Unless you have a significant price difference and/or chasing miles on one particular airline, minimizing stops and duration time is usually at the top of the list of what most people would consider important in choosing a flight. I’m not sure what city you’re flying to/from, but the 2 most fearful things that come to my mind are possible missed connection(s), and having to get on a 20-seat puddle-hopper. I’d go with Frontier.
Better than Hawaiian?
Here on the mainland, I find United to be undesirable in terms of delays. Probably because United uses hubs with frequent delays.
We used to drive to a hub airport often instead of the puddle jumper option. It often saved time, money and the dash from one end of the airport to another despite the drive.
For a Florida trip consider your destinations. I-4 is horrendous if you come and go from Orlando and want the Gulf beaches. btw- red tide is still an issue at various times at various beaches. St Pete and Tampa airports both work for the Tampa Bay area.
Yes, Hawaiian has very limited flights and doesn’t have a nonstop to IAD, which I like. It also doesn’t have a nonstop to ORD, which United does have.