denver Airport

Timing Matters

The report also highlighted flight punctuality by time of day across the 30 largest U.S. airports. Flights scheduled between 06:00 and 09:00 achieved the highest on-time arrival rates, averaging in the mid-80s.

Punctuality dropped steadily throughout the day, reaching the low 60s or worse after 17:00. For passengers, this data underscores the importance of choosing early departures whenever possible.

Photo: Aero Icarus | Flickr

Transparency Under Pressure

The airline industry, through Airlines for America, has pushed for scaling back or eliminating DOT performance reporting, calling it a burden. However, the transparency provided by these reports allows passengers to make informed choices and hold carriers accountable for service quality.

For many travelers, knowing which airline is most likely to get them—and their bags—to their destination matters as much as ticket price.

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