Alaska Airlines takes top spot overall, Spirit found best for safety, study finds

With airline ticket prices rising again after experiencing a fairly large drop last year, WalletHub recently released its report on 2024's Best Airlines, as well as expert commentary. WalletHub's study focuses not just on price but also many other aspects of the air travel experience, such as safety, delays, baggage issues, comfort and more.

You can find a handful of highlights below:

• Best Overall - Alaska Airlines earned the highest overall WalletHub Score (68.07) for the fourth time in six years, followed by SkyWest Airlines (65.96).
• Most Reliable - Delta Air Lines has the lowest overall rate of cancellations, delays, mishandled luggage and denied boardings. The next most reliable company is SkyWest Airlines.
• Safety - Spirit Airlines is the safest, with a low number of incidents and accidents per 100,000 flight operations, no fatalities and fewer than 15 people injured between 2018 and 2023. Spirit Airlines also has a relatively new fleet of aircrafts. The safety runner-up is Alaska Airlines.
• Most Comfortable - Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways lead the pack in terms of in-flight experience, offering free amenities such as Wi-Fi, extra legroom, and complimentary snacks and beverages. Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines & American Airlines are tied for the third position in this category.

For the full list of 2024's Best & Worst Airlines, please visit:
https://www.wallethub.com/edu/best-airlines/20916/


Expert Commentary

What would be the easiest measures that airlines can implement to increase passengers' comfort?

"This is a multi-faceted question since it encompasses passenger comfort in the terminal as well as in the air. Airports and airlines have already engaged in upgrading the terminal experience with greater access to amenities, sometimes without having to leave your seat at the gate. As for on-board comfort, the obvious answer is better seats, but this improvement will tend to increase weight and that converts to increased fuel costs which the airlines will understandably avoid if they possibly can (and not an easy change to implement). The offering of increased on-board amenities (some food, Wi-Fi, etc.) without charge is always appreciated. The difference in service between, for example, United Economy and Spirit is certainly noticeable and for some well worth the difference in ticket cost."
Don Koorse - Assistant Professor, Lynn University


"I have sat in the cheap seats for over 20 years flying all over the U.S. and Europe. At that time, what mattered to me was seat selection options, legroom, boarding priority, and seat comfort. Airlines having an App that can be updated in near real-time is a nice factor. Especially when you are trying to get out of the middle seat. There have been many times I sat in the gate area mashing the refresh button repeatedly, hoping to get out of the middle when other passengers upgrade to first. Having that ability is huge and why I chose one airline over the other. Legroom is a factor and one I have paid for many times. Having a bad back and knees, it really matters that few more inches on my comfort level and attitude when I get where I am going. Next, when traveling, having the ability to get priority boarding to put my large backpack in the overhead compartment before all the non-checked baggage fills it up is another important factor. The only worst thing than little legroom is when your legroom is filled up with your backpack because all the bins are full. Lastly, seat comfort will be the difference of feeling like my spine is going through my skin or not. Especially long delays on the tarmac or at the gate."
Matthew "Monty" Montgomery - Department Chair, Department of Professional Aviation, Louisiana Tech University


Is there an easy measure that airlines can implement to reduce congestion at the counter?

"It might be easy to say to relieve check-in congestion and add more staff. The reality is that is an increased operating expense, and not likely to see any huge improvements here. I like the kiosk for medium or experienced passengers. You can come right in and scan/print all the tags you need and throw your stuff on the belt. Maybe airlines should incentivize passengers better to do more of the check-in work at home before their flight might help. I think that could work at your smaller out-station airports; they are going to have the lowest number of staff, and even part-time staff at that. TSA is working on some things that will allow passengers to self-scan or pre-scan for security. There might be some opportunities there if the passenger can walk in the front door of the airport and walk uninterrupted all the way to the gate. If there were programs that really worked and minimized how much time a passenger needs to be in the terminal would ultimately free up capacity at the check-in counter. Just my basic ideas, I had not thought about this too much recently."
Ryan Reeves, MS, ATP, CFI/AIM - Clinical Assistant Professor, Purdue University

"Existing online check-in and baggage drop opportunities are the right direction to streamline check-in. However, when your gate agents are backed up and cannot support the baggage drop, it just adds more to the misery. Recommend having the online check-in process, use it, and support the program with adequate staff. Those of us who frequently travel will be in and out of check-in in a matter of minutes, giving room for those who need assistance."
Matthew "Monty" Montgomery - Department Chair, Department of Professional Aviation, Louisiana Tech University


Is inflation affecting the airline industry?

"Unfortunately, inflation is like air, it is everywhere and most inflationary airline costs are passed on to the consumer. Since all airlines experience them, it will be the exception that finds a way to eliminate or, at least, diminish them as a pass-through to the consumer. Leisure travelers are very price-sensitive and business travelers are becoming more so; the low-cost carriers, if all other things are close to equal, may find a thriving environment within which to do business."
Don Koorse - Assistant Professor, Lynn University

"Inflation, in my opinion, is affecting all industries. The question is, is it affecting airlines more than the rest? Probably. As we see higher and higher pay rates for pilots, the money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is ticket prices. This is not a statement on whether they are worth the pay; it is really just a statement of increased pay has to come from somewhere. Now bigger airplanes with more seats can easily cover the increased pay as pilots are moving more resources. However, again the production line problems will cause stoppages and slowdowns of these lines forcing airlines to use older aircraft. The older, smaller, and less efficient aircraft will cost more compared to what they can carry. So my theory is, that ticket prices will be forced to increase to cover the larger pay."
Matthew "Monty" Montgomery - Department Chair, Department of Professional Aviation, Louisiana Tech University