The Best Airlines In 2023, According To A New Report

After several years of rough air during the global pandemic, it’s smooth sailing again for the airline industry. So what are the best airlines to fly?

The personal-finance website WalletHub has just announced its annual list of the best U.S. airlines. In addition to comparing the nine largest national airlines in the United States and two regional carriers, WalletHub also revealed the most reliable airline, the most comfortable airline, the most affordable airline, the best airline for pets and the safest airline.

WalletHub came up with the list by collecting and analyzing flight data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and using a strategic methodology that compared 14 key metrics ranging from cancellation and delay rates to baggage mishaps and in-flight comfort. The analysis also considered costs in relation to in-flight amenities.

“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 analyst 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 second 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 second 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 second year in a row was Southwest Airlines, which had a headline-making holiday meltdown that contributed to the poor results. “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 several years (including 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2017), dipped to number five 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 terms of other key findings, Delta Air Lines was named the most reliable airline, while the least reliable 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 named the most comfortable airline, while the least comfortable 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 safest airline in America was Envoy Air (which is the largest regional carrier 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 affordable airline was Spirit, while the most expensive 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, three carriers airlines tied: 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 overall list of the best airlines in America, as well as the other key 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

The Most Reliable Airlines in the U.S.

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

The Most Comfortable Airlines in the U.S.

*Note that the regional carriers SkyWest and Envoy are not represented in this chart because they serve other major airlines, which may dictate what amenities are provided.

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

The Safest Airlines in the U.S.

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

The Most Affordable Airlines in the U.S.

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

The Most Pet Friendly Airlines in the U.S.

*Note that three airlines tied for being most pet-friendly (Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and SkyWest). Six airlines are not listed because they do not transport animals: Envoy, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, United and Spirit.

1. Alaska Airlines (tied)

1. Delta Air Lines (tied)S

1. SkyWest Airlines (tied)

4. American Airlines

5. Hawaiian Airlines

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