Air Canada, WestJet Rank Near Bottom in 2025 Satisfaction Study

Air Canada and WestJet have landed near the bottom in this year’s J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction Study, showing that passengers aren’t too happy—no matter which class they’re flying in.

The annual report looks at how satisfied people are with airlines in first/business, premium economy, and economy. Both Canadian carriers performed poorly across the board, especially in the premium economy category where they ranked dead last. Ouch.

Air Canada scored 616 in premium economy and 561 in economy, while WestJet followed closely with 614 and 537, well below the segment averages. Even in the more expensive first/business class, Air Canada couldn’t keep up with competitors, and WestJet didn’t make the rankings at all, likely due to fewer responses or less market share in that segment.

By contrast, U.S. airlines like Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest came out on top, especially in customer satisfaction for economy flyers. According to J.D. Power, this year’s overall bump in satisfaction was helped by slightly cheaper tickets and fewer people flying, which made the whole travel experience a bit smoother. Still, Canadian airlines didn’t seem to benefit.

The study also found that airline staff make a big difference in how passengers rate their trips, and people who didn’t run into problems— like delays— were way more likely to stay loyal to the brand. But it’s clear that Air Canada and WestJet aren’t building that kind of loyalty right now.

With air travel slowing down after the “revenge travel” boom (the post-pandemic rush to travel more to make up for lost time) and new fees piling up for everything from seat selection to baggage, these rankings suggest that Canada’s two biggest airlines have some serious work to do.

Air Canada and WestJet are working to improve inflight Wi-Fi, however. Air Canada has partnered with Bell to offer Eutelsat, while WestJet has partnered with Telus to implement SpaceX’s Starlink.