Every year, a United Kingdom-based company called Skytrax compiles customer experience data from airlines around the world to create a list of the 100 best airlines in the world. According to their results from 2015, these are the top seven airlines in the United States.
1. Virgin America
Coming in at 26th in the world and first among U.S. airlines, Virgin America is the American branch of Richard Branson’s global brand. This ranking is based on the airline’s extensive in-flight amenities, including trendy and fun features such as seat-to-seat chat. Inside the cabins, neon pink lighting sets the mood, leaving passengers feeling like they’re rock stars on a private jet. Virgin is renowned in the industry for its offering of widely popular transcontinental routes, many of which stop at LAX.
2. Delta Airlines
For the past two years, Delta airlines has ranked among the top forty airlines in the world based on Skytrax’s list. This year, Delta came in 45th in the world and second in the United States. A well-established carrier, Delta has almost 800 aircrafts touring the skies and approximately 6,400 flights every single day. Their domestic coverage is among the best in the country, and they’re also renowned as a founding airline of the SkyTeam alliance.
3. JetBlue
In SkyTrax’s list, JetBlue claimed the 50th spot overall. In the United States, they’re among the top three airlines. JetBlue’s fun brand image and in-flight freebies, such as snacks, have contributed to this airline’s status as a favorite among the American public. With an extensive range of amenities available in flight, JetBlue continues to climb in the rankings, in spite of the introduction of fees for checked baggage last year.
4. United Airlines
This year, United Airlines came in 60th in the world and fourth among airlines from the United States. When it comes to the number of destinations offered, United Airlines is the world leader, flying to six continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania). They offer some of the absolute cheapest when it comes to airfare out of the country’s most high-traffic airports, including O’Hare in Chicago and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, among others.
5. Alaska
Coming in 65th place in the world and within the top five airlines in America, Alaska is renowned for its customer service and overall customer satisfaction. Alaska offers convenient and budget friendly flights from most major airports along the Pacific Coast to Hawaii.
6. Southwest
Southwest took the 67th spot on Skytrax’s list. Ranking sixth in the United States, Southwest is a crowd favorite. As one of the world’s largest budget carriers, Southwest has come a long way in the half a century or so since it was founded. Route offerings have expanded to include most domestic destinations, in addition to locations across Central America and the Caribbean.
7. American Eagle
This small, regional airline claimed the 78th spot on the Skytrax list, outranking its parent carrier American Airlines. American Eagle operates a 250-aircraft fleet to destinations across the United States. It’s an obvious choice among flyers who don’t have far to go in the way of distance, and business class tickets are highly affordable.
