With the busy summer travel season making its approach and Boeing under fire after two fatal crashes, WalletHub released its report on 2019’s Best Airlines. WalletHub’s study focuses not just on price but also many other aspects of the air travel experience, such as safety, delays, baggage issues, animal incidents, passenger complaints and more.
The overall winners include:
- Best Overall – Alaska Airlines earned the highest overall WalletHub Score (63.52) for the third year in a row, followed by Delta Air Lines (59.69).
- Most Reliable – Delta Air Lines has the lowest overall rate of cancelations, delays, mishandled luggage and denied boardings. The next most reliable company is Hawaiian Airlines.
- Safety – Alaska Airlines is the safest, having a low number of incidents and accidents per 100,000 flight operations, no fatalities, under 15 persons injured in the last 6 years and a relatively new fleet of aircrafts. The safety runner-up is Spirit Airlines.
- Most Pet-Friendly – Two airlines tied for being most pet-friendly, ExpressJet and Envoy Air, with no incidents.
- Most Comfortable – JetBlue Airways leads the pack in terms of in-flight experience, offering free amenities such as Wi-Fi, extra legroom, and complimentary snacks and beverages. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines & Delta Air Lines are tied for the second position for this category.
