The 10 safest airlines in 2024

(Forklift) – After a series of worrying events this year, US airlines are facing questions about their safety.

The most notorious incident occurred on January 5, when a door stopper flew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 in mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight. Although the plane landed safely and no one was injured, the incident raised concerns about the safety of other Boeing 737 Max aircraft, leading other airlines such as United Airlines to also ground their fleet during the aftermath of the incident.

A month later, 94 percent of Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft were back in service following inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Airlines must report all safety incidents to the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates each incident and recommends that the FAA improve safety. (Data on these incidents is publicly available once they are reported to government agencies.) The NTSB is still investigating the Jan. 5 incident, which included a two-day hearing in early August 2024.

However, January was just the beginning of airline safety concerns this year.

In March and again in July, two different United Airlines planes lost wheels and tires during takeoff and had to make emergency landings.

In April, another United flight went off the runway. In response, the FAA promised to increase oversight of United.

These incidents have raised doubts among some travelers about the safety of American airlines or flying in general.

In March 2024, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said data showed that flight safety had improved and that flying was the safest way to travel in the United States.

To find out which U.S. airlines have the best and worst safety records, Stacker examined WalletHub’s 2024 report on this year’s best airlines, limiting the data to the safety section of the study, which examined two metrics from 2018 to 2023:

The number of fatal injuries in aviation accidents
The number of people injured in aviation incidents and accidents.

The ten national airlines examined were then ranked from the least safe to the safest airline. The maximum score an airline can achieve is 35 points.

Read on to find out how your chosen airline – and its competitors – stack up.

#10.Southwest Airlines

In addition to receiving the lowest rating for U.S. airlines in WalletHub’s safety report, Southwest Airlines also underwent a safety audit by the FAA in July 2024 after a series of near-misses on its flights.

In May, for example, a Southwest flight encountered a “Dutch roll,” in which the plane’s wings swing and the nose of the aircraft performs a figure-eight motion. No one was injured, and the FAA said the incident was due to damage to the tail, which controls the rudder.

#9. United Airlines

In March 2024, the FAA said it would increase oversight of United after the airline lost wheels and tires and slid off the runway in the aforementioned incidents. This oversight prevented United from adding new routes and required the FAA to be present during inspections of new aircraft replacing old ones in the airline’s fleet.

United CEO Scott Kirby has promised to refocus the company on safety and review its policies, and starting in mid-May 2024, the FAA has given the airline permission to add new aircraft and routes.

#8. Hawaiian Airlines

As of August 9, the NTSB had not had to investigate a single incident on board Hawaiian Airlines flights this year.

In fact, Hawaiian Airlines is also the oldest airline in the country that has never had a fatal accident in its 95-year history.

However, Hawaiian is also quite a bit smaller than other U.S. airlines. It operates about 260 flights a day, most of which depart from or arrive in Hawaii. By comparison, other major U.S. airlines handle over 4,000 flights a day.

#7. JetBlue

As of early August 2024, the only incident the NTSB has had to investigate this year was an accident in February in which a JetBlue plane collided with another plane while de-icing on the ground. No one was injured.

In 2023, JetBlue reported three non-serious incidents to the NTSB, as well as two additional serious injury accidents that are still under investigation.

#6. Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines has a high volume of flights – about 4,000 flights daily and 190 million customers in 2023.

As of August 9, the airline has reported four serious accidents to the NTSB this year. At the end of June, four incidents occurred within 48 hours, including an engine that caught fire shortly after takeoff. No one was injured in these incidents.

#5. American Airlines

Although the FAA had United in its sights earlier this year, an American Airlines pilots’ union said in April that the inspection could easily have hit their airline, too.

The union said it has seen “a significant increase in safety and maintenance-related issues.” As for incidents that prompt an NTSB investigation, American has had only one serious incident through early August in 2024.

#4. SkyWest Airlines

SkyWest Airlines, based in Utah, is a regional airline with nearly 500 aircraft in its fleet. It operates through carrier partnerships with American, United, Delta and Alaska Airlines. The airline has had a clean slate with the NTSB since mid-2022.

However, in June 2023, airline unions accused SkyWest of circumventing passenger airline safety regulations by operating some charter flights. In September, the FAA also began investigating the airline’s maintenance program.

#3. Frontier Airlines

Colorado-based Frontier Airlines is more comparable in size to Hawaiian than to major U.S. airlines such as American, Delta and United.

It operates around 500 flights a day and has not reported any incidents to the NTBS as of early August this year. There have been no incidents in 2022 either.

The only report in the last two years was in March 2023, when a flight attendant fell and broke her hip due to rough air.

#2. Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines may have had the most notorious flight safety incident of the year when a door stopper came off mid-flight. However, most of the fallout fell on the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing. According to the NTSB, this was the only incident involving Alaska Airlines this year.

Despite the frightening situation, Alaska has one of the highest ratings for flight safety. In AirlineRatings.com’s annual report, Alaska was the only U.S. airline ranked in the top 10 in 2021 and 2022.

#1. Spirit Airlines

Travelers may mock Spirit Airlines for offering passengers a no-frills experience on board their flights, but the budget carrier’s safety record is a serious matter.

According to WalletHub data, Spirit Airlines tops the list of safest U.S. airlines for the second year in a row.

The FAA has also awarded Spirit the Aviation Maintenance Technician Diamond Award of Excellence every year from 2019 through 2024. So far this year, through August 9, the NTSB has investigated two incidents on Spirit flights – only one of which resulted in serious injuries.

Story editing by Jaimie Etkin. Proofreading by Paris Close. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.