These Are The Top 3 U.S. Airlines For 2024 According To The Wall Street Journal

Last Updated 6 mins ago

Flying to a new or far-flung destination should be an exciting experience, but if you pick the wrong airline, then that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Flight delays, cancellations, turbulence, and even pilot strikes can make a trip to the airport stressful.

So which airline should you use to best avoid these inconveniences?

These are the top 3 U.S. airlines for 2024 according to the Wall Street Journal:

3. Allegiant

The 3rd best airline in the U.S. is Allegiant. The Wall Street Journal used 7 different metrics, including how often an airline was on time, the number of customer complaints, and any baggage handling issues to create their list.

Allegiant Air Airbus A319 aircraft is airborne

Allegiant has jumped into 3^rd place for 2024, having been down in 5^th place last year. This is good news for budget travelers as Allegiant is an ultra-low-cost carrier that manages to combine budget travel with reliable travel.

New data has revealed that airfare across the U.S. hasn’t been this cheap since 2009 and this is in part due to the services offered by budget carriers such as Allegiant.

Some of the metrics that helped Allegiant soar in the rankings include their low rate of flight cancellations, small number of tarmac delays, and minimal baggage handling issues.

Allegiant provides nonstop services to over 110 U.S. cities, but it doesn’t fly outside of the continental United States at this point.

2. Alaska

Alaska Airlines has not changed positions and remains the 2^nd best airline in the U.S. for 2024.

Alaska boasts the highest punctuality rating of any other airline in the U.S., with at least 80% of their flights arriving on time. It also came first in the categories of cancellations and extreme delays.

However, it’s not all good news for Alaska fliers as the airline also came in 7^th place (out of the 9 carriers listed) for their baggage handling services, so it might be wise to consider flying with carry-on if you choose Alaska for your next flight!

Only United Airlines and American Airlines had worse reputations for their baggage handling services.

Alaska has taken this feedback on board, and according to a spokesperson, they are now introducing new tools and technologies to improve their baggage handling efficiency.

Alaska Airlines has just announced a new daily nonstop flight between Seattle and Toronto Pearson airport that will begin on May 16. This will be the 6th Canadian city served by Alaska and will join a roster of more than 120 destinations that are served by Alaska.

1. Delta

The best U.S. Airline for 2024 is officially Delta. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as this is the third year running that Delta has taken this crown according to the Wall Street Journal.

If you want an airline that is likely to be on time then Delta is the one to choose as 83% of their flights landed within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

Delta also ranked first for complaints and involuntary bumping and the airline is considered so reliable that it did not secure anything lower than 5^th place in any of the 7 categories.

In fact Delta has a reputation for heavily compensating any passengers who need to be bumped from their flights involuntarily.

Delta is only continuing to grow and expand its flight offerings, but it is clearly not compromising quality in the process. In the last month alone Delta has announced 11 new flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and has expanded its network with new and returning services to Rio de Janeiro.