Key takeaways:
- The two cheapest airlines land at opposite ends of loyalty (Allegiant NPS +32, Frontier −6), proving fare doesn't drive repeat business.
- 32% of travelers hit a disruption; nearly 2× as many became more loyal after good recovery than less loyal after bad (38% vs. 20%).
- Southwest leads every loyalty measure (89% satisfaction, NPS +39, 91% fly-again) — the only airline strong on both the airport and the cabin.
- Frequent flyers weight price 18 points lower than occasional flyers (39% vs. 57%), shifting toward service, loyalty, and digital tools. One-size CX is dead.
- Frontier ranks last on every loyalty measure and bottom three on all 7 in-flight dimensions — the fix is in the cabin and recovery, not marketing.
