The Least Comfortable Airlines

WalletHub evaluated nine major domestic airlines and two regional airlines. They had four primary categories, each with subcategories. The total scores were out of 100. The primary categories and total points were: Baggage and Departures (50 points), Animal Related Incidents (5 points), In-Flight Comfort and Cost (15 points), and Safety (30 points).

To determine how comfortable an airline is, WalletHub divided the In-Flight Comfort and Cost category into the following: Leg Room, Entertainment Options, Wi-Fi Availability, Complimentary Refreshments, and Price.

One airline received zero points in the comfort category, making it the least comfortable airline: Frontier. That’s right, Frontier’s points were as follows: Leg Room 0, Entertainment Options 0, Wi-fi 0, and complimentary refreshments 0.

Next in line was Spirit, which received only .5 points in the comfort category.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue coming in on top, getting perfect scores in comfort. JetBlue has consistently received high scores, however, Hawaiian went from four points to five in this category since last year. Alaska, American Delta, and Southwest were next with 4.63 points, followed by United with 4.5- all receiving deductions thanks to their Wi-Fi service.

It’s no surprise that the two low cost airlines are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to comfort. The question iswhy.Some reasons are obvious. Ultra Low Cost Carriers (ULCC’s) skimp on amenities to give you the lowest price possible, one of those amenities is comfort. Most comfort amenities are available on both Spirit and Frontier, but for a price, and are free on the other airlines.

Even though Spirit had a somewhat dire rating when it came to comfort, that didn’t stop it from coming in first overall. This shocked me, as Spirit is often ranked as one of the worst domestic airlines. However, thanks to its affordability and overall safety, it was able to get into the top position with a total score of 69.12. Delta followed, with a total score of 64.24, mostly hurt by it being less affordable.

The rest of the rankings were as follows:

AirlineTotal Points:

Spirit 69.12

Delta 63.24

JetBlue Airways 63.38

Southwest Airlines 62.19

Alaska Airlines 58.38

Hawaiian Airlines 57.32

United Airlines 56.58

Frontier Airlines 47.02

American Airlines 45.81

Other categories to consider:
Most Baggage Mishandlings: Frontier, American Airlines.
Highest Passenger Complaints: Spirit, Frontier.
Most Cancellations and Delays: Allegiant (not highest comfort concern but operationally worse).