United and Delta Now Rank Among the Best US Airlines, Somehow

Also: Looks like we’re flying Alaska from now on

March 8, 2018 9:00 am

We can’t mock United anymore, apparently.

Well, we can — compassion training and awful bonus plans are literally two United-related headlines from this week alone — but the seemingly beleaguered carrier is actually one of the top five major U.S. airlines, according to a new study. 

Just released by the travel gurus at The Points Guy, their second annual Best and Worst US Airlines list utilizes 10 weighted criteria (ticket prices, cabin comfort, on-time arrivals, etc.) to rank the major domestic carriers.

United, against all odds, ranked fourth. (What a drag, ba-dum-tsss.)

Other interesting tidbits:

  • Alaska ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row, and was particularly lauded for its frequent-flyer program.
  • Delta zoomed up to No. 3 from No. 7, having made “slight improvements across several of our criteria.” Hooray?
  • JetBlue dropped from fourth to eighth, owing to poor on-time arrivals and baggage/change fees.

Oh, and Hawaiian was last, but that was mainly due to its small route network (and not snakes).

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