Here are the 8 best airlines in the U.S., according to a new study

If you're traveling for the holidays, you've probably already booked your flights. But if you haven't (or you just want to stay on top of airline performance), AirHelp just released its annual AirHelp Score, a ranking of the best airlines around the world. AirHelp is the world’s largest organization focused on air passenger rights, so they have solid insight into what makes a great company.

AirHelp's ranking is based on three areas of performance.First is on time arrivals. AirHelp uses one of the most accurate databases of global flight data and considers any flight that lands within 15 minutes of its posted arrival time "on time."

The list also takes customer opinion into account. AirHelp gathered more than 11,500 traveler ratings from surveys across 60 countries, asking people to grade their most recent airline on the crew, comfort, cleanliness, food and onboard entertainment.

Finally, the ranking is based on claim processing: how likely an airline is to pay valid compensation claims, how many claims the airline manages and how consistent it has been in the past year. All three categories are weighted equally. This year’s report looks at data gathered from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

American Airlines came out on top in the U.S. (and ranked number 11 globally) with an AirHelp Score of 7.64. The airline scored 7.1 for on-time performance, 8 for customer opinion and edged out the other U.S. airlines with a claim processing score of 7.8.

At number two in the U.S. is United Airlines, which ranked number 13 globally. United's score of 7.54 includes a 7.4 for on-time performance, 8.1 in customer opinion and 7.5 for claim processing.

Delta Air Lines ranked number three in the U.S. and number 15 globally, with a score of 7.46. The airline had the highest ranking (7.5) for on-time performance.

This AirHelp Score report offers a helpful snapshot of what to expect from airlines, and can offer assistance when flights don't go as planned. Find the full report here.

8 best airlines in the U.S. according to AirHelp

1. American Airlines
2. United Airlines
3. Delta Airlines
4. Frontier Airlines
5. Hawaiian Airlines
6. Southwest
7. Alaska Airlines
8. JetBlue