The world’s best airline? Not if you’re flying in economy class

You’re not supposed to agree with lists on the internet. Their entire purpose is to make you disagree, to provoke conversation.

So it’s no surprise to read Skytrax’s recently announced “world’s best airlines” list at the World Airline Awards and find multiple WTF moments (particularly when no one really knows how the UK-based consulting firm comes up with its annual rankings, or what the company even does.)

Qatar Airways’ economy class is good, but it’s not the world’s best.

Does this list mean anything? It shouldn’t. Though the airlines that do well are always pretty pleased with themselves, and those who are slipping down the list are usually trying to do something to get back up there, so it’s clearly a success.

And here we are talking about it, and disagreeing with it, so there you go.

Qatar Airways, according to Skytrax, is the world’s best airline for the ninth time. Is Qatar really the best airline in the world? If you could fly with anyone, would it be Qatar?

To me, it depends on where you’re sitting. If you’re in business class, up the top of the plane or in the pointy end, then I agree, Qatar Airways is the best airline in the world.

The next-generation version of the Qsuite, coming soon.

Qatar’s business class, AKA the Qsuite, is insane. You get a whole “suite” to yourself, which is not just marketing pap, you really do get a small space with a door that you can close and feel like you’re the only one on the plane (or that you’re barely even on a plane).

Other airlines have copied that design now, but do they serve caviar on those other airlines? Because they do in Qatar business class. Proper caviar with all the trimmings. They have huge TV screens as well, and big comfy chairs that recline flat. I haven’t experienced Qatar’s first class, but if this is what business is like, it must be diamond-encrusted luxury.

But the title of world’s best airline should be based on the whole plane, so you have to look at economy, too. And I don’t think Qatar has the world’s best economy class.

That would be Emirates, which has spacious, comfortable seats in its cheapest class, not to mention large high-definition TVs loaded up with plenty of good entertainment, and economy-class meals that are clearly world-leaders: you get a proper, printed menu in economy, and then large trays filled with well-thought-out, tasty meals and sides that are all paired with very nice wines.

Emirates’ economy class is a cut above the rest.

Qatar’s economy class isn’t as good as that. Sure, the company’s planes are very new and its cabins are comfortable. But its entertainment options aren’t quite as good, and its food is a clear step down from Emirates.

The service on both airlines, meanwhile, is good, but it’s not as good as Singapore Airlines, which came in second on Skytrax’s list for the second year in a row.

So, what is really the best airline in the world? Emirates. No, Singapore. Or maybe it really is Qatar, given the quality of its business class?

Let’s put that aside though and look, instead, at some of the other surprises on Skytrax’s list, or at least the positions I find a little strange.

When it comes to service, Singapore Airlines rules.Credit: Getty Images

The top five is reasonable: Qatar, Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and ANA. But then we have Air France at No.8, and Hainan Airlines at No.10. Those airlines seem suspiciously high to me, particularly when you discover that Air New Zealand, a perfectly good airline, is all the way back at No.24. Is it really that much worse than Air France?

Qantas, meanwhile, is the 14th best airline in the world. I mean, is it? Qantas has certainly improved since the nadir of public outrage around the COVID-19 pandemic and its appalling treatment of customers, not to mention the airline’s determination to outsource much of its on-ground service to cheaper overseas companies (in one case, illegally).

But No.14 seems high to me. Is Qantas that much better than, say, Etihad, which came in at No.26? Or is it that much better than Asiana, another strangely average entry at No.41? When your meal is just a little plastic tub of soggy noodles eaten with a wooden fork, you would have to say no.

Lufthansa is apparently the 15th best airline in the world, which seems laughable to me after the multiple delayed or cancelled flights and three occasions of lost luggage that I experienced with the airline last year. This is not a good outfit.

Virgin Australia came in at No.34, which seems harsh given the airline is just ahead of Kazakhstan’s Air Astana, and just behind China Southern and Bangkok Airways. Ouch.

And then there’s Jetstar, languishing all the way back at No.88, in the celebrated company of Kenya Airways, FlyArystan (Kazakhstan’s low-cost carrier), and Air India. To put that further into perspective, Ryanair is No.61, and EasyJet is No.59.

I’m not here to tell you Jetstar is a great airline, but it’s also not that bad. It’s comfortable enough, reliable enough too (its on-time performance is currently about 80 per cent, which isn’t great, but also not disastrous). Service is friendly. Food, if you can be bothered purchasing some, is nice enough.

US airlines don’t do particularly well with Skytrax, which seems fair. The best of them is Delta at No.22, with United at No.51 and Alaska Airlines at No.69. Hard to argue. Air Canada, meanwhile, is a comparatively lofty No.19.

And No.100? Hawaiian Airlines. That also seems a bit rough, given 99 is Air Serbia, and 98 is China Eastern.

Still, you can’t expect to just agree with a list.

The world’s top 20 airlines in 2025

1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Cathay Pacific
4. Emirates
5. ANA All Nippon Airways
6. Turkish Airlines
7. Korean Air
8. Air France
9. Japan Airlines
10. Hainan Airlines
11. Swiss Int’l Air Lines
12. EVA Air
13. British Airways
14. Qantas Airways
15. Lufthansa
16. Virgin Atlantic
17. Saudi Arabian Airlines
18. STARLUX Airlines
19. Air Canada
20. Iberia

Source: World Airline Awards