Transportation

The Airlines That Deny the Most Passengers

By Matt Turner Aug 22, 2024 11:17am

Ever wonder which airlines deny the most passengers? Well, a new study conducted by QR Code Generator of Air Travel Consumer Reports from January 2023 through March 2024, found that Endeavor Air denies the most passengers per 10,000 travelers (13.05). That said, of the nearly 20,000 it has denied boarding, none have been involuntary. When it comes to the leader in involuntary denied boardings, Frontier Airlines claims the top spot with 3.16 passengers denied per 10,000. (For reference, no other airline in the top 15 even topped 0.8 passenger denied involuntarily per 10,000 travelers.)

Note: Voluntary denied boardings typically occur when a passenger is offered incentives to move to the next flight and can, therefore, volunteer to be moved onto that flight. Involuntary denied boardings occur when not enough passengers volunteer to change their flights. Airlines may then choose to move travelers to another flight for any number of reasons, including the passenger’s check-in time, the fare paid or their frequent flyer status, among other reasons established by the carrier.

Airline	Enplaned	Denied boarding voluntary	Denied boarding involuntary	Total passengers denied	Passengers denied per 10,000	Passengers involuntarily denied per 10,000
Frontier Airlines	35,601,477	11,806	11,238	23,044	6.47	3.16
PSA Airlines*	14,329,730	6,527	1,127	7,654	5.34	.79
Envoy Air*	17,691,291	5,367	1,025	6,392	3.61	.58
American Airlines	184,097,995	32,727	8,557	41,284	2.24	.46
Spirit Airlines	27,126,769	16,211	1,171	17,382	6.41	.43
Republic Airways*	45,402,016	14,860	1,674	16,534	3.64	.37
SkyWest Airlines*	49,317,399	38,494	889	39,383	7.99	.18
Southwest Airlines	210,863,151	47,668	3,283	50,951	2.42	.16
JetBlue Airways	45,474,152	8,885	388	9,273	2.04	.09
Alaska Airlines	40,794,050	11,332	231	11,563	2.83	.06
United Airlines	145,558,209	26,769	305	27,074	1.86	.02
Hawaiian Airlines	12,507,343	1,032	6	1,038	0.83	.005
Endeavor Air*	15,209,275	19,846	0	19,846	13.05	0
Delta Air Lines	183,183,512	115,827	0	115,827	6.32	0
Allegiant Air	21,447,096	1,424	0	1,424	0.66	0
_{^{Denotes regional carrier}}*

The top five airlines for most passengers denied boarding per 10,000 people were: Endeavor Air, SkyWest Airlines (7.99), Frontier Airlines (6.47), Spirit Airlines (6.41) and Delta (6.32). Of these, however, neither Delta nor Endeavour (a subsidiary of Delta) had any involuntarily denied boardings. Looking further down the list, many of the worst perpetrators were regional airlines—also including PSA Airlines, Republic Airways and Envoy Air.

Major carriers such as Alaska Airlines, Southwest, American, JetBlue, United, Hawaiian and Allegiant fared much better in terms of total passengers denied boarding per 10,000 travelers. These carriers, along with Delta, also tended to have fewer passengers denied boarding involuntarily. The exceptions from this group, however, included Frontier, American Airlines (.46 passengers denied involuntarily per 10,000 travelers) and Spirit Airlines (.43).

Also faring poorly when looking at passengers denied involuntarily per 10,000 travelers are PSA Airlines (.79), Envoy Air (.58) and Republic Airways (.37).

Source: QR Code Generator

The Airlines That Deny the Most Passengers

Frontier Airlines

35,601,477

11,806

11,238

23,044

6.47

3.16

PSA Airlines*

14,329,730

6,527

1,127

7,654

5.34

.79

Envoy Air*

17,691,291

5,367

1,025

6,392

3.61

.58

American Airlines

184,097,995

32,727

8,557

41,284

2.24

.46

Spirit Airlines

27,126,769

16,211

1,171

17,382

6.41

.43

Republic Airways*

45,402,016

14,860

1,674

16,534

3.64

.37

SkyWest Airlines*

49,317,399

38,494

889

39,383

7.99

.18

Southwest Airlines

210,863,151

47,668

3,283

50,951

2.42

.16

JetBlue Airways

45,474,152

8,885

388

9,273

2.04

.09

Alaska Airlines

40,794,050

11,332

231

11,563

2.83

.06

United Airlines

145,558,209

26,769

305

27,074

1.86

.02

Hawaiian Airlines

12,507,343