Passengers on American Airlines flights are the most likely to have their bags mishandled, according to a statistical analysis of federal data on U.S. airlines.
American’s mishandled bag rate is 0.73 per 100 checked bags, which is more than twice the rate of rivals like Delta Air Lines (0.38), Southwest Airlines (0.32), and JetBlue (0.31).
Allegiant Air mishandled just 0.12 bags per 100 checked, making it the U.S. airline least careless with customer baggage, travel company Global Work & Travel said in an analysis based upon the U.S. Department of Transportation’s August 2026 Air Travel Consumer Report.
Losing Your Bags
The only other airline approaching American’s lost bag rate, Envoy Air (0.72), is American’s largest regional carrier, operating flights under the American Eagle brand.
Mishandle rates per 100 checked bags for other major airlines include 0.66 for United Airlines; 0.55 for SkyWest (which provides service under contract with United, Delta, American, and Alaska Airlines); 0.53 for Republic Airways (a contractor for American, Delta, and United); 0.53 for Alaska Airlines; 0.51 for Frontier; 0.47 for Spirit; and 0.44 for PSA Airlines (another American Airlines regional carrier).
The report noted that U.S. airlines mishandled 1,052,493 bags between January and June 2026, amounting to 5,815 lost bags daily. On a positive note, the baggage mishandling rate fell from 0.52 per 100 bags in the first half of 2025 to 0.49 in the same period in 2026.
Jürgen Himmelmann, co-founder and CEO of Global Work & Travel, advised travelers not to choose an airline based on a single statistic. “Price, route, connections and schedule will usually matter far more,” he said.
Himmelmann also offered advice on how passengers can avoid losing their luggage, including:
- Take a picture of luggage you intend to check.
- Remove old airline baggage stickers and tags before every trip.
- Put your contact information inside your bag and on a luggage tag.
- Avoid putting anything irreplaceable in your checked luggage.
