Airlines Americans Avoid Flying at All Costs Survey 2023 – Spirit, Allegiant, & American Airlines Top the No-Fly List

Our 2023 Summer Travel Survey indicated that nearly 85% of Americans intend to travel this year. 42% of respondents also said they intend to travel more this year than last year. And, more than 54% said they intend to take to the skies to travel.

With so many Americans intending to hop on an airplane over the summer, we were curious what the current American sentiment was for each of the airlines. Which airlines do people avoid flying on at all costs? Do some people care more about price than anything else? And, do other Americans feel securing their preferred flight dates and times is most important? Below you can find out the answer to these questions by reading the results of our survey.

Which of these airlines do you avoid flying on at all costs?

Photo: Eric Jones screenshot via SurveyMonkey

Respondents were able to select as many airlines as they would avoid flying on at all costs. There were also two “None of These” options. One “None of These” options was for Americans who said cost was the most important. The other “None of These” options was for Americans who said flight dates and times were the most important. For convenience purposes, we have ordered the airlines Americans avoid flying at all costs starting with the worst or one most frequently mentioned by Americans.

Here is the full ranked list of airlines Americans are most likely to avoid flying on at all costs:

1. Spirit Airlines. — 21.06%
2. Allegiant Air. — 16.36%
3. American Airlines. — 14.40%
4. Frontier Airlines. — 14.30%
5. Delta Air Lines. — 12.63%
6. JetBlue. — 12.63%
7. Alaska Airlines. — 10.68%
8. Southwest Airlines. — 10.28%
9. United Airlines. — 7.64%
10. Hawaiian Airlines. — 5.48%
None of these because the cost of the flight is most important to me. — 31.73%
None of these because flight dates and times are most important to me. — 16.65%

Key Takeaways on the Airlines Americans Avoid at All Costs

Spirit Airlines is the clear-cut winner of airlines that Americans avoid flying on at all costs. – Spirit Airlines topped the list of the most avoided airlines. More than 21% of American adults said they would avoid flying Spirit at all costs. This means more than one out of every five people you come across will not fly on Spirit under any circumstances. Based on the recent census, the 21.06% that said this equates to more than 54 million people. Having had a few bad experiences with Spirit myself, I can see why Spirit won the contest of airline Americans are most likely to avoid at all costs.

Allegiant Air takes the silver medal and American Airlines takes the bronze medal for airlines Americans avoid flying on at all costs. – Allegiant Air, another ultra-low-cost U.S. air carrier like Spirit, is the second most likely airline Americans will avoid at all costs. 16.36% of American adults, or more than 42 million people said they avoid flying Allegiant Air at all costs. American Airlines comes in as the third most likely airline that Americans will avoid at all costs. 14.40% of American adults or more than 37 million people said they avoid flying American Airlines.

Surprisingly, Frontier Airlines is not in the top three airlines Americans avoid flying on at all costs. – Frontier Airlines, which was the most likely major airline to bump a passenger and sometimes gets a bad rap, avoided being ranked in the top three airlines Americans avoid flying on at all costs. Frontier ended up right behind American Airlines with 14.30% of American adults saying they avoid flying it at all costs. This 14.30% still equates to nearly 37 million people which is substantial.

Hawaiian Airlines is the least likely airline Americans will avoid flying on at all costs. – Hawaiian Airlines took last place in the contest for airlines Americans avoid flying. In this case, last place is a good thing. Only 5.48% of American adults said they avoid flying on Hawaiian Airlines. While this 5.48% represents 14 million people, it is still nearly 74% less than the amount of people that avoid flying Spirit Airlines.

Nearly half of American adults do not avoid flying on any airline. – 48.38% of American adults or approximately 125 million people stated they do not avoid flying on any airline. This includes the 31.73% or 82 million people that said none of these because the cost of the flight is most important to them. It also includes the 16.65% or 43 million people that said none of these because flight dates and times are the most important to them. With continued inflation, there should be no surprise that nearly one-third of all American adults said the cost of the flight is most important to them regardless of airline.

Further Reading: If you are in the one-third of American adults who said cost is most important when booking flights, consider reading our How to Find Cheap Flights guide.

Interesting Demographic Comparisons

Women are more likely than men to say they avoid flying none of these airlines. – 50.93% of women said they avoid flying none of these airlines. On the other hand, only 45.54% of men said they did. More women said they avoided flying none because both cost and flight dates and times were more important to them.

Women are more likely than men to avoid flying Spirit Airlines and to avoid flying Frontier Airlines. – As mentioned above, women are more likely than men to say they avoid flying none of these airlines. However, the two airlines they did say they avoid more often than men are Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. All other airlines men are more likely to avoid than women

The oldest American adults are most likely to say flight dates and times are most important to them. – 24.28% of people over age 60 said they avoid none of these airlines because flight dates and times are most important to them. On the other hand, only 12.56% of the youngest American adults aged 18-29 said that flight dates and times were most important to them. This means that nearly twice as many people over the age of 60 think flight dates and times are most important when compared to people aged 18-29.

Every single age group overwhelmingly said the number one airline they avoided at all costs was Spirit Airlines. – The number one most avoided airline at all costs for every age group was Spirit Airlines. 21.26% of people aged 18-29 stated they avoid Spirit. 22.61% of people aged 30-44 stated they did. And, 18.72% of American adults aged 45-60 said they avoided Spirit. Lastly, 23.12% of all American adults over age 60 said they avoided flying on Spirit Airlines at all costs. Spirit certainly has some work cut out for them with Americans of all ages.

American adults in the East South Central Region are the most likely to say the cost of the flight is most important to them. – Our poll showed that 47.76% of American adults in the East Central Region said the cost of the flight is the most important to them. This is the highest out of any other region. The East South Central Region contains the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. On the other hand, the Middle Atlantic Region is the least likely to say cost is most important to them. Only 24.71% of people in the Middle Atlantic said the cost is most important to them. The Middle Atlantic Region consists of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Survey Methodology

This 2023 Airlines Americans Avoid Flying at All Costs Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 1,021 Americans over the age of 18 were polled on May 1. Of those surveyed, 46.21% were male and 53.79% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 14.85% in the range 18-29, 22.55% in the range 30-44, 42.57% in the range 45-60, and 20.03% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±3.13%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.