There are many factors to consider when booking long-term travel plans. One of the most important: which airline will take you to your destination.
While many airlines will take you wherever you want, the travel experience can vary widely when it comes to factors like boarding processes, amenities, and baggage allowances.
WalletHub recently released a ranking of the best airlines in the United States. The site compared the nine largest national airlines, plus one regional carrier, on 13 parameters divided into three main categories:
- Baggage and departures
- Comfort and cost in flight
- Security
Airlines were rated based on metrics such as the number of reports of mishandled bags, how often they canceled flights, the availability of free refreshments and how often they had delays. Each airline was then given a score out of a maximum of 100 points.
After two years in first place, Delta Air Lines slipped to fourth place, behind new No. 1 Alaska Airlines, as well as SkyWest and Spirit.
Despite losing its crown, Delta is still considered the most reliable airline due to its low rate of cancellations, delays, mishandled bags and denied boardings. The legacy carrier also ranked among the most comfortable airlines in terms of in-flight experience.
Alaska Airlines is WalletHub’s first U.S. airline
Alaska Airlines received the most points in WalletHub’s analysis, with a score of 68.07 out of 100 possible points.
Although Delta held the top spot in 2022 and 2023, Alaska previously ranked No. 1 from 2017 to 2019 and again in 2021.
In WalletHub’s rankings, Alaska was also the third most reliable and comfortable airline and the fourth most affordable airline.
Alaska Airlines is ranked as America’s best airline, according to a recent WalletHub report.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines offers customers free Starbucks on board, has hubs on the Northwest Coast and is a member of the Oneworld alliance, a 13-member global airline alliance including American Airlines, Qatar Airlines and British Airways. This allows Alaska to offer its passengers special benefits, such as reserving a flight on another airline in the alliance when possible.
The airline was also ranked the best airline and best airline rewards program by NerdWallet earlier this year.
Ranking of the best US airlines, according to WalletHub
- Alaska Airlines (68.07 points)
- SkyWest Airlines (65.96 points)
- Spirit Airlines (65.69 points)
- Delta Airlines (61.56 points)
- United Airlines (51.96 points)
- JetBlue Airways(51.6 points)
- Hawaiian Airlines (48.3 points)
- American airlines (46.52 points)
- Border Airlines (43.57 points)
- Southwest Airlines (36.03 points)
The second best airline, according to WalletHub, is SkyWest Airlines, with a score of 65.96.
SkyWest is a regional airline that partners with major airlines such as Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.
SkyWest is ranked as the second best US airline, according to WalletHub.
Ian Waldie | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In 2023, it carried 38.6 million passengers to its 237 destinations across North America.
SkyWest ranked among the top three domestic airlines in terms of on-time performance between February 2023 and January 2024, with 84% of its flights departing as scheduled, according to Department of Transportation data.
Ultra-low-cost Spirit Airlines ranked No. 3 in WalletHub’s report, with a score of 65.69.
Spirit also ranked as the best airline for budget travelers, beating out Frontier, another budget airline. The Florida-based carrier’s flights cost about 5.23 cents per mile in 2024, while Frontier’s flights cost 6.03 cents per mile, according to WalletHub.
Spirit Airlines ranked third among the best U.S. airlines, according to WalletHub.
Brian Van Der Brug | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
One of the main reasons Spirit Airlines is able to keep its costs lower than other airlines is because it operates an a la carte pricing model. This means your fare only covers your seat and anything extra, like bags and snacks on board, comes at a cost.
Spirit Airlines may not offer the most comfortable experience – its seats are known for limited legroom and lack of in-flight entertainment – compared to some of the other airlines listed. However, if a traveler is looking to spend less money in the United States, Caribbean, or Latin America, this could be a good solution.
On the other end of the list, Southwest Airlines ranked last for the third year in a row with just 36.03 points. The Texas-based carrier scored poorly on metrics such as price, security measures, mishandled baggage reports and denied boarding.
Despite its last-place ranking, Southwest Airlines had the lowest percentage of canceled flights, WalletHub found, based on 2023 flight data from the Department of Transportation.
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