Social media continues to bridge the gap between brands and customer experience, allowing consumers to voice their opinions in real-time for the whole world to see. In all, Twitter has 330 million active users and it has become an extensive platform for engaged consumers to announce both praise and complaints in equal measure. Consumers dealing with travel-related issues during the COVID-19 pandemic have been vocal across social media platforms and in filing official complaints. The Department of Transportation noted more than a 500 percent increase in complaints against airlines, travel agencies and tour operators in 2020, compared with 2019.
Considering this, travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip analyzed over 25,000 tweets over a two-week period from July 19 to August 2, 2021 to discover which of the 10 largest U.S. airlines received the most positive and negative mentions across an industry still struggling to cope with the effects of a global pandemic.
| Airline | Percent of Positive Mentions | Percent of Negative Mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 23.6 | 58.9 |
| Spirit Airlines | 21 | 58.6 |
| Allegiant Airlines | 26.2 | 53.5 |
| American Airlines | 26.8 | 52.5 |
| JetBlue Airways | 25.5 | 52.2 |
| Southwest Airlines | 32 | 45.1 |
| Delta Air Lines | 29.8 | 44.5 |
| United Airlines | 32 | 42.3 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 25.6 | 34.2 |
| Alaska Airlines | 42.8 | 32 |
Frontier Airlines has the highest proportion of poor reviews, with around 60 percent of its Twitter mentions containing a negative sentiment. Nearly 20 percent of negative keywords in Frontier’s mentions are due to “delays," “cancellations” or “customer service” issues. It is also the airline with the second-highest number of concerns related to COVID-19 safety, with 1.71 percent of Twitter mentions related to this issue.
Spirit Airlines follows closely with 58.6 percent negative mentions, receiving the highest number of complaints about “delays” (12.05 percent) compared to any other airline analyzed. Allegiant Airlines is in the third position with 53.5 percent of negative tweets overall and the highest number of negative complaints surrounding “luggage” issues (2.6 percent).
Delta Airlines receives the highest negative tweet score surrounding customer service (8.48 percent) and while United Airlines does not fare badly in the results overall, it does receive the two highest negative scores for “cancellations” (10.01 percent) and “refunds” (3.06 percent).
At the other end of the spectrum, Alaska Airlines tops the list with 42.8 percent of its Twitter mentions considered positive. When analyzing the sentiments, “luggage,” “masks” and “general COVID-19 concerns” are the terms with the best scores. Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines follow closely with 35.6 and 32 percent positive mentions, respectively.
Source: InsureMyTrip
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