The end of the year means it’s officially peak travel season here in the U.S. This also means travelers can expect their flights to be at capacity. 

And while it’s annoying, when an airline has an overbooked flight, there are times when travelers can score an amazing travel voucher by volunteering their seats and taking a later flight.

But in some cases, airlines will involuntarily bump you to later flight, despite the fact you’re entitled to compensation and accommodations.  

So, which airline is likely to bump passengers involuntarily?

A recent study done by the travel website Upgraded Points found that while IDBs are rare, there are some airlines that have a much better track record than others.

So, what is the best airline when it comes to staying on the flight?

According to Upgraded Points data: Delta Airlines

“Delta Airlines hits the sweet spot of having a huge amount of enplaned passengers and only 22 bumps in 2018,” according to Upgraded Points analysts. “Out of over 138 million passengers, only .02 per 100,000 Delta passengers were involuntarily bumped”

And the worst airline? Frontier Airlines

“Frontier Airlines had a high number of involuntary denied boardings and a lower number of overall passengers,” according to Upgraded Points.  “This made it the worst airline for bumps in 2018 with a whopping 6.28 per 100,000 passengers getting bumped.”

When it comes to the budget airlines,  Spirit Airlines actually had the highest number of involuntary denied boardings, according to Upgraded Points research. However, due to the higher volume of passengers, their ratio of bumped passengers to total passengers is better than Frontier Airlines.

The U.S. Airlines Most Likely To Bump You

The U.S. Airlines Most Likely To Bump You Graph courtesy of Upgraded

In conclusion, if you want to make it home in time for dinner,  Delta Airlines is the way to go if you’re looking for a reliable way home.