Despite some improvements since last year, Air Canada and WestJet continue to place near the bottom of the list for customer satisfaction among top North American airlines in a newly released survey.
According to the J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, overall customer satisfaction is on the rise from the same period last year when looking at the averages from the top 11 air carriers.
However, the findings are more mixed when examining each specific airline and segment, particularly with Air Canada and WestJet.
“That is indicative of some significant problems in how these airlines handle passengers,” Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs says.
Global News requests for comment sent to both Air Canada and WestJet have yet to receive a response.
The study was conducted by polling more than 10,000 passengers from March 2024 to March 2025 and featured three class segments for air travel: first/business, premium economy and economy/basic. Those surveyed were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with airline staff, digital tools (check-in apps and terminals, company websites, in-flight entertainment, etc.), ease of travel, level of trust, on-board experience, pre/post-flight experience, and overall value for the price paid.
“The best airlines in our study have one thing in common: they make people feel like they’re lucky to be flying and that they should be flying with this airline and then the airline is happy that they’re a passenger,” JD Power airline study lead Michael Taylor says.
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“I think that with Canadians being just as darn friendly as they are — and they are — I think both Air Canada and WestJet could leverage their people skills a little bit more, and it would help them in the rankings.”
Customer satisfaction scores showed slight improvements for Air Canada over the past year in basic/economy travel, ranking eighth out of 11 airlines in the segment in 2025, compared with ninth place last year, as well as in the top-tiered class first/business, ranking fifth out of six airlines compared with last place in 2024.
Although posting a slightly lower score compared with last year in the premium economy category, Air Canada still managed to climb the rankings from last place out of seven airlines in 2024 to sixth this year.
When it comes to WestJet, customers ranked Canada’s second-largest air carrier lower in customer satisfaction for its two polled classes. For basic/economy, out of 11 airlines, WestJet placed ninth this year, versus seventh a year prior, and for premium economy out of seven airlines, it was ranked in last place this year compared with fifth in 2024.
Once a publicly held company, meaning anyone could buy the company’s stock and become a part-owner, in 2019, WestJet shareholders voted in favour of an offer to be acquired by Onex Corporation, which took the company private.
The summer travel season is expected to be especially busy for Canadians looking to fly, including with WestJet, as more travellers opt to explore domestic destinations rather than venture to the United States. In fact, WestJet has suspended several routes to the U.S. amid weakening demand.
“Canadians are very accepting when things are wrong…. We are being perhaps too understanding with corporations,” says Lukacs, who encourages passengers to speak up if they feel they have been mistreated by an airline. “I would recommend passengers to take cases to small claims court when there is some merit to it, and that does create some pressure because airlines have to deal with those complaints.“
In some cases, these court proceedings with airlines have led to big payouts for passengers.
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