High fares. Hidden fees. Long security lines. Shrinking seats. Crowded cabins. There’s room for improvement, especially if you’re sitting in coach, according to Consumer Reports members who responded to our most recent airline survey.
What We Found: The Plane Truth
More than 17,000 members told us about their experiences on almost 33,000 flights between January 2022 and February 2023. These include bookings that were made for basic economy, premium economy, business class and first class. Members told us their opinions about many factors, including their airline’s cabin cleanliness, check-in ease, service from airline staff, the seat selection process and pricing transparency when booking.
This year, we had enough data to rate economy flights on 13 airlines and first-class/business-class flights on seven airlines.
Only one airline received top marks for pricing transparency among economy passengers, although five others rated favorably in this area. (For more, see our ratings—available to members.)
When it comes to cabin cleanliness (seats, aisles, bathrooms, etc.) most of the airlines were rated middling or above for keeping their cabins clean, with one exception: The coach/economy-class of Frontier Airlines received subpar marks. However, Breeze Airways and Hawaiian’s coach/economy-class flights received excellent scores for cabin cleanliness.
See our Travel & Vacation Guide for advice and tips on getting the best deals on airfare, hotels, and more.
Can You Find Comfort in Coach?
Overall, our members who took the survey had a better experience than one might expect. However, about a quarter of coach/economy-class travelers reported at least one problem. The most common issue for them? Having an uncomfortable seat. Meanwhile, just 4% of business-class/first-class passengers reported a problem with seat comfort.
Other in-flight issues affected coach/economy and business-class/first-class travelers largely similarly. Four percent of travelers from both groups said the entertainment system was not working. Four percent of coach/economy, and 2% of business-class/first-class passengers, said there were loud children or crying babies. One percent of both groups said there were unruly or rude passengers on their flights.
Disparities in First Class
Two airlines stood out for first class: Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Check the full ratings to see details on how these two airlines scored in every category.
Much like coach class, however, passengers who flew with our lower-rated first-class carriers were a lot less happy. First-class travelers on American Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest were much less satisfied overall than the travelers on the other airlines that qualified for our first-class ratings. See our ratings for details on why.
How to Land the Best Fare
Regardless of which airline you choose to fly, there’s no reason to pay more than you have to. And as you may have noticed if you’ve bought a ticket in the past year, airfares are up. Though cheap seats may be harder to come by, you can still save money by taking a few simple steps.
Work the Web
Start with websites that allow you to compare the deals from multiple airlines, such as Airfarewatchdog, FareCompare and Kayak. Also try travel-agency sites, such as CheapTickets, Expedia and Travelocity.
If you’re a bit more adventurous, websites such as Hotwire and Priceline are another option. Hotwire has set prices; Priceline lets you bid on tickets. Neither indicates which airline you’ll be flying or whether your flight is nonstop until you’ve bought your nonrefundable ticket. When bidding on Priceline, check to see what other sites are offering first, then make a lowball offer. You may snag a fare that’s 50 percent below the advertised rate.
Finally, before you book a flight you’ve found online, check the airline’s site. You might see more flight choices for a similar rate.
Be Flexible
Shifting your travel dates by a day or two will often allow you to nab a much lower price.
If you’re traveling with a group, consider splitting up your party when you’re searching for deals. Check the price for one, two and three seats on the plane, as well as for all four, and then book accordingly.
Check Multiple Airports
When you use price-comparison sites, specify the city you want to depart from, not the airport. Most sites will then show you the flight options for any of that area’s airports. Leaving from one of those other airports will often be significantly cheaper.
Sign Up for Promo Codes
If you’re a member of an airline’s frequent-flyer program, you can often sign up for special promotion codes, which provide discounts from 10 to 50%. Promo alerts can be sent to you via email, RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook and other channels. Bargains can appear at any time and deals expire quickly, so you’ll have to act fast. The trade-off? Your email inbox can get flooded with offers that don’t interest you.
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