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How the Country’s Biggest Airlines Rank in 2025

WalletHub ranks Spirit Airlines as the best U.S. airline for 2025, with top marks in affordability and safety (but a low score in legroom).
ByCaLea Johnson|
Spirit is considered the best U.S. airline, according to WalletHub.
Spirit is considered the best U.S. airline, according to WalletHub. | John M. Chase/GettyImages

Once you pick the perfect destination, selecting the best airline for your trip is often the next step in vacation planning. Researching every airline to decide which best suits your needs can be time-consuming. Luckily, the personal finance website WalletHub has ranked the top airlines in America.

  1. 11 U.S. Airlines, Ranked Best to Worst

Data analysts determined the best U.S. airlines by comparing the nine largest national companies and two regional carriers (SkyWest and Envoy) across four categories: baggage and departures, animal incidents, in-flight comfort and cost, and safety. These categories were further broken down into 14 metrics, which included the number of flight cancellations, entertainment options, and the amount of injuries recorded per airline. Each company received a ranking on a 100-point scale.

Spirit Airlines ranks number one, scoring 69.12 out of 100. It has the highest overall score and trumps other airlines in affordability and safety. Spirit may have the best value, but you’ll have to sacrifice space to save money with this airline. It ranks pretty low on the legroom scale, offering only 28 inches of space in economy seating. Spirit Airlines also ranks third on this list of companies most likely to bump passengers, right behind Frontier Airlines and American Airlines (which occupy the 9th and 10th spots on this ranking, respectively). 

The runner-up is SkyWest (68.08), a regional airline serving American, Delta, Alaska, and United. Those flying with pets may want to look into the company when booking tickets, as it’s known for being pet-friendly. Delta Air Lines (64.24) comes out as No.3. It excels in reliability, boasting the lowest reports of flight cancellations, delays, boarding denials, and damaged baggage. Delta also ranks highly in every flight class on last year’s list of the best airlines. 

Here’s the rest of the ranking for 2025:

11 U.S. Airlines, Ranked Best to Worst

  1. Spirit Airlines
  2. SkyWest Airlines
  3. Delta Air Lines
  4. JetBlue Airways
  5. Southwest Airlines
  6. Alaska Airlines
  7. Hawaiian Airlines
  8. United Airlines
  9. Frontier Airlines
  10. American Airlines
  11. Envoy Air

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