Frequent-flier reward points accommodated for seats best on low-cost U.S. carriers, says study

A recent study by a Wisconsin-based consulting company for the airline industry has concluded that U.S. carriers operating cheap flights, such as Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways, are the best when it comes to trade in your frequent-flier reward points for seats on an airplane.

The company, which conducted the study, said that in March it submitted nearly 7,000 booking requests through the frequent-flier websites of 23 airlines, and seats were requested for the airline’s most popular routes in June through October.

The study found that there was a 93.5 percent success rate of finding available seats on low-cost carriers around the world, including U.S. carriers such as Southwest Airlines, Air Tran Airways and JetBlue Airways.

However, the study also found that there was a 62.9 percent success rate with large carriers such as American Airlines, US Airways and Delta Air Lines.

According to the study, Southwest Airlines in fact had a 100 percent success rate for locating available seats – tied for the best rate with budget airline Air Berlin. The study also pointed out that AirTran Airways and United Airlines were among the U.S. carriers, with each having a success rate of 87 percent.