When you’re looking for flights, you’re probably most loyal to the airline that you have status with or that has a hub in your city—most often, they’re one and the same. Or, you’re looking for the best flight deals, which should be a little bit easier to come by this spring as flight costs are down 7% year-over-year. But safety, comfort and other factors are also top of mind when it comes to booking flights, and a new study from WalletHub, a personal finance company, took those considerations and other metrics into consideration to determine the best U.S. airlines of 2024.
Alaska Airlines is the top U.S. airline, according to the report, which used 13 metrics to evaluate the nine largest carriers in the country, plus a regional carrier.
This year’s list is a shakeup from the previous two years, as Alaska has dethroned Delta as the top airline. Delta was WalletHub’s top airline in 2022 and 2023. But Alaska has been previously ranked as the best airline, taking the top spot on WalletHub’s list from 2017 to 2019 and again in 2021.
For its new ranking, WalletHub examined data from 2023. In January 2024, a door plug blew out mid-flight on a Boeing 737 Max, forcing Alaska Airlines to ground a flight. While no one was seriously physically injured, the incident did prompt serious safety concerns over Boeing’s manufacturing processes and the schedule of airlines safety checks.
Boeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million, the airline announced this month, to compensate for revenue lost from the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration also launched an investigation into Boeing’s safety practices.