As millions of travelers get ready for holiday trips, Forbes Advisor is here to help by naming the best - and worst - airports and airlines for travel during the holidays. They analyzed federal transportation data and crunched the numbers for the 100 busiest airports in the U.S., as well as eight of the largest national airlines, ranking them on metrics including customer complaints, flight delays & cancellations, mishandled baggage, ticket price increases and more.
Based on all that, Long Beach Airport in California comes in at number one for best airports. It had the third lowest average airfare between October and December ($259.47) and the fifth lowest percentage of flight cancellations on average. Alaska Airlines tops the list for best airlines, thanks in part for having the second lowest percentage of flight delays caused by the airline, as well as the second lowest number of customer complaints with 33.
The Top Five Best Airports for Holiday Travel
- Long Beach Airport - Long Beach, California
- Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole - Kona, Hawaii
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport - San Jose, California
- Sacramento International Airport - Sacramento, California
- Oakland International Airport - Oakland, California
And on the flip side, Westchester County Airport in New York earns the top spot for worst airports for holiday travel. It had the highest rate of air carrier delays and diverted flights, as well as the third-highest percentage of planes arriving late.
The Top Five Worst Airports for Holiday Travel
- Westchester County Airport - White Plains, New York
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport - Anchorage, Alaska
- McGhee Tyson Airport - Knoxville, Tennessee
- Bozeman Yellowstone International - Bozeman, Montana
- The Eastern Iowa Airport - Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Iowa
The Best Airlines for Holiday Travel
- Alaska Airlines
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
- Frontier Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- SkyWest Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
Source: Forbes
pic: Getty
Photo: Getty Images