Ranking airline customer service — after things have gone wrong

"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," goes the old adage. But when it comes to booking air travel, many of us drop the ball on the latter half of that advice, even though we know that not all airlines react to unexpected hiccups equally. To combat this head-scratching bit of human nature, Air passenger rights group AirHelp conducted a study on airline customer service and satisfaction — after things have gone wrong.

Each airline was graded on five different metrics, all beginning at the point of a delay, cancellation, or flight disruption. The final tallies were used to determine each airline's AirHelp Score.

Props to AirBaltic, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa for leading the pack. The three biggest American carriers — United, Delta and American — all ranked Poor. Dearly departed U.S. Airways, now fully absorbed into American, scored the third lowest overall.

This AirHelp score might not be as influential on your purchasing habits as say, your frequent-flier miles or your status benefits, but it's certainly a useful tool when preparing to drop big bucks on an upcoming trip.