What’s the Most Comfortable Airline? New Consumer Survey Tells All
Rankings based on 15 metrics found Alaska as best, Delta most reliable, JetBlue most comfortable, Frontier as cheapest
A new consumer report ranking the best and worst airlines fund the best over all domestic carrier to be Alaska Airlines. WalletHub took delays, baggage issues and passenger complaints into account when ranking airlines for this category.
Safety is obviously a big concern recently with Boeing and its troubled 737 Max 8 and taking the Safest Airline Honors was also Alaska.
The Most Comfortable Airline went to JetBlue. They have free amenities including Wi-Fi, extra legroom and free snacks and beverages.
WalletHub compared the nine largest U.S. airlines, plus three regional carriers, across 15 important metrics. They range from cancellation and delay rates to baggage mishaps and in-flight comfort. We also considered costs in relation to in-flight amenities for the sake of fairness. For example, it wouldn’t be right to penalize an airline that charges for drinks if its tickets are far cheaper than those from an airline with free in-flight refreshments.
2019’s Best Airlines
* Best Airline Overall: Alaska Airlines
* Cheapest Airline: Frontier Airlines
* Most Reliable Airline: Delta Air Lines
* Most Comfortable Airline: JetBlue Airways
* Best Airline for Pets: ExpressJet Airlines and Envoy Air
* Least Complained-About Airline: Southwest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines
* Safest Airline: Alaska Airlines
Key Findings:
Most Reliable Airline: Delta Air Lines has the lowest rate of cancelations, delays, mishandled luggage and denied boardings.
Most Comfortable Airline: JetBlue leads the pack in terms of in-flight experience, offering free amenities such as Wi-Fi, extra legroom, and complimentary snacks and beverages.
Cheapest Airline: Frontier and Spirit are the best airlines for budget flyers.
Most Pet-Friendly: Two airlines tied for being most pet-friendly, ExpressJet and Envoy, with no incidents.
Most Satisfactory Airline: Southwest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines had the industry’s lowest consumer-complaint rate in 2018.
Safest Airline: Alaska Airlines was the safest in 2018. The safety runner-up is Spirit Airlines. Alaska showed a low record 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. Alaska also recently ranked the highest in customer satisfaction among traditional carriers in North America for the 11th year in a row in a report by J.D. Power.
