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The holidays are just around the corner, leading to some of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Flight delays are very common this time of year, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Flying can already be a stressful experience, but delays can make it even more difficult.
Some of the best ways to avoid flight delays are to book with an airline with a high number of on-time flights and to book a flight early in the morning. Statistically, the chance of a delay is much smaller than a flight later in the day. .
According to new dates from UpgradedPoints, these are the American airlines that are currently most likely to experience flight delays.
1. Border airlines
The worst airline for flight delays right now is Frontier Airlines. Flights with this budget airline have a 31.9% chance of delay.
Rather than roll the dice and risk an almost 1 in 3 chance of your flight being delayed, it’s better to choose a more reliable airline for flights this winter.
Frontier is also currently facing other issues, including a class action lawsuit over the airline’s $599 unlimited flight pass that launched earlier this year.
2. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines experienced a massive crisis around Christmas last year, leading to thousands of flight delays and cancellations.
Many travelers wondered whether booking with Southwest was safe in light of the operation’s total failure. And while it’s likely that Southwest will work extra hard this winter to prevent a repeat of the incident, you might not want to take any chances.
And according to historical data, Southwest flights still have a 31.8% chance of delays, making the airline almost as unreliable as Frontier.
3. JetBlue
Another less reliable airline with a high chance of delayed flights is JetBlue. This New York-based airline doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to on-time flights.
While it’s not as bad as Frontier or Southwest, flying with JetBlue means you still have a whopping lot 30.8% chance of flight delays when you travel.
4. Allegiant air
Next on the list of airlines likely to experience delays is Allegiant Air. This budget airline is not particularly reliable, so while you may save money booking your flight, you may also experience unexpected delays.
Allegiant Air flights have a 29.2% chance of delay.
5. Spirit Airlines
Finally, we have Spirit Airlines. While this budget airline is the butt of many jokes for being a less-than-ideal way to travel, it’s actually not as bad as some other US airlines when it comes to delays.
When you fly Spirit, you have a 28.1% chance of a flight delay.
Which airlines have the fewest delays?
So now that you know which airlines are most likely to have flight delays right now (and which airlines to avoid!), here are the airlines with the fewest delays.
While you may be tempted by ultra-low fares on an airline like Frontier or Spirit, it may be worth the extra money to book with a more reliable airline.
These are the top three airlines with the fewest delays at the moment:
- Alaska Airlines: 20.3% chance of delay
- Delta Airlines: 19.1% chance of delay
- Hawaiian Airlines: 15.6% chance of delay
Flights can be delayed for many reasons, including aircraft issues, staffing issues, weather conditions and more, but these three airlines experience the fewest delays.
There’s no surefire way to avoid flight delays (as nice as that would be!), but you can check out this guide for even more tips on how to avoid the dreaded delay or cancellation.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
