The Best and Worst U.S. Airlines in September

Fewest Mishandled Bags:

1. Virgin America — 0.76 reports per 1,000 passengers

Virgin America is beating its own industry-leading baggage-handling metrics, improving from August’s 1.06 rate. That translates into about one mishandled bag per 1,250 passengers and blows away the industry average of 2.70 per 1,000 passengers.

Runners up:

2. AirTran — 1.48 reports per 1,000 passengers

3. Delta Air Lines — 1.67 reports per 1,000 passengers

4. JetBlue — 1.73 reports per 1,000 passengers

How other major airlines stack up:

U.S. Airways — 1.83 reports per 1,000 passengers

Southwest — 2.59 reports per 1,000 passengers

Hawaiian Airlines — 2.64 reports per 1,000 passengers

Most Mishandled Bags:

American Eagle — 5.55 reports per 1,000 passengers

Feeder carriers usually have higher percentages of mishandled bags because of delays and challenging connections with legacy carriers. American Eagle’s mishandled bag rate actually improved slightly in September, but it has struggled in this category.

Runners up:

2. SkyWest — 4.76 reports per 1,000 passengers

3. ExpressJet — 4.36 reports per 1,000 passengers

4. Mesa Airlines — 3.83 reports per 1,000 passengers

How other major airlines stack up:

United Continental — 3.14 reports per 1,000 passengers

American Airlines — 3.01 reports per 1,000 passengers

Alaska Airlines — 2.99 reports per 1,000 passengers