This List of America's Best Airlines May Surprise You
Finding cheap plane tickets these days isn't tough, thanks to a steady schedule of flash sales and feature-packed fare-search engines, but that's made it even more difficult to weigh which carriers are worth extra money and which ones should be avoided at all costs. Fortunately, WalletHub just put out a ranking of the top 12 US airlines -- based on a whole range of factors that include everything from frequency of delays and cancellations to the amount of leg room -- which should provide some useful guidance the next time you book a flight.
To determine the rankings, WalletHub awarded a comprehensive "score" to each of the US's 10 most popular airlines (as well as two popular regional carriers) by surveying various metrics, and assigning points for each based on collected flight data and individual company policies. Specifically, they looked into frequency of delays and cancellations, mishandled baggage reports, denied boardings, general complaints, animal related incidents, leg room, entertainment options, WiFi availability, and availability of complimentary refreshments. Price was also considered.
You won't be all that surprised to know that the long-beleaguered carriers Frontier and Spirit Airlines took the 12th and 11th spot, respectively. However, there was a bit of a shakeup among the top ten, compared to a similar set of rankings from last year. Taking the top spot this time around was Alaska Airlines, followed by Delta and Skywest. Here's the full breakdown:
12. Frontier Airlines
11: Spirit Airlines
10. Southwest Airlines
9. Hawaiian Airlines
8. ExpressJet Airlines
7. American Airlines
6. JetBlue Airways
5. Virgin America
4. United Airlines
3. Skywest Airlines
2. Delta Airlines
1. Alaska Airlines
They also awarded a few superlatives:
Most Reliable: Alaska Airlines
Most Comfortable: JetBlue Airlines
Cheapest: Spirit Airlines
Best for Pets: Alaska Airlines
Least Complained-About: Southwest Airlines
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