10 best and worst airlines in America
We may all have hard-formed opinions on the best and worst airlines, but most of us are willing to toss those preferences out the window in favor of a cheaper ticket. Price is important, of course, but there are other aspects worth considering. What about comfort? What about safety?
WalletHub put together a ranking of 10 major airlines and scored them in several ways. Using data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the carriers were scored in 16 key metrics across four categories: reliability (50 possible points), animal incidents (5 possible points), in-flight comfort (15 possible points), and safety (30 possible points). Using those metrics, they calculated an overall score and ranked the airlines accordingly. For more information on Wallethub's scoring system, here is a more detailed look at the methodology.
Below you can see WalletHub's overall score based on the abovementioned methodology, as well as each airline's individual scores for 2025, including safety and cost.
Note: WalletHub published this report prior to the announcement of Spirit Airlines' shutdown. Though it originally ranked number one, the story has since been updated, and Spirit has been removed.
#10. Envoy Air
Overall score: 44.46
Reliability score: 15.76
Cost of airfare: ¢17.02/mile
Animal incidents score: 5
Safety score: 13.30
Envoy is one of two regional carriers included in this list. Because it serves American Airlines, its comfort score was omitted. Unfortunately, Envoy landed the lowest safety score of the entire list, which is never something you like to see. That reliability score is tough, too. 2025 was clearly not Envoy's year.
#9. United Airlines
Overall score: 44.81
Reliability score: 27.99
Comfort score: 4.5
Cost of airfare: ¢15.48/mile
Animal incidents score: 5
Safety score: 18.00
United's major Chicago hub is expecting to see 750 flights per day this summer, which is a staggering number if you think about the fact that it's in last place out of the major airlines. The safety score might look low at first glance, but then you might remember how a door literally came off the plane during a United flight once, and it makes more sense.
#8. Frontier Air
Overall score: 45.37
Reliability score: 10.26
Comfort score: 0
Cost of airfare: ¢5.67/mile
Safety score: 26.31
That's not what we would call an ideal comfort score, but people tend to settle with Frontier because of the cost. With the lowest reliability score by far, it doesn't seem like things go according to plan very often on a Frontier flight.
(Frontier doesn't transport animals, so no score was given.)
#7. American Airlines
Overall score: 50.92
Reliability score: 15.59
Comfort score: 4.63
Cost of airfare: ¢15.19/mile
Animal incidents score: 0.8
Safety score: 23.49
For an airline of its size, American's reliability score is a disaster. With over 2 million flights per year, that number should probably be way higher. And we shudder to think about what happened in 2025 to bring the animal score all the way down to a bone-chilling 0.8.
#6. Delta Airlines
Overall score: 52.01
Reliability score: 32.45
Comfort score: 4.63
Cost of airfare: ¢15.50/mile
Animal incidents score: 3.19
Safety score: 22.89
Delta's reliability score is the highest of anything in WalletHub's ranking, but it still lands in seventh place. Despite the reliability and comfort, prices can be high, and the safety score didn't manage to eclipse 23 out of 30 possible points. Most other airlines had perfect animal safety scores as well, while Delta middled out.
#5. JetBlue Airways
Overall score: 55.46
Reliability score: 29.56
Comfort score: 5
Cost of airfare: ¢12.13/mile
Safety score: 22.17
Even though JetBlue feels like a smaller operation than most other carriers, it managed to beat out half the competition. While its scores overall were fair, if there was a category for having live TV and a self-serve snack bar, JetBlue would dominate.
(JetBlue doesn't transport animals, so no score was given.)
#4. Hawaiian Air
Overall score: 57.95
Reliability score: 27.05
Comfort score: 5
Cost of airfare: ¢11.85/mile
Animal incidents score: 5
Safety score: 21.58
Hawaiian only flies to the islands directly from North America, Asia, and the South Pacific, so with fewer flights comes greater quality control. With perfect comfort and animal scores, good prices, and decent reliability, it makes sense to see Hawaiian in the top five.
#3. Alaska Air
Overall score: 59.48
Reliability score: 22.08
Comfort score: 4.63
Cost of airfare: ¢11.87/mile
Animal incidents score: 2.37
Safety score: 25.63
Though it didn't even score a 50% in reliability, Alaska rose above the rest in a lot of ways. Back in 2016, Alaska acquired the much-beloved Virgin America, which might explain some of the high scores you see. That said, the animal incidents score is a bit of an eyesore. Maybe just buy a ticket for yourself instead of your furry friend.
#2. Skywest Airlines
Overall score: 63.58
Reliability score: 29.76
Cost of airfare: ¢10.30/mile
Animal incidents score: 5
Safety score: 25.02
Skywest is a regional carrier for many airlines, including major ones like Alaska, American, Delta, and United. Nailing high scores in reliability and safety, Skywest also has the lowest cost per mile of everybody besides Frontier. The bad news is, you can't really reserve a Skywest flight directly, since it serves other airlines. Cross your fingers and hope you get booked on one.
#1. Southwest Airlines
Overall score: 64.44
Reliability score: 28.22
Comfort score: 4.63
Cost of airfare: ¢13.25/mile
Safety score: 23.55
It will be interesting to see what happens to Southwest's scores after the major changes the company has implemented. Two of Southwest's most defining characteristics—free bags and open seating—are now relics of the past. That shouldn't affect reliability, but it will be interesting to see what it does to the comfort score. As for today, Southwest reigns supreme.
Southwest doesn't transport animals, so no score was given.
