These are the best airlines of 2024, according to Wallethub

Mariyam Muhammad and Kim Luciani, Columbus Dispatch

Summer travel is expected to reach record numbers this year and some airfares are trending down compared to last year.

For those planning to travel by air, choosing an airline may include various considerations, including reliability, comfort, price and safety. Personal finance company WalletHub ranked the 9 largest U.S. carriers, plus one regional airline, across 13 metrics in three major categories in its Best Airlines list of 2024.

Spirit Airlines named the most affordable airline

Spirit is known as a low-cost carrier – the airline's slogan is "Less Money. More go" – so it's no surprise the airline was ranked first in affordability. For this ranking, WalletHub calculated passenger revenue per available seat mile by multiplying the number of available seats and the number of miles flown and dividing that number by passenger revenue to come up with the price per mile.

The top 10:

  1. Spirit Airlines (5.23 cents per mile)

  2. Frontier Airlines (6.03 cents per mile)

  3. Skywest Airlines (9.65 cents per mile)

  4. Alaska Airlines (12.18 cents per mile)

  5. JetBlue Airways (12.25 cents per mile)

  6. Hawaiian Airlines (12.27 cents per mile)

  7. Southwest Airlines (13.25 cents per mile)

  8. United Airlines (13.93 cents per mile)

  9. Delta Airlines (15.80 cents per mile)

  10. American Airlines (16.15 cents per mile)

The best airlines of 2024 operate at several Ohio airports

The nine largest U.S. airlines and one regional carrier were compared across 13 metrics, including cancellation and delay rates, baggage mishaps and in-flight comfort for the overall top airlines list, according to WalletHub. Alaska and Skywest Airlines topped the list, with Spirit Airlines in third place.

  1. Alaska Airlines (operates at Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus airports)

  2. Skywest Airlines (operates at Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton airports)

  3. Spirit Airlines (operates in Cleveland and Columbus airports)

  4. Delta Airlines (operates at Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo airports)

  5. United Airlines (operates at Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton airports)

  6. JetBlue Airways (operates at Cleveland airport)

  7. Hawaiian Airlines (Does not operate in Ohio)

  8. American Airlines (operates at Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo airports)

  9. Frontier Airlines (operates at Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus airports)

  10. Southwest Airlines (operates at Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus airports)

Spirit tops list for safest airline

In the airline safety category, aviation accidents, injuries and fatalities in aviation accidents and fleet age were considered. Spirit came out on top as the safest airline of 2024 in WalletHub's study.

  1. Spirit Airlines

  2. Alaska Airlines

  3. Frontier Airlines

  4. Skywest Airlines

  5. American Airlines

  6. Delta Airlines

  7. JetBlue Airways

  8. Hawaiian Airlines

  9. United Airlines

  10. Southwest Airlines

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: See the safest, best, most affordable airlines that fly out of Ohio

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