The best airlines in the world, from the passenger surveys and expert ratings that the industry watches: Skytrax, AirlineRatings, AirHelp, Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveller.
The 2025 editions of 5 trusted rankings. The more rankings name an entry, the higher its place; entries named by the same number of rankings share the place. Inside a shared place, votes ($1.99) decide the order. Under each entry: its place in every ranking, with the link.
- =1EmiratesIn 4 of 5 rankings · UAECondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 3) · Travel + Leisure (No. 3) · Skytrax (No. 4) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 6)Tied with Qatar Airways: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =1Qatar AirwaysIn 4 of 5 rankingsAirHelp (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 1) · Skytrax (No. 1) · Travel + Leisure (No. 2)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Emirates0 votes
- =1Singapore AirlinesIn 4 of 5 rankingsTravel + Leisure (No. 1) · Skytrax (No. 2) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 5) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Qatar Airways0 votes
- =2Air New ZealandIn 3 of 5 rankingsCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 2) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 3) · Travel + Leisure (No. 7)Tied with Etihad Airways: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =2Etihad AirwaysIn 3 of 5 rankings · UAEAirHelp (No. 2) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 4) · Travel + Leisure (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Air New Zealand0 votes
- =2Japan AirlinesIn 3 of 5 rankingsTravel + Leisure (No. 5) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 7) · Skytrax (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Etihad Airways0 votes
- =3ANA All Nippon AirwaysIn 2 of 5 rankings · JapanSkytrax (No. 5) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 10)Tied with Korean Air: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =3Korean AirIn 2 of 5 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 1) · Skytrax (No. 7)1 vote ($1.99) to pass ANA All Nippon Airways0 votes
- =3QantasIn 2 of 5 rankingsAirHelp (No. 4) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Korean Air0 votes
- =3Turkish AirlinesIn 2 of 5 rankingsSkytrax (No. 6) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Qantas0 votes
- =3Virgin AtlanticIn 2 of 5 rankings · UKAirHelp (No. 3) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Turkish Airlines0 votes
The contenders of 2026, from the 2026 editions published so far (4 rankings; one trusted ranking is enough to be nominated). Same rule: the more rankings name an entry, the higher its place; votes order a shared place and also count on the Spotlight.
- =1EmiratesIn 4 of 4 rankings · UAECondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 1) · Travel + Leisure (No. 3) · Skytrax (No. 6) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 8)Tied with Qatar Airways: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =1Qatar AirwaysIn 4 of 4 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 2) · Skytrax (No. 2) · Travel + Leisure (No. 2)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Emirates0 votes
- =1Singapore AirlinesIn 4 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 1) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 3) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 5) · Travel + Leisure (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Qatar Airways0 votes
- =2Etihad AirwaysIn 3 of 4 rankings · UAECondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 4) · Travel + Leisure (No. 9) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 10)Tied with Japan Airlines: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =2Japan AirlinesIn 3 of 4 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 6) · Travel + Leisure (No. 6) · Skytrax (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Etihad Airways0 votes
- =2Korean AirIn 3 of 4 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 4) · Travel + Leisure (No. 7) · Skytrax (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Japan Airlines0 votes
- =2Turkish AirlinesIn 3 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 5) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 7) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 7)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Korean Air0 votes
- =3Air New ZealandIn 2 of 4 rankingsCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 6) · AirlineRatings.com (No. 9)Tied with EVA Air: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =3EVA AirIn 2 of 4 rankings · TaiwanTravel + Leisure (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Air New Zealand0 votes
- =4Air FranceIn 1 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 7)Tied with ANA All Nippon Airways: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =4ANA All Nippon AirwaysIn 1 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 4)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Air France0 votes
- =4British AirwaysIn 1 of 4 rankingsCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass ANA All Nippon Airways0 votes
- =4Cathay PacificIn 1 of 4 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 2)1 vote ($1.99) to pass British Airways0 votes
- =4Cathay Pacific AirwaysIn 1 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Cathay Pacific0 votes
- =4Hainan AirlinesIn 1 of 4 rankingsSkytrax (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Cathay Pacific Airways0 votes
- =4La CompagnieIn 1 of 4 rankingsTravel + Leisure (No. 4)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Hainan Airlines0 votes
- =4STARLUX AirlinesIn 1 of 4 rankingsAirlineRatings.com (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass La Compagnie0 votes
- =4Swiss International Air LinesIn 1 of 4 rankingsCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass STARLUX Airlines0 votes
- =4Thai Airways InternationalIn 1 of 4 rankingsTravel + Leisure (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Swiss International Air Lines0 votes
- =4Virgin AtlanticIn 1 of 4 rankings · UKCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Thai Airways International0 votes
- =4Virgin Atlantic AirwaysIn 1 of 4 rankingsTravel + Leisure (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Virgin Atlantic0 votes
The live board. Everyone the 2026 rankings nominated is on it from day one with 0 votes, plus every paid reader nomination ($9.50, counts as 1 vote). Votes are $1.99 each. The Spotlight never changes the Best ’25 list. How it works
Until 31 December the most votes lead. On 31 December the title goes to the nominee with the most different voters: one person counts once, however many votes they bought.
- 1Air FranceNominated by Skytrax0 votes0 voters
- 2Air New ZealandNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), AirlineRatings.com0 votes0 voters
- 3ANA All Nippon AirwaysNominated by Skytrax0 votes0 voters
- 4British AirwaysNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 5Cathay PacificNominated by AirlineRatings.com0 votes0 voters
- 6Cathay Pacific AirwaysNominated by Skytrax0 votes0 voters
- 7EmiratesNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 8Etihad AirwaysNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 9EVA AirNominated by Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 10Hainan AirlinesNominated by Skytrax0 votes0 voters
- 11Japan AirlinesNominated by AirlineRatings.com, Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 12Korean AirNominated by AirlineRatings.com, Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 13La CompagnieNominated by Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 14Qatar AirwaysNominated by AirlineRatings.com, Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 15Singapore AirlinesNominated by Skytrax, AirlineRatings.com0 votes0 voters
- 16STARLUX AirlinesNominated by AirlineRatings.com0 votes0 voters
- 17Swiss International Air LinesNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 18Thai Airways InternationalNominated by Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 19Turkish AirlinesNominated by Skytrax, AirlineRatings.com0 votes0 voters
- 20Virgin AtlanticNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 21Virgin Atlantic AirwaysNominated by Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
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