Delta Air Lines was named the Top U.S. Airline of 2023 by the Wall Street Journal in its annual airline scorecard rankings released Wednesday.  

 The Journal tracks seven metrics for nine U.S. airlines to rank them according to their track record of providing reliable, customer-focused service. Delta’s network performed number one for the third year running and has captured the top spot six of the last seven years. 

“Safe, reliable operations led by caring people – that’s how we earn our customers’ trust every day,” said COO Mike Spanos. “Thank you to all 100,000 Delta people worldwide for achieving the industry’s best performance in 2023.” 

WSJ ranked airlines by objective industry performance metrics and U.S. Department of Transportation data. Delta ranked No. 1 overall and in three of the seven categories, including on-time arrivals, low U.S. DOT complaints and involuntary bumping. Delta also ranked No. 2 in mishandled baggage and extreme delays.   

The full story and scorecard can be viewed on the Wall Street Journal website. 

Additionally, The Journal reported that Delta had the lowest rate of complaints and reduced its flight cancellation rate to 1.2% of flights, from nearly 2%. 

Delta delivered record December quarter revenue with the highest holiday travel volumes in its history. Operational performance was best-in-class [with leading system-wide completion factor and on-time performance]. Although this recognition is the latest for Delta’s award-winning operation, Delta people continually create opportunities for other awards, including the Cirium Platinum Award topping the rankings as North America’s most on-time airline and No. 1 spot in the annual Business Travel News Airline Survey for the 13th year in a row. 

“Delta Air Lines has led the pack in getting operations back on track,” reported Dawn Gilbertson and Allison Pohle in the Journal’s coverage. “The airline took the crown—again—in The Wall Street Journal’s 16th annual airline scorecard.”