American Airlines passenger crowd a concourse at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in June 2024.

Ted Reed

A new survey of airline customer satisfaction showed a marked improvement at American Airlines even as rivals have repeatedly suggested that American is falling behind them.

Airline customer satisfaction overall gained 3% from 2025 to 2026 and American led with a 7% gain, according to the survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based provider of customer analytics products that was founded at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

The ongoing expansion of the availability of inflight internet access, led by Delta, appears to have been a factor in increasing airline customer satisfaction. At the same time, the ability of unhappy passengers to complain on social media continues at an unrelenting pace. Delta remains the highest rated airline in the survey.

“From a customer experience viewpoint, the industry makes notable gains,” the survey said, noting that the industry’s 2026 ACSIACSI score is “just one point shy of its all-time high of 77 from 2024.

“The overall improvement flows from across-the-board score increases in all aspects of the flying experience, with especially large jumps in ratings for technology-enabled offerings like in-flight internet access (up 20% year over year) and the usefulness of flight information provided by the airlines (up 15%).

“This marks a significant milestone in their deployment of tech in direct provision of enhanced customer experiences,” the survey said.

Delta finished first with a score of 79, up 3% from 2025, while American finished tied with JetBlue for second with 78.

"American trails by just a point after a breakthrough improvement of 7% that almost completely reverses its steep score drop in the prior year,” the survey said. “In addition to participating in the industrywide technology improvements noted previously, American makes significant strides in the customer rating of its AAdvantage loyalty program, which is up substantially in 2026.

“While changes to the program by American in early 2025 were met with an initial lack of enthusiasm, especially among frequent flyers in the business community, these customers have come to appreciate the program’s perceived simplicity, generosity and utility relative to its mainline customers,” the survey said.

Southwest, which led the survey in 2025, fell to 77, reflecting “some slippage in customers’ assessments of Southwest’s service with ratings for flight crew courtesy, gate staff courtesy and call centers all inching back.” The survey also cited “the reputational hits Southwest took” as it moved to assign seating.

Overall ranking for the industry was 77. Alaska and United scored 75, while Frontier scored 69 and Spirit scored 66.

Heather Garboden, American’s Chief Customer Officer, said in a prepared statement that, "We’ve launched more customer experience initiatives in the past year than we have in the six years prior, and we’re pleased that our customers are responding positively.

Garboden noted improved Internet and free Wi-Fi, enhanced food and beverage offerings and the success of the mileage program. “As an airline, we’re committed to delivering a consistent and elevated experience.,” she said. “We’re looking at every step of the customer journey and focused on delivering enhancements."