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Skytrax is a UK-based consultancy that ranks the world’s airlines each year in its annual report. The list includes all of the airlines you would expect like Singapore, Emirates, etc. Notably, there was not even a single US carrier in the top 10. The first airline based in the United States doesn’t hit the list until number 21.
Taking over the skies again, Qatar Airways is back to being the World's Best Airline.
⁰Among the several accolades picked at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2024 in London, UK, we’re:🏆Airline of the Year for the 8th time
🏆World's Best Business Class for the 11th time… pic.twitter.com/MCcwAHKuqZ
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) June 24, 2024
This list is considered reliable by some and others discount it. The testing criteria is vague in the awarding airlines one to five stars, so make of these winners what you will. The published criteria for evaluation includes a review of product and service standards across the on board and airport environments (using a unified rating system). That doesn’t tell too much, but the top 10 for 2024 seems pretty legit. These include:
- Qatar Airways (it bumped Singapore from the number one spot it held in 2023)
- Singapore Airlines
- Emirates
- ANA
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Japan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- EVA Air
- Air France
- SWISS
The first US-based airline doesn’t even make the top 20 globally. Delta Air Lines hold spot number 21 and United Airlines landed at number 42. Alaska is 60, JetBlue is number 65, and American Airlines is 78 with only Allegiant trailing it (that should say something). That being said, Allegiant did beat out Spirit, Frontier, and Southwest. When you look at just the North American rankings, Delta leads the pack. The top 10 for North America includes:
- Delta Air Lines
- Air Canada
- United Airlines
- Porter Airlines
- Air Transat
- Alaska Airlines
- WestJet
- JetBlue Airlines
- American Airlines
- Allegiant Air
The global rankings show just how poorly US carriers are perceived compared to airlines around the world. When looking at the rankings by cabin, Cathay Pacific is first in Economy Class (no US carriers made the top 10), Japan Airlines leads for Premium Economy (Delta is the only US carrier ranked in the top 10 here), Business Class was led by Qatar Airways (again Delta stands alone for US carriers here), and Air France takes top billing in First Class.
Anthony’s Take: Airlines love these rankings. I’m not sure how many passengers see them and then make flight decisions based on rankings.
(Image Credits: Alex Macfaul and Delta Air Lines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
I’d be a bit more sanguine about these rankings if you couldn’t pretty much buy your way in. It’s also rife with inaccuracies. Remember when Lufthansa got top honors a half dozen years ago for their revolutionary new business class seat? That seat is only now entering service.