Recently, an annual study released the largest airlines in the USA; determine the best and worst carriers for 2018. The new scoring system scores the airlines according to their best and worst performance.
The performance is analyzed on the basis of price, breaking down of airfare, bag and change fees, on-time arrivals, route network, cabin comfort, lost baggage, involuntary bumps, customer satisfaction, frequent flyer program, and lounges. And the other most important criteria are how much weight it carries.
Below are the major US airlines that are ranked on basis of the overall score:
- Most Reliable Airline: Delta Air Lines is most reliable on because it has the lowest rate of cancellations, mishandled luggage, delays and denied boarding.
- Most Comfortable Airline: JetBlue considers as the most comfortable one in terms of in-flight experience, offering free services like Wi-Fi, extra legroom, and complimentary snacks and beverages.
- Cheapest Airline: Spirit and Frontier are the cheapest one for the budget travelers.
- Most Satisfactory Airline: Southwest Airlines had the industry’s lowest consumer-complaint rate.
Best USA Airlines
The following are the best US airlines 2018:
- Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines ranked at the top position for the second time in a row. The airline is graded as the first due to its strong rankings in the airfare, baggage handling, customer satisfaction, on-time arrivals, and frequent flyer program categories.
- Southwest Airlines
The low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines also climbed into the second place in 2018. Last year, the airline was in the sixth position but this year it finishes less than one point behind first place. Southwest’s higher ranking for this year is thanks to continued low airfare and expand route network. It was also the only carrier to score a perfect 10 for bag and change fees.
- Delta Air Lines
Delta also made this year and come back with thirds position. But last year, the airline was in the seventh position in the list. The airline is ranking for its all-important airfare category and holding on to top three scores in on-time arrivals, lost baggage, and network size.
- United Airlines
United Airlines dropped two spots from the last year and got the fourth position this year. As compared to 2017 results, the airline improved its performance in involuntary and decreasing customer complaint rates. United fell behind in other areas such as airfare and lounges.
- Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines offers the best facility to their passengers this year that is why it jumped from the ninth position and fall into the top five. The airline did make improvements in baggage handling and also rewarded for continuing to expand its route network and maintain the position.
- American Airlines
The American Airline is landing with one position down. Last year, the airline was in the fifth position but this year ranked lower and got the sixth position. In customer satisfaction, American airlines ranked high in comparison to Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines. The factors that put the airline in the sixth are on-time arrivals, lost baggage, and fees.
- Spirit Airlines
In the previous study, the spirit was in the last position but now it moved up three spots in 2018. So, it happened due to Spirit had a massive advance in the area of checked baggage and leading the entire industry in minimizing lost bags. But on the other side, the fees of checked bags keep the airline in the bottom three of rankings.
- JetBlue
This year, JetBlue fell from the fourth position to the eighth position. The airline ticked downward because of its performance in on-time arrivals, baggage and change fees and customer satisfaction. But JetBlue gets high ratings in cabin comfort, due to its relatively impressive economy that is featured with excellent seat pitch and in-flight TV and its Mint business class product.
Also Read:
