University researchers say Virgin America ranks best U.S. airlines
Photo courtesy of Virgin America.

University researchers say Virgin America ranks best U.S. airline

Virgin America performed best overall among U.S. airlines in 2014, according to researchers who analyzed government data on on-time arrivals, mishandled bags, bumping passengers, and consumer complaints.

The annual report was released Monday by researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Wichita State University. They used information that the airlines report to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Here are the rankings, with 2013 rank in parentheses:

1. Virgin America (1)

2. Hawaiian Airlines (3)

3. Delta Air Lines (4)

4. JetBlue Airways (2)

5. Alaska Airlines (5)

6. Southwest Airlines (8)

7. American Airlines (9)

8. Frontier Airlines (11)

9. United Airlines (12)

10. SkyWest (14)

11. ExpressJet (13)

12. Envoy Air (15)






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