The personal finance website WalletHub released its list of the worst airlines in the US on April 19.
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WalletHub analyzed 2022 flight data from the US Department of Transportation to come up with its ranking. The ranking includes 11 airlines, including two regional carriers.
The regional carriers were included as they made up at least 1% of domestic scheduled service, Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub, told Insider.
The nine national airlines were selected based on the highest passenger revenue, Gonzalez said.
WalletHub scored each airline based on 14 metrics across four categories. The first category, baggage and departures, divided 50 points across subcategories that included canceled flights, delays, mishandled baggage reports, and denied boardings. The second category was animal-related incidents, with up to 5 points.
The third category allocated 15 points for in-flight comfort and cost, which was divided between five subcategories, including legroom, entertainment options, Wi-Fi availability, complimentary refreshments, and price. The last category was safety for 30 points, which factored in the number of fatal injuries in aviation accidents, the number of injuries in aviation accidents, and the number of aviation accidents — the data is measured from 2017 to 2022.
The total number of points possible is 100.
“We generally allocated points based on common sense, with the best value for each metric being awarded full points, the worst value receiving zero points and values in between receiving a proportional score relative to those endpoints,” Gonzalez said.
In each of the following slides, Insider listed out three categories — delays, denied boardings, and price — that contributed the most to an airline’s total score. Take a look at how these US airlines rank, from the lowest to highest scores.
