The Best & Worst U.S. Airlines: 2022

Airline ticket prices are rising again as pandemic-related restrictions have lifted and travel has picked up. Airfares are up 9% from before the pandemic and 33% from October 2021, according to NerdWallet, and they're expected to keep rising because of spiking oil costs. But cost is not the only thing that matters when flyers pick a carrier. Three major U.S. airlines had at least one pet fatality last year, for example, according to a report from personal finance website WalletHub. Advisors and others in the financial services industry who fly frequently have airline preferences of their own. Jamie Cox, financial advisor and managing partner of Harris Financial Group, recommended American Airlines. "Superior international flight options on 777s," he tweeted. Citing "free upgrades to first, snacks and drinks for the frequent traveler," fund manager Michael Underhill named Delta as a favorite. "They always come through when travel gets crazy," he tweeted. Twitter user Joseph Hosler, who said his firm was based in Boston, said JetBlue offered "a map that fits our needs as our clients span the major cities within the country." In its annual airline study, WalletHub looked for factors other than price that often go unnoticed but can make the difference between a good and bad travel experience. Researchers compared the nine largest U.S. airlines, plus two regional carriers, across 16 important metrics: baggage, departures and complaints; animal incidents; in-flight comfort and cost; and safety. See the gallery for WalletHub's ranking of airlines, from worst to best, along with a few takeaways from the research.