The Best Airlines In 2023, According To A New Report

After a number of years of rough air throughout the international pandemic, it’s smooth cruising once again for the airline company market. So what are the very best airline companies to fly?

The personal-finance website WalletHub has actually simply revealed its annual list of the best U.S. airlines. In addition to comparing the 9 biggest nationwide airline companies in the United States and 2 local providers, WalletHub likewise revealed the most trustworthy airline company, the most comfy airline company, the most budget-friendly airline company, the very best airline company for animals and the best airline company.

WalletHub developed the list by gathering and evaluating flight information from the U.S. Department of Transportation and utilizing a tactical approach that compared 14 crucial metrics varying from cancellation and hold-up rates to luggage incidents and in-flight convenience. The analysis likewise thought about expenses in relation to in-flight features.

“WalletHub’s analysis is a comprehensive one, based on a methodology and metrics selected by our analysts along with academic experts. Our goal was to go beyond price comparison tools and identify the best airlines in terms of overall service quality and functional performance,” says Wallethub expert Jill Gonzalez. “While price is of course essential, finding the most affordable airline is extremely easy. WalletHub’s report goes a step further and examines other aspects of flying that sometimes go overlooked, to help consumers make more informed decisions.”

Delta Air Lines topped Wallethub’s list for the 2nd year in a row. “Some of the main factors that contributed to Delta being the winner include the lack of denied boardings in the past year, the lack of animal related incidents and the fact that it has no fatal injuries in aviation accidents,” says Gonzalez. “The availability of leg room, entertainment options and complimentary refreshments added to the airline topping the list.”

Coming in 2nd on the list: Spirit Airlines, which was a surprise, according to Gonzalez. “Although it’s the most affordable, we weren’t expecting Spirit Airlines to do so well,” she says. “However, the small number of mishandled baggage reports and high safety ranking were the key factors that contributed to the airline being second best overall.”

Coming in last on the list for the 2nd year in a row was Southwest Airlines, which had a headline-making vacation disaster that added to the poor outcomes. “Southwest had the second largest share of canceled flights,” says Gonzalez. “It also ranked low in terms of safety since it registered at least one fatal injury in aviation accidents over the past five years, and more than 50 injuries sustained by passengers and/or aircraft personnel that required medical care over the same time period.”

Alaska Airlines, which won the WalletHub list for a number of years (consisting of 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2017), dipped to number 5 in the latest list. “This year, Alaska had the largest share of canceled flights and the second most mishandled baggage reports, which are two reasons why it ranked so low,” says Gonzalez.

In regards to other crucial findings, Delta Air Lines was called the most trustworthy airline company, while the least trustworthy was Frontier Airlines.

“Delta is the most reliable airline mostly because it didn’t have any denied boardings over the past year. It also had the second lowest share of delayed flights, just 11.5%,” says Gonzalez. “At the opposite end, Frontier had the most denied boardings and the second largest share of delayed flights, over 23%.”

JetBlue was called the most comfy airline company, while the least comfy was Frontier.

“JetBlue is the most comfortable airline because all its flights provide at least 30 inches of legroom in economy class or coach seats and it has entertainment options available. Plus, it provides free wi-fi on most of its flights, as well as free food and drinks on all domestic flights over two hours,” says Gonzalez. “By comparison, none of these in-flight perks are provided by Frontier, which is why it had no points on the chart.”

The best airline company in America was Envoy Air (which is the biggest local provider for American Airlines). The least safe: Southwest.

“Envoy is the safest airline because over the past five years it didn’t have any fatalities reported due to aircraft related issues, and less than 15 injuries sustained by passengers and/or airline personnel that required medical care. It also has a very young fleet, with the average age being under ten years,” says Gonzalez. “Southwest ranks last here due to the fact that it has reported at least one fatality due to aircraft related issues, and it had more than 50 injuries sustained by passengers and/or airline personnel that required medical care.”

The most budget-friendly airline company was Spirit, while the most pricey was Envoy Air.

“In terms of affordability, the ranking is pretty straightforward. Spirit had the lowest prices, while Envoy had the highest,” says Gonzalez. “To be able to make a fair comparison, we calculated passenger revenue divided by available seat miles for each airline. The lower the value, the higher the airline ranked.”

For the most pet-friendly airline company, 3 providers airline companies connected: Delta, Alaska Airlines and SkyWest. The least pet-friendly was Hawaiian.

“Delta, Alaska and SkyWest were the only airlines that didn’t register any animal related incidents last year,” says Gonzalez. “Hawaiian ranked last because it reported animal losses, injuries and deaths.”

Read on for the general list of the very best airline companies in America, in addition to the other crucial findings.

Overall Rankings: The Best Airlines in the U.S.

1. Delta Air Lines
2. Spirit Airlines
3. SkyWest Airlines
4. United Airlines
5. Alaska Airlines
6. Hawaiian Airlines
7. JetBlue
8. Envoy Air
9. American Airlines
10. Frontier Airlines
11. Southwest Airlines