Travel
2022 Has Brought More Air Travel Delays and Cancellations — And Nearly Double the Risk of Having a Bag Mishandled
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After two-plus years of many being stuck on their couches during several waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have been eager to travel in 2022. However, Americans’ reentry to the skies has made for a bumpy ride.
The newest ValuePenguin study shows travelers this year are more likely to encounter delays or canceled flights and have their bags mishandled. And airfare costs are higher, too. (Maybe the couch doesn’t look bad after all.)
For those still taking to the skies, we’ll break down various data points at the airline level to give you an advantage as you plan your next trip.
On this page
- Key findings
- More than 1 in 5 domestic flights delayed early in 2022
- Canceled flights in 2022 are the highest since 2014 (outside of the start of the pandemic)
- Nearly twice as many passengers had bags mishandled in May 2022 than a year earlier
- Average airfare costs increased 16.9% from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022
- Air travel tips: How to prepare for disruptions
- Methodology
Key findings
- In the first five months of 2022, more than 1 in 5 domestic flights were delayed. From January through May 2022, 20.1% of flights were delayed by 15 minutes or more. That’s nearly double the rate during the same period in 2020 (10.2%) at the height of the pandemic. It’s also the highest since a 21.8% delay rate during the same period in 2014.
- Outside of the beginning of the pandemic, cancellations so far in 2022 are at their highest rate since 2014. In the first five months of 2022, 3.2% of flights were canceled — the highest since 2014 (3.3%) if you ignore the pandemic anomaly in 2020 (11.4%).
- Endeavor Air saw the biggest jump in delay rates between early 2021 and 2022. The Minneapolis-based subsidiary of Delta Air Lines saw a 138.3% increase in its delay rate between January and May 2021 and the same period in 2022 — from 6.4% to 15.3%. Despite this, Endeavor’s delay rate so far in 2022 is the lowest of any airline we tracked.
- Passengers were roughly 50% more likely to have their bag mishandled in May 2022 than in May 2021. In May 2022, 0.56 bags per 100 enplaned were mishandled — meaning they were reported as lost, damaged, delayed or stolen — up from 0.38 in May 2021. Republic Airways was most likely to mishandle a bag in May 2022 at 0.93 per 100.
- The average airline airfare is up 16.9% between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Average airfare was $328.49 in the first quarter of 2022, versus $280.93 in inflation-adjusted dollars in the first quarter of 2021.
More than 1 in 5 domestic flights delayed early in 2022
In the first five months of 2022, the airlines reported that 20.1% of domestic flights within the U.S. and its territories were delayed 15 minutes or longer. By comparison, this is almost double the rate that flights were delayed during the same period in 2020 (10.2%), when the pandemic first immobilized travel.
The 2022 figure also reflects a 76.3% increase in delayed domestic flights from the same period in 2021.
"The shortage of pilots and airport workers left over from pandemic-era employee cuts has left many airlines struggling to match the high demand brought on by summer travel," says Sophia Mendel, ValuePenguin travel expert. "This has led to more delays than we’ve seen over the past two years."
The percentage of domestic flights delayed this year is the highest since 2014, when 21.8% were delayed between January and May.
Percentage of flights delayed by year (January through May)
Year | % delayed |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.1% |
| 2021 | 11.4% |
| 2020 | 10.2% |
| 2019 | 18.9% |
| 2018 | 17.6% |
| 2017 | 19.1% |
| 2016 | 15.6% |
| 2015 | 19.2% |
| 2014 | 21.8% |
| 2013 | 18.7% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data. A flight is considered delayed if it arrives or departs 15 minutes after its scheduled time.
Delta subsidiary Endeavor — surrounded by budget airlines — sees biggest jump in delays
Endeavor Air, a Minneapolis-based Delta subsidiary, had the highest surge in its delay rate between January and May 2021 and the same period in 2022. Delays jumped 138.3%.
Percentage change in delays by airline (January through May)
Rank | Airline | Delay rate, 2022 | Delay rate, 2021 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Endeavor Air | 15.3% | 6.4% | 138.3% |
| 2 | Republic Airways | 20.5% | 8.9% | 129.1% |
| 3 | Frontier Airlines | 32.7% | 14.4% | 126.7% |
| 4 | Hawaiian Airlines | 15.6% | 7.4% | 109.0% |
| 5 | PSA Airlines | 20.1% | 10.1% | 98.7% |
| 6 | United Airlines | 19.6% | 10.5% | 86.7% |
| 7 | Delta Air Lines | 16.1% | 8.9% | 80.2% |
| 8 | Allegiant Air | 32.9% | 18.2% | 80.1% |
| 9 | Southwest Airlines | 22.4% | 12.5% | 79.7% |
| 10 | Spirit Airlines | 27.4% | 15.6% | 75.8% |
| 11 | JetBlue | 31.6% | 18.6% | 70.4% |
| 12 | Horizon Air | 16.7% | 9.9% | 68.1% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of BTS data. Includes airlines with at least 0.5% of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues.
It’s important to highlight the scale here, as Endeavor was the least delayed airline in the 2021 and 2022 periods among the 17 analyzed. With only 15.3% flights delayed in 2022, its delay rate is 23.9% lower than the national figure.
So far in 2022, the airlines with higher delay rates than the national average of 20.1% are Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Republic Airways. A fair number of low-cost airlines are included there, though their year-over-year increases in delays didn’t jump as much as Endeavor.
Here’s a separate breakdown ranking the 2022 delay rates:
Delay rate by airline (January through May 2022)
Rank | Airline | Delay rate, 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allegiant Air | 32.9% |
| 2 | Frontier Airlines | 32.7% |
| 3 | JetBlue | 31.6% |
| 4 | Spirit Airlines | 27.4% |
| 5 | Southwest Airlines | 22.4% |
| 6 | Republic Airways | 20.5% |
| 7 | PSA Airlines | 20.1% |
| – | National average | 20.1% |
| 8 | United Airlines | 19.6% |
| 9 | Alaska Airlines | 18.9% |
| 10 | American Airlines | 18.7% |
| 11 | Mesa Airlines | 17.5% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of BTS data. Includes airlines with at least 0.5% of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues.
By contrast, Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Chicago-based United Airlines — three of the largest airlines in the U.S. — had fewer delays than the national average, though their volume would be substantially higher.
Canceled flights in 2022 are the highest since 2014 (outside of the start of the pandemic)
With the obvious exception of the disruptions caused by the pandemic in early 2020, cancellations are at their highest rate since 2014.
"Airlines are in a state of chaos, largely because of worker shortages and a high demand for travel," Mendel says. "This, mixed with high fuel costs resulting from inflation, has caused some airlines to cut flight routes throughout the summer to get a better handle on the situation."
Compared to the same January-through-May period last year, flights were canceled at double the rate last year.
Percentage of flights canceled by year (January through May)
Year | % canceled |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.2% |
| 2021 | 1.6% |
| 2020 | 11.4% |
| 2019 | 2.4% |
| 2018 | 1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.5% |
| 2016 | 1.3% |
| 2015 | 2.3% |
| 2014 | 3.3% |
| 2013 | 1.7% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of BTS data.
Nearly twice as many passengers had bags mishandled in May 2022 than a year earlier
In May 2022, passengers were almost 50% more likely to have their bags mishandled than in the same month a year earlier. While only 0.38 bags per 100 checked and enplaned were mishandled in May 2021, that ratio jumped to 0.56 per 100 this May.
According to the BTS, mishandled bags are "[checked] bags that are lost, damaged, delayed and pilfered, as reported by or on behalf of the passenger, that were in the airline’s custody for its reportable domestic nonstop scheduled passenger flights."
Republic Airways, a regional airline based in Indianapolis, had the biggest change in mishandled bags from May 2021 to May 2022, triggering a 116.3% jump. Here’s where other airlines stood based on the period examined:
Percentage change in mishandled bags by airline
Rank | Airline | Bags mishandled per 100, May 2022 | Bags mishandled per 100, May 2021 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republic Airways | 0.93 | 0.43 | 116.3% |
| 2 | United Airlines | 0.62 | 0.30 | 106.7% |
| 3 | PSA Airlines | 0.66 | 0.39 | 69.2% |
| 4 | Delta Air Lines | 0.54 | 0.33 | 63.6% |
| 5 | Alaska Airlines | 0.64 | 0.40 | 60.0% |
| 6 | Endeavor Air | 0.49 | 0.32 | 53.2% |
| 7 | Frontier Airlines | 0.38 | 0.25 | 52.0% |
| 8 | JetBlue | 0.67 | 0.45 | 48.9% |
| – | National average | 0.56 | 0.38 | 47.4% |
| 9 | Spirit Airlines | 0.53 | 0.36 | 47.2% |
| 10 | SkyWest Airlines | 0.48 | 0.33 | 45.5% |
| 11 | Horizon Air | 0.50 | 0.35 | 42.9% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Aviation Consumer Protection Air Travel Consumer Report. Includes airlines with at least 0.5% of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues.
If you look solely at May 2022, Republic remains at the top, with the airline mishandling 0.93 bags per 100, meaning that nearly 1% of all checked bags on a Republic flight in May 2022 were lost, damaged, delayed or stolen. Close behind was American Airlines, with 0.85 per 100 bags mishandled.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air had the lowest rate of bags mishandled during the month, at 0.15 per 100. Honolulu-based Hawaiian Airlines followed with 0.27, while Denver-based Frontier Airlines and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines tied with 0.38 each.
Mishandled bags by airline
Rank | Airline | Bags mishandled per 100, May 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republic Airways | 0.93 |
| 2 | American Airlines | 0.85 |
| 3 | Envoy Air | 0.75 |
| 4 | JetBlue | 0.67 |
| 5 | PSA Airlines | 0.66 |
| 6 | Alaska Airlines | 0.64 |
| 7 | United Airlines | 0.62 |
| 8 | Mesa Airlines | 0.60 |
| – | National average | 0.56 |
| 9 | Delta Air Lines | 0.54 |
| 10 | Spirit Airlines | 0.53 |
| 11 | Horizon Air | 0.50 |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection Air Travel Consumer Report. Includes airlines with at least 0.5% of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues.
Average airfare costs increased 16.9% from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022
Over the past year, Americans have experienced widespread inflation, causing soaring prices on a range of goods and services. Air travel is no exception to that trend, rising 16.9% — from $280.93 (adjusted for inflation) to $328.49 — in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
Average airfare costs since 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2019: $393.35 | Q1 2020: $369.66 | Q1 2021: $280.93 |
| Q2 2019: $396.41 | Q2 2020: $286.62 | Q2 2021: $316.27 |
| Q3 2019: $382.06 | Q3 2020: $267.66 | Q3 2021: $326.12 |
| Q4 2019: $393.87 | Q4 2020: $284.46 | Q4 2021: $334.61 |
| Q1 2022: $328.49 | ||
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of the BTS Passenger O&D Survey, based on inflation-adjusted domestic itinerary fares.
From January: Best airports to fly out of: Where airfare hasn’t caught up to pre-COVID-19 trends
Air travel tips: How to prepare for disruptions
Delays, cancellations and lost or damaged baggage may sound like nightmare scenarios while traveling, but Mendel says it’s best to prepare just in case.
"Travelers right now should expect the unexpected, and that means preparing for possible flight delays and cancellations," she says.
Here are several action items travelers can take to prepare for their next trip:
- Protect your trip with travel insurance. Travelers can purchase travel insurance through a third-party agency, or it may be offered on their credit card. "With travel insurance, even if your flight gets delayed or canceled, you can feel secure knowing you’re covered," Mendel says.
- Understand your credit card travel insurance benefits. Many travel credit cards offer travel insurance benefits, but you’ll need to pay for the entire trip on your credit card so you can be reimbursed for those expenses. Mendel recommends checking your card’s specific travel insurance policy before relying on it.
- Only fly with carry-on luggage. To protect against a flight cancellation or delay, Mendel suggests bringing only carry-on luggage to avoid becoming separated from your checked baggage.
- Use Apple AirTag or Tile to track potential lost luggage. "If you must check your luggage, consider sticking a small tracker in your bag so you’ll always be able to locate it," Mendel says. Apple AirTag and Tile are two popular tracking options used by travelers.
- Avoid connection flights. If you can, try flying directly to your location. While it may not always be possible, connections increase the possibility of luggage getting lost. If your initial flight is delayed, this may cause a domino effect and you could potentially miss your connecting flight.
Methodology
ValuePenguin researchers analyzed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to calculate the percentage change in delay rates for airlines — domestic flights only — between January and May 2021 and the same period in 2022.
Mishandled bags data comes from the Air Travel Consumer Report from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, issued in July 2022.
Airfare data is via the BTS’ Passenger Origin and Destination (O&D) Survey and is based on domestic itinerary fares.