One U.S. carrier sometimes seems less like an airline than a punchline.
If you're making a joke about crummy service, outrageous fees, or uncomfortable seats in the skies, it's highly likely you'll place Spirit Airlines at the top of the heap vis-à-vis the bottom of the barrel.
But at the risk of provoking a spit take, we must inform you that a new ranking has named Spirit the best airline in the United States.
The personal finance site WalletHub made that determination after scoring 11 U.S. airlines across 16 metrics.
Among the factors taken into account: cancellation and delay rates, baggage mishaps, in-flight comfort, and ticket costs.
Based on WalletHub's criteria and scoring system, Spirit earned top honors, doing especially well in the reliability and affordability categories.
According to 2025 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Spirit had the "lowest rate of cancellations, delays, mishandled luggage, and denied boardings," WalletHub's report points out.
What's more, the research found that Spirit had the cheapest base fares for plane tickets.
Course, Spirit's whole no-frills model relies on offering low base fares and then nickel-and-diming you to death with fees for pretty much everything beyond the privilege of getting to sit down on the flight.
That's one of the main things people dislike about Spirit, but it's reflected in WalletHub's ranking only in the budget carrier's low score in the comfort category, which takes into account stuff like free Wi-Fi, legroom, and complimentary snacks and drinks. Spirit would never.
For the record, JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines scored highest for in-flight experience in WalletHub's estimation.
Spirit executives were of course pleased to get the WalletHub distinction—and for the second year in a row, as Spirit crowed in a press release.
The airline's CEO, Dave Davis, said in the statement, "We're incredibly proud of this recognition, and our Guests are the real winners because they don't have to choose between value, reliability, and a great experience when they fly with us."
Which is the exact opposite of what the WalletHub report suggests, no? Don't the scores show that you do indeed have to choose either the cheapest fare or a comfortable experience and that you can't have both?
Or maybe the real takeaway has to do with the decline of commercial aviation in the U.S. generally. Things have reached a state where Spirit is the best airline in the country.
WalletHub's ranking of the best U.S. airlines of 2026
- Spirit Airlines (score: 74.33 out of 100)
- Southwest Airlines (64.44)
- Skywest Airlines (63.58)
- Alaska Airlines (59.48)
- Hawaiian Airlines (57.95)
- JetBlue (55.46)
- Delta Air Lines (52.01)
- American Airlines (50.92)
- Frontier Airlines (45.37)
- United Airlines (44.81)
- Envoy Air (44.46)
To read the full analysis and learn more about the report's methodology, go to WalletHub.com.