WalletHub releases study of the Best Airlines for 2019
Traveling by plane costs an average of $363 per trip. And choosing the wrong airline has the potential to take even more from us. For instance, 10 animals died during air transportation in 2018, and four major U.S. airlines had at least one pet fatality.
While critical to consider, such factors often fly under the radar due to our focus on price. But finding the cheapest airfare is now quite easy for anyone with an internet connection. So this report examines those other, overlooked aspects of air travel to help consumers make more-informed decisions.
WalletHub compared the 9 largest U.S. airlines, plus three regional carriers, across 15 important metrics. They range from cancellation and delay rates to baggage mishaps and in-flight comfort. We also considered costs in relation to in-flight amenities for the sake of fairness. For example, it wouldn’t be right to penalize an airline that charges for drinks if its tickets are far cheaper than those from an airline with free in-flight refreshments.
2019’s Best Airlines
Below, you can see where each major airline ranks, based on overall WalletHub Score.
| Airline | WalletHub Score |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 63.52 |
| Delta Air Lines | 59.69 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 56.73 |
| Spirit Airlines | 52.9 |
| ExpressJet Airlines | 50.96 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 48.74 |
| United Airlines | 45.86 |
| JetBlue Airways | 44.99 |
| Southwest Airlines | 38.97 |
| American Airlines | 38.42 |
| Envoy Air | 36.24 |
| Frontier Airlines | 30.42 |
Key Findings
Most Reliable Airline: Delta Air Lines has the lowest rate of cancelations, delays, mishandled luggage and denied boardings.
| Airline | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 26.35 | 25.65 | 25.05 | 27.61 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 22.14 | 25.49 | 21.62 | 22.81 |
| United Airlines | 13.62 | 20.3 | 24.02 | 22.47 |
| Spirit Airlines | 14.78 | 19.81 | 18.85 | 21.44 |
| Alaska Airlines | 24.13 | 28.48 | 23.98 | 20.33 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 13.28 | 20.88 | 19.6 | 17.45 |
| JetBlue Airways | 18.03 | 17.46 | 15.61 | 14.97 |
| Southwest Airlines | 13.52 | 15.07 | 15.74 | 13.63 |
| American Airlines | 16.41 | 16.78 | 19.79 | 13.24 |
| ExpressJet Airlines | 10.72 | 14 | 16.68 | 10.84 |
| Envoy Air | NaN | NaN | NaN | 7.19 |
| Frontier Airlines | 15.1 | 14.46 | 18.04 | 3.65 |
Most Comfortable Airline: JetBlue leads the pack in terms of in-flight experience, offering free amenities such as Wi-Fi, extra legroom, and complimentary snacks and beverages.
| Airline | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| United Airlines | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.63 |
| Southwest Airlines | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.63 |
| Alaska Airlines | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.63 |
| Delta Air Lines | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.63 |
| American Airlines | 4 | 4.5 | 4.63 | 4.5 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Spirit Airlines | NaN | NaN | NaN | 0.5 |
| Frontier Airlines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cheapest Airline: Frontier and Spirit are the best airlines for budget flyers.
| Airline | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | $8.69 | $6.19 | $5.41 | $4.9 |
| Spirit Airlines | $6.31 | $5.15 | $5.11 | $5.13 |
| ExpressJet Airlines | $7.32 | $7.85 | $8.02 | $9.2 |
| SkyWest Airlines | $9.35 | $9.35 | $9.85 | $9.77 |
| Alaska Airlines | $11.18 | $10.53 | $10.55 | $10.96 |
| JetBlue Airways | $12.13 | $11.32 | $11.2 | $11.31 |
| United Airlines | $12.51 | $11.65 | $11.69 | $11.96 |
| Southwest Airlines | $13.34 | $12.64 | $12.47 | $12.25 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | $11.86 | $11.89 | $13.09 | $12.36 |
| American Airlines | $12.65 | $11.85 | $12.2 | $12.62 |
| Delta Air Lines | $13.2 | $12.42 | $12.37 | $12.91 |
| Envoy Air | NaN | NaN | NaN | $14.8 |
Most Pet-Friendly: Two airlines tied for being most pet-friendly, ExpressJet and Envoy, with no incidents.
| Airline | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressJet Airlines | 4.56 | 5 | 5 |
| Envoy Air | NaN | NaN | 5 |
| Alaska Airlines | 4.72 | 4.42 | 4.94 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 4.27 | 5 | 4.76 |
| American Airlines | 4.3 | 3.07 | 4.61 |
| United Airlines | 3.16 | 0 | 4.11 |
| Delta Air Lines | 3.84 | 3.84 | 3.85 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Most Satisfactory Airline: Southwest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines had the industry’s lowest consumer-complaint rate in 2018.
| Airline | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressJet Airlines | 0.62 | 0.51 | 0.73 | 0.36 |
| Southwest Airlines | 0.52 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.36 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 0.65 | 0.49 | 0.53 | 0.43 |
| Alaska Airlines | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.57 | 0.57 |
| Delta Air Lines | 0.74 | 0.68 | 0.92 | 0.65 |
| Envoy Air | NaN | NaN | NaN | 0.84 |
| JetBlue Airways | 0.86 | 0.75 | 1.14 | 0.99 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 1.06 | 1.16 | 0.95 | 1.1 |
| United Airlines | 2.85 | 2.27 | 1.89 | 1.28 |
| American Airlines | 3.36 | 2.49 | 1.96 | 1.38 |
| Spirit Airlines | 11.73 | 6.74 | 5.59 | 2.83 |
| Frontier Airlines | 7.86 | 5.94 | 2.78 | 4.02 |
Safest Airline: Alaska Airlines was the safest in 2018. The safety runner-up is Spirit Airlines.
| Airline | WalletHub Score |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 19.86 |
| Spirit Airlines | 18.48 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 16.99 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 16.34 |
| Envoy Air | 16.17 |
| ExpressJet Airlines | 15.37 |
| Frontier Airlines | 15.25 |
| JetBlue Airways | 14.53 |
| American Airlines | 14.15 |
| Delta Air Lines | 13.25 |
| United Airlines | 10.76 |
| Southwest Airlines | 5.83 |
(1) Regional airlines that serve other major airlines. There are more regional carriers serving the national airlines, but these are the only ones required to report to the DOT and that have at least 1 percent of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues.
(2) As a regional airline, ExpressJet does not control baggage handling or bookings. These are handled by the main airline served.
(3) Depending on the major airline served, flights from this airline may or may not provide the service. Please see Methodology for scoring.
(4) There may be discrepancies caused by variations in how airlines code the delay data that they report to the DOT.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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