Because the busy summer season journey season approaches, Individuals are finalizing their journey particulars. For a lot of, that begins with selecting an airline. There are a number of elements that may affect this resolution — price, availability, reliability and frequent flyer perks, to call just a few.
However is there a single finest airline?
Nicely, yearly at The Factors Man, we try to reply that query by compiling goal knowledge throughout all kinds of metrics for the largest U.S. airways. The top objective is to determine the carriers which can be flying increased than the remainder in relation to assembly the wants of customers.
At the moment, we’re out with this yr’s evaluation — and a well-recognized tailfin takes the highest spot.
Right here’s a take a look at 2023’s record of the very best U.S. airways.
Greatest US airways of 2023
1. Delta Air Strains.
2. United Airways.
3. Alaska Airways.
4. American Airways.
5. Southwest Airways.
6. Hawaiian Airways.
7. JetBlue Airways.
8. Spirit Airways.
9. Allegiant Air.
10. Frontier Airways.
Maintain studying for a full evaluation of this yr’s knowledge that landed Delta within the high spot for the fifth yr in a row.
Total rankings and key takeaways
Let’s begin with a fast breakdown of the general scores for this yr, together with every airline’s highest- and lowest-performing classes. We’ll additionally observe the place every one fell final yr (in parentheses).
| Airline (2022 rank) | Whole rating (out of 100)* | Prime-performing areas | Lowest-performing areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Delta (1) | 66.31 | Timeliness, involuntary bumps. | Affordability. |
| 2. United (3) | 62.47 | Household journey, route community, frequent flyer program. | Baggage, affordability. |
| 3. Alaska (5) | 60.54 | Lounges, buyer satisfaction. | Baggage. |
| 4. American (4) | 59.83 | Route community, award availability. | Baggage, affordability. |
| 5. Southwest (2) | 56.29 | Bag/change charges, award availability. | Cancellations, lounges. |
| 6. Hawaiian (6) | 54.71 | Cancellations, involuntary bumps. | Route community. |
| 7. JetBlue (7) | 47.68 | Cabin options. | Timeliness, cancellations, wheelchairs/scooters. |
| 8. Spirit (10) | 38.99 | Affordability. | Wheelchairs/scooters, route community. |
| 9. Allegiant (9) | 37.04 | Involuntary bumps, baggage, wheelchairs/scooters. | Timeliness, cabin options, household. |
| 10. Frontier (8) | 27.74 | Affordability. | Involuntary bumps, buyer satisfaction, bag/change charges, award availability. |
* All knowledge was based mostly on the 12-month interval from Jan. 1, 2022, via Dec. 31, 2022.
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Listed here are some general takeaways from this yr’s evaluation.
- Delta retained its title for the fifth straight yr: As soon as once more, the Atlanta-based provider carried out solidly throughout a number of classes — solely taking low marks for its affordability (or lack thereof).
- Southwest’s vacation meltdown took a toll: The provider’s operational efficiency triggered it to drop from second final yr to fifth this yr. Throughout simply 4 standards that will’ve been impacted by these points — timeliness, cancellations, baggage dealing with and buyer satisfaction — Southwest scored a mixed 4.63 factors decrease than final yr. In the event you erase that drop, it might’ve retained the second spot.
- Alaska and Spirit each jumped a number of spots: Alaska improved its affordability (in each airfare and ancillary charges), whereas Spirit noticed notable enhancements in buyer satisfaction.
- Most airways scored decrease than final yr: Spirit (+8.1) and Alaska (+2.57 factors) have been joined by United (+1.93) and American (+1.34) as the one airways scoring increased than final yr. The opposite six all had decrease scores, together with Delta, which dropped by greater than 4 factors.
- As a complete, airways did a worse job in 2022 than 2021: Many parts present general drops in efficiency once you mix knowledge throughout all 10 airways. Buyer complaints have been up 87.6% yr over yr, whereas costs per 1,000 passenger miles rose 22.67%. In the meantime, the info confirmed will increase in involuntary bumps (up 87.45%), cancellations (up 54%) and mishandled luggage (up 25%) — all of which exhibit the continuing battle to fulfill the excessive demand for air journey.
There’s much more to unpack right here, so let’s take a better take a look at every broad class we used to fee the airways (the total methodology is supplied on the finish of the report).
Greatest US airways for reliability
There are a lot of issues that may make your air journey extra snug — from lounge entry to first-class upgrades. However finally, crucial perform of an airline is to get you the place you need (or want) to be with minimal points.
That is why operational reliability performs a big position in our evaluation annually, making up 30% of our complete evaluation. In our rankings, we thought-about the next 5 elements:
- Timeliness: How incessantly a flight on the airline was delayed.
- Cancellations: How incessantly a flight on the airline was canceled.
- Bumps/involuntarily denied boardings: How incessantly an airline bumped a traveler towards their will on an oversold flight.
- Baggage: How incessantly an airline mishandled a chunk of checked baggage.
- Wheelchairs/scooters: How incessantly an airline mishandled a mobility system.
For the third yr in a row, Hawaiian Airways scored the highest spot as essentially the most dependable U.S. provider throughout these metrics. It had the bottom cancellation fee (fewer than 1% of its scheduled flights have been canceled) and bumped simply 4 passengers out of the practically 10 million individuals it carried in 2022.
Delta was an in depth second right here, because it earned the highest rating for timeliness (with practically 84% of its flights arriving on time) and bumped simply two flyers out of just about 161 million Delta passengers.
However for the second yr in a row, Allegiant put up numbers that inform two very totally different tales of reliability.
For starters, the provider batted an ideal 1.000 within the involuntary bumps class, as zero of the 16.8 million Allegiant flyers have been bumped from their flights in 2022. It additionally mishandled the fewest luggage (simply 1.55 per 1,000 checked) and the fewest mobility units (0.39 per 100).
Nonetheless, it was abysmal with on-time arrivals, as fewer than two-thirds of its departures arrived inside quarter-hour of the scheduled arrival time. Allegiant additionally canceled 3.52% of its scheduled flights — beating solely JetBlue, which canceled 3.74%.
In the meantime, the worst provider for checked baggage was as soon as once more American Airways, which misplaced luggage at a fee of 1 out of each 114 it accepted. In different phrases, you have been greater than five-and-a-half occasions extra more likely to take care of misplaced or delayed luggage on American than Allegiant.
Spirit was final in dealing with mobility units, misplacing roughly 1 out of each 17 it accepted (a fee practically 15 occasions worse than Allegiant).
Lastly, Frontier as soon as once more introduced up the rear when it comes to involuntary bumps. The provider reported {that a} complete of over 6,000 passengers have been involuntarily denied boarding, which interprets to greater than 16 day by day and a mean of roughly 1 out of each 3,752 vacationers. This was greater than two-and-a-half occasions the airline’s 2022 figures.
Greatest US airways for the journey expertise
Past wanting an airline that’s typically dependable, vacationers are sometimes drawn to carriers that present a cushty expertise on board. Whether or not it is extra legroom, family-friendly perks or inflight Wi-Fi, airways strive to make sure that the precise act of flying is gratifying sufficient that vacationers wish to return.
The journey expertise class made up 25% of our evaluation throughout these 4 elements:
- Cabin options: What you will expertise on board, together with Wi-Fi, seat pitch/width and inflight leisure.
- Lounges: How widespread (and quite a few) an airline’s lounges are, and the way reasonably priced it’s to entry them.
- Household: How nicely an airline caters to households touring with youngsters.
- Buyer satisfaction: How incessantly prospects complain to the U.S. Division of Transportation concerning the provider.
As soon as once more, JetBlue was the highest airline for cabin options, with complimentary Wi-Fi throughout its complete fleet plus seatback TVs and the biggest economic system seats within the U.S.
In the meantime, Alaska scored high marks for lounge entry (members not solely benefit from the 9 Alaska Lounge areas however 40-plus American Airways Admirals Golf equipment and even three United Golf equipment) and buyer satisfaction, with simply 2.54 complaints per each 100,000 passengers.
On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Allegiant was on the backside of the record for cabin options, with minimal facilities and the narrowest seats among the many 10 carriers.
The airline with the best fee of complaints was Frontier, with 22.6 per each 100,000 vacationers in 2022. That is greater than twice the numbers for the second-to-last provider on this class (Spirit) and virtually 9 occasions increased than Alaska’s.
There’s one last observe on buyer satisfaction: As a complete, U.S. airways noticed a notable enhance in complaints in comparison with 2021. This statistic rose from 3.14 complaints per 100,000 passengers to five.89 per 100,000. That is a soar of 87.6% yr over yr.
Greatest US airways for price and attain
There are different main elements that go into choosing an airline. Does it get you the place you need (or want) to go, and the way a lot does it cost you for that service?
Our “price and attain” class makes an attempt to reply these questions by wanting on the costs you pay — each in airfare and customary ancillary charges — together with how widespread a given airline’s route community is throughout the U.S. This makes up 20% of our evaluation, and it covers these parts:
- Route community: What number of home airports an airline serves.
- Affordability: How far (in distance) you’ll be able to fly for the cash you are paying, based mostly on monetary knowledge from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
- Ancillary charges: How a lot a typical passenger pays in bag and alter/cancellation charges.
Not surprisingly, the big legacy carriers excelled of their respective route networks. Primarily based on month-to-month stories to the D.O.T., United, American and Delta served the best variety of locations in the course of the yr — a mean of 235, 228 and 210, respectively.
On the opposite facet of the coin was (but once more) Hawaiian, with a mean of fewer than 22 airports served.
That mentioned, the foremost U.S. airways have been the least reasonably priced on the market, with Delta coming in final adopted by American in ninth and United in eighth. This opened the door for the low-cost carriers on the record — and that is the place they hit it out of the park.
Spirit Airways was as soon as once more essentially the most reasonably priced U.S. airline, taking in simply $126.15 for each 1,000 miles flown per passenger. Frontier was simply behind, at $131.24, and Allegiant was third at $150.32.
Nonetheless, essentially the most fascinating facet of the affordability numbers is the year-over-year change. It is not simply you; flight costs are costlier than the earlier yr.
Actually, each one of many 10 airways we analyzed noticed will increase in prices for each 1,000 passenger miles. Allegiant was the bottom (at 7.06%), however American, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit all noticed this quantity climb by greater than 25% in 2022 in comparison with 2021. The common enhance was $44.05 (or 22.67%).
Lastly, the ancillary price class noticed Southwest assume a well-recognized spot on the high of the heap, because it permits every passenger two free checked luggage and imposes no change or cancellation charges. Once you consider extra baggage charges, Southwest charged a mean of simply 43 cents per passenger. In the meantime, the low-cost carriers added a ton right here — $26.35 per passenger on Allegiant, $28.99 per passenger on Spirit and a whopping $43.81 per passenger on Frontier.
Greatest US airways for loyalty
The ultimate class of our report (which made up 25% of the evaluation) is loyalty — a subject close to and expensive to TPG’s editorial staff. To fee the ten airways on this class, we thought-about two particular elements:
- Frequent flyer program: How rewarding an airline’s loyalty program is, together with TPG’s valuations, elite standing, cobranded bank cards, accomplice airways and expiration insurance policies.
- Award availability: How simple and precious it’s to redeem your rewards throughout common journey occasions.
United as soon as once more excelled in rewarding frequent flyers, boasting the widest variety of accomplice airways (together with a brand new tie-up with Emirates) together with 4 totally different client bank cards. Delta was an in depth second right here and simply edged out American, which is in a shrinking minority of loyalty packages that permit miles to run out (excluding these underneath the age of 21).
Nonetheless, American scored tops in award availability, because the overwhelming majority of the dates we searched noticed excessive redemption values.
In the meantime, loyalty was a class the place the low-cost carriers fell quick, with few companions, punitive expiration insurance policies and restricted award availability. Frontier introduced up the rear, adopted by Allegiant, Hawaiian and Spirit.
Methodology
As famous above, there have been 4 broad sections on this evaluation, every of which consisted of a number of standards. All knowledge factors have been based mostly on flights operated in the course of the 12-month interval that ran from Jan. 1, 2022, via Dec. 31, 2022.
Right here’s a full breakdown of the methodology and the info used for every:
Reliability (30%)
- Timeliness (utilizing knowledge on delayed flights from the D.O.T.).
- Cancellations (utilizing knowledge on canceled flights from the D.O.T.).
- Involuntary bumps (utilizing knowledge on involuntary denied boardings from the D.O.T.).
- Baggage (utilizing knowledge on mishandled baggage from the D.O.T.).
- Wheelchairs/scooters (utilizing knowledge on mishandled baggage from the D.O.T.).
Expertise (25%)
- Cabin options (utilizing knowledge from SeatGuru and inflight amenity choices from every provider’s web site).
- Lounges (utilizing knowledge on the variety of lounges, variety of cities and value of membership for every relevant lounge community).
- Household (utilizing a 0-to-5 rating based mostly on boarding, perks and meals/leisure out there on board).
- Buyer satisfaction (utilizing knowledge on buyer complaints from the DOT).
Prices and attain (20%)
- Route community (utilizing the month-to-month common of home cities served by every airline from the DOT).
- Affordability (utilizing monetary knowledge from the BTS).
- Bag/change charges (utilizing monetary knowledge from the BTS).
Loyalty (25%)
- Frequent flyer (utilizing knowledge from our month-to-month valuations, elite standing stories and every provider’s web site).
- Award availability (utilizing real-time award stock for common home routes throughout three distinct time durations).
For all standards, the uncooked scores from the info have been transformed into scaled scores from zero to 10. Typically, a rating of zero was assigned to the lowest-performing provider, and the place doable, a rating of 10 was assigned to a “good” airline — for instance, Allegiant and Delta each scored a ten on involuntary bumps since that they had zero (or successfully zero) final yr.
Nonetheless, when there was no clear option to decide perfection, a ten was given to the highest-performing airline.
By utilizing scaled scores (quite than a easy rating system), we primarily “graded” every airline relative to the others. The rating for every airline on every particular person aspect was thus a numerical reflection of how a lot better mentioned airline did in comparison with the lowest-scoring provider.
For instance, Alaska simply edged out Delta within the lowest variety of D.O.T. complaints (2.54 per 100,00 passengers versus 2.87). We normalized these numbers by evaluating them to the lowest-performing airline (Frontier, with 22.6 per 100,000) and the best doable rating (0 per 100,000), and the ensuing scaled rating conversion gave Alaska a “grade” of 8.88 out of 10 and Delta an 8.73 out of 10.
Then, every particular person rating was weighted utilizing the above percentages to reach on the last, cumulative rating included within the desk.
Remaining ideas
There’s quite a bit that goes into choosing an airline on your subsequent journey — value, reliability, elite standing and what you will expertise on the flight itself. Whereas there isn’t any provider that can meet the wants of each traveler on the market, our annual report makes use of goal knowledge to determine the corporate that is finest assembly the wants of consumers.
For the fifth straight yr, Delta Air Strains has earned the title of TPG’s finest U.S. airline.
Nonetheless, it is price noting that Delta’s general rating dropped by practically 6% over final yr, and its three closest rivals (Alaska, American and United) all scored increased this yr. Solely time will inform if this was an aberration or if Delta’s reign on the high is susceptible to coming to an finish.
Extra knowledge assortment and reporting by Kyle Olsen, Ryan Wilcox and Summer time Hull.
