There’s one Airline that sets itself apart
The Best Airline For College Students 2024
Airline travel can be stressful for anyone, but particularly for college students who often carry large amounts of luggage and have to get to school in time for class.
In this article we researched multiple parameters to find the best US airline for college students in 2024. This was based on figures released by the airlines as well as personal experiences fellow college students have had flying with the airlines.
We considered 3 important factors when making this decision:
- Cost
- Number of routes
- Reliability
Cost:
When looking at cost we considered a few factors. Most importantly we looked at overall average ticket cost on a per flight basis. In addition, we considered the additional fees that the average college student would occur flying with that carrier.
Although low cost airlines like Spirit and Frontier have the lowest average ticket prices, their fees for baggage (something college students often have a lot of) knock them out of contention for this category.
And the winner is…
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Southwest consistently has lower ticket prices compared to its competitors like American and United, even on similar routes. Where it really stands out is the 2 free checked bags you get when flying. This policy is unrivaled across American carriers and can save fliers (and college students) tons of money when needing to transport large amounts of clothes and personal belongings from home to school and back.
Number of Routes:
College students often fly routes that aren’t common among the general public to get to school, and it is therefore important that carriers have vast flight networks across the US. Some carriers fly many flights on only a few specific routes, but that doesn’t suit our purposes well.
And the winner is…
American Airlines
American Airlines has 238 domestic locations, more than any other US carrier. It narrowly beats out United for the title, making it most likely to fly the route that you may need to get to college.
Reliability:
When choosing an airline reliability is often one of the most important factors. With classes starting up the next day, it’s imperative college students can avoid costly delays and cancellations. So, who’s the most reliable carrier in the US?
And the winner is…
Delta Airlines
Although Hawaiian and Alaka Airlines technically beat Delta in this category, they don’t have extensive enough networks to qualify for this list. Delta has a remarkable 85.42% on time percentage making it one of the most reliable in the US. For college students it is a great choice.
Overall:
Choosing an overall winner is tough considering the how a different airline won each category. Despite this based on what we have seen and what our experiences have been we were able to choose a winner.
And the winner is…
Southwest Airlines
Despite not having the most extensive network out there, the low cost and free checked bags make the airline too difficult to ignore. It is perfect for college students traveling to or from school and has a solid on time percentage that makes it a safe bet.