The 9 Biggest U.S. Airlines, Ranked From Best to Worst
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Finding the best airline in the United States may sound like a challenge. After all, between the ever-shrinking legroom and expanding baggage fees—never mind delays and overbooking debacles—air travel sometimes seems more like a necessary hassle than anything else.
But not all U.S. airlines will have you feeling the same pain. Believe it or not, you can still get something akin to the kind of enjoyable experience now thought of as a “golden age" relic—even from economy seats.
Money compared the nine largest U.S. airlines—weighing such factors as pricing, fees, customer experience, and flight performance—to identify the country’s best. Here's how the rankings shake out.
1. Alaska Airlines
- Avg. price per roundtrip flight: $450
- Avg. price per kilometer flown: $0.22
- Share of on-time arrivals: 85.29%
Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has long been hugely popular with West Coast travelers, but its acquisition of Virgin America at the end of 2016 has vastly extended its network. The combined entity now ranks as the fifth-largest airline in the U.S., flying to more than 115 destinations; new routes cover spots like Mexico City, Philadelphia, and Raleigh.
Travel + Leisure named Alaska's loyalty program the best for U.S. flyers, with generous benefits and easy ability to earn of round-trip flights. Alaska also tops the industry's Airline Quality Rating, which tracks mishandled baggage, customer complaints, timeliness and denied boardings. (Alaska actually promises to deliver your luggage within 20 minutes of gate arrival or discount your next flight.)
Over the next two years, Alaska plans to outfit its Boeing planes with "mood lighting"—a signature of Virgin America’s in-flight experience and add high-speed satellite Wi-Fi to all its planes. You'll also still get free texting on board, plus 200 free movies and shows, Tom Douglas-inspired meals, and decent alcohol selection. And the best part: You can have all that for less. Average fares dropped 6.3% year over year, the largest dip of any domestic airline, according to Rome2Rio.
2. Hawaiian
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $625
- Average price per kilometer flown flown: $0.17
- Share of on-time arrivals: 88.68%
3. Southwest
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $415
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.30
- Share of on-time arrivals: 87.17%
4. JetBlue
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $414
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.30
- Share of on-time arrivals: 86.34%
5. Delta
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $413
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.29
- Share of on-time arrivals: 90.72%
6. Frontier
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $327
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.15
- Share of on-time arrivals: 86.68%
7. Spirit
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $248
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.14
- Share of on-time arrivals: 90.47%
8. American
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $398
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.29
- Share of on-time arrivals: 87.41%
9. United
- Average price of a roundtrip flight: $428
- Average price per kilometer flown: $0.31
- Share of on-time arrivals: 87.53%
Methodology
The pool of U.S. airlines considered included the nine largest domestic airlines. Criteria included average fare price, year-over-year ticket pricing changes, and the cost per kilometer for passengers; average departure and arrival delay time, number of on-time arrivals, number of canceled flights, and amount of denied boardings; baggage and change fees; and customer satisfaction ratings for reservations, check-in, boarding, aircraft, flight crews, in-flight service, food and drink, entertainment, seat comfort, amenities, fees, loyalty program, and overall value. Data providers included Airfarewatchdog, FlightStats, J.D. Power, Rome2rio, SkyTrax, Travel + Leisure, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
With additional reporting by Sergei Klebnikov