New data shows hardly any Canadians think airlines are reliable anymore

With all of the flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage and other travel horrors that far too many passengers trying to fly into or out of Canada have encountered in recent months, it's no wonder that, according to a new study, hardly anyone in the country perceives our airlines as reliable anymore.

New data released by Leger shows that Canadians are more frustrated with their travel experiences than their American counterparts, with only 39 per cent of people surveyed in the Great White North believing carriers to be reliable in terms of adhering to their departure and arrival schedules (compared to 46 per cent of those south of the border).

Fed-up Air Canada customers blast the airline on social media https://t.co/JtO2Tq9mqO #Canada #AirCanada #SocialMedia

— blogTO (@blogTO) April 11, 2023

Canadians are also feeling increased stress about the impacts of inflation on travel plans, with 33 per cent (versus 20 per cent of Americans) saying that the current economic climate has caused them to alter, defer or completely call off vacations this year.

More than half of Canadian participants (59 per cent, compared to 52 per cent of U.S. respondents) also said that they have experienced at least one flight delay in the last year, while 21 per cent (vs. 20 per cent of Americans) have had a flight cancellation.

why can't you tighten up the airline industry instead of throwing money at resolving complaints https://t.co/FWOfz22brF

— steph (@stoveek) March 14, 2023

Residents of Canada have also had a far worse time with connecting flights, with 59 per cent of those surveyed — compared to 35 per cent of residents of the U.S. — saying they will only be trying to book direct flights from now on after recent incidents of late arrivals and missed connections.

The figures are based on research collected over 12 days earlier this month via a web survey.

Monopolies are par for the course here......Rogers, ring a bell? How about Loblaws? Its a system of economics in favour of a few.......

— Masood Mohajer (@MasoodMohajer) June 20, 2023

Canadian customers have in recent memory experienced such unbelievable travel woes as having their pets lost by airline staff during layovers, and even finding blood and feces from previous guests underfoot during a flight.

A new report also showed that Air Canada and WestJet performed worse than many U.S. carriers as far as arriving and departing on-time last year.