The Best Airline in America Is…Spirit?

Spirit takes the top spot



In the report, Spirit earned the highest overall score among US airlines, beating out both full-service airlines and other low-cost carriers. It also ranked as the most reliable and most affordable airline, both of which influenced its overall ranking. In 2025, Spirit had some of the lowest rates of cancellations, delays, mishandled baggage, and denied boardings, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). It also lead the pack in affordability — a marketing point upon which it’s built almost its entire reputation (though it did add premium bundles in late 2024).

The study considered 11 airlines using 16 metrics ranging from delays and cancellations to service-related issues like baggage handling, plus wider considerations like age of planes, number of civil penalties levied by the FAA, and availability of in-flight amenities. Even though Spirit has long been considered a no-frills airline, it finished first, beating out industry leaders like Delta and American. While those airlines did generally score higher in comfort, they were brought down by higher overall costs and more frequent delays.

It depends on your definition of “best”

Spirit has long been one of the most polarizing airlines in the US. It operates as an ultra-low-cost carrier with an “unbundled” model, where flyers pay separately for everything beyond the seat itself. That includes everything from carry-on bags to seat selection to basic onboard drinks. It helps keep prices among the lowest in the US, but has also left plenty of flyers frustrated with so-called hidden fees and uncomfortably basic levels of service. On public forums, flyers have referred to it as the “scam of the skies” and it has a mere 2 out of 10 rating on airline rating website SkyTrax.

In other words, Spirit is rarely considered the “best” airline in the traditional sense. But that’s not entirely what the WalletHub study is rating. Spirit scored highly in some areas that weighed heavily into the rankings. The airline has a relatively young and fuel-efficient fleet, scoring a maximum of three points, as well as impressive safety ratings, with perfect scores on both “fatal injuries in aviation accidents” and “injuries in aviation incidents and accidents.”

Importantly, best doesn’t necessarily mean “good,” and no airline scored particularly high. Spirit’s overall score was 74.33 out of 100, while Southwest and Alaska, which came in second and third, scored 64.44 and 59.48, respectively — borderline failing grades, by a US public school grading metric.