The internet is full of all sorts of misinformation. Even before ChatGPT and AI went mainstream, there were people who would just make stuff up, put it on the internet and let it go viral. Some people apparently are dying for attention. But hey, it’s also how websites like Snopes and ThatsNonsense stay in business.
So when I saw a post on Facebook (which doesn’t even use fact checkers anymore) the other day that WalletHub had determined Spirit Airlines to be the best airline of 2025, I was admittedly a little skeptical. OK, I was very skeptical. I even checked to see if maybe the piece had been written on April Fool’s Day. But nope.
I mean, WalletHub’s been the subject of a couple of controversies here and there. More importantly, it has made a name for itself, enough that highly regarded publications such as Forbes and Travel & Leisure have quoted and linked to it.
Which is exactly what happened with the 2025 airline rankings
WalletHub said that, after their research, where they compared the 9 largest U.S. airlines, plus 2 regional airlines across 14 metrics, they determined that Spirit was the Best Overall Airline. And then both Forbes and Travel & Leisure linked to it in their articles.
Here’s what all 3 publications said:
WalletHub analyzed 2024 flight data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). They then evaluated the nine largest national airlines and 2 regionals:
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Envoy Air (Regional)
- Frontier Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- jetBlue Airways
- SkyWest Airlines (Regional)
- Spirit Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- United Airlines
…in terms of 14 key metrics across four major categories:
- baggage and departures
- animal incidents
- in-flight comfort and cost
- safety
These are the top 5 in each category, in order
| Category | Airline |
|---|---|
| Best Airline Overall | (1) Spirit, (2) Delta, (3) Southwest, (4) Hawaiian, (5) Frontier |
| Most Affordable Airline | Spirit, SkyWest, Alaska, Southwest, United |
| Most Reliable Airline | Delta, JetBlue, United, Hawaiian, Envoy |
| Most Comfortable Airlines | JetBlue/Hawaiian (tie), Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest |
| Best Airline for Pets | Skywest, United, Envoy, Delta, Alaska |
| Safest Airline | Spirit, Alaska, Southwest, Delta, Hawaiian |
How Spirit’s Ranking Has Changed Over Time
Top 5 “best overall airlines” of 2024
- Alaska
- SkyWest
- Spirit
- Delta
- United
Top 5 “best overall airlines” of 2023
- Delta
- Spirit
- SkyWest
- United
- Alaska
Top 5 “best overall airlines” of 2022
- Delta
- Hawaiian
- Alaska
- Envoy
- Spirit
Digging Into the Methodology
WalletHub apparently took their methodology very seriously—their explanation takes up about half the page. But you can see that, as well as the other winners (and losers) on this page of their website.
So yeah…Spirit
So yeah – Spirit was #1. No one is more surprised about that than I am. Although I now have a total of one Spirit flight under my belt (with another reservation made for the not-too-distant future), I must admit that it was a much better flight than I anticipated.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
