In a year marked by significant resurgence and transformation in the airline industry, AirlineRatings.com has unveiled its long-awaited list of the world’s best airlines for 2024.
AirlineRatings.com, the only global safety and product rating website, combines major safety and government audits with 12 key factors, including fleet age, passenger ratings, profitability, safety ratings, product ratings, innovation and fleet pre-orders.
Topping the rankings for 2024 is Qatar Airways, which was named Airline of the Year for its outstanding service and innovation. The win puts Qatar Airways ahead of former champions such as Air New Zealand, which topped the list in 2023.
“In our objective analysis, Qatar Airways ranked first in many key areas, although it was a very tight score for the top five,” Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com, told me in an interview. “Qatar Airways won with very positive passenger reviews across its business class and economy class cabins.”
This year, Korean Air came in second on the list, followed by Cathay Pacific Airways (number three), Air New Zealand (number four) and Emirates (number five).
A new report has ranked the world’s best airlines for 2024
In addition to the overall ranking of the world’s carriers, AirlineRatings.com also awarded airlines in various categories. This year, Qatar Airways was awarded the best business class and best catering for the fifth year in a row.
Other notable winners for 2024 include Air New Zealand (which won Best Economy Class), Singapore Airlines (Best First Class), Virgin Australia (Best Flight Attendant), Emirates (Best Inflight Entertainment, Best Premium Economy), Qantas ( best lounges) and Etihad Airways (best green airline).
On the other hand, the performance of US carriers was lackluster: JetBlue ranked 16th, followed by Hawaiian Airlines (17th) and Alaska Airlines (18th). Major legacy carriers were at the bottom of the list, with Delta Air Lines at 23rd, United Airlines at 24th, and American Airlines at 25th.
“The major US carriers continued to do poorly due to high fleet age and very poor passenger feedback,” he says.
Airline Ratings.com also ranked the best low-cost airlines by region, with the winners being Southwest (Americas), Fly Dubai (Middle East), AirAsia Group (Asia), Jetstar Group (Australia/Pacific) and easyJet (Europe). Vietjet also won two awards for Best Ultra-Low-Cost Airline and Best Low-Cost Airline in On-Board Hospitality (recognizing the value of its on-board offering).
According to Thomas, the 2024 results reflected a post-COVID recovery in the airline industry. “The 2024 results reflect an acceleration of the recovery in the aviation industry following the massive disruption to staffing and supply chains by Covid,” he says. “Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates and Air France moved up the rankings to the top ten.”
And while there have been significant safety issues recently — particularly with Boeing planes, as well as the recent turbulent Singapore Airlines incident — Thomas said that did not affect the 2024 ranking. “The publicity surrounding Boeing did not affect the results because it is an airline ranking. However, it should be noted that there are just as many incidents involving Airbus aircraft as Boeing, and much of the publicity surrounding Boeing is simply not correct,” he says. “The turbulence tragedy involving Singapore Airlines has not been considered because we do not yet know the cause.”
Here are the world’s 25 best airlines for 2024. For more detailed rankings and reviews, visit AirlineRatings.com.
Qatar Airways has been named the world’s best airline in a new report.
Rating: The world’s best airlines for 2024
- Qatar Airways
- Korean Air
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Emirates
- Air France/KLM
- All Nippon Airways
- Etihad Airways
- Qantas
- Virgin Australia/Atlantic
- Vietnam Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- EVA Air
- TAP Portugal
- Finnair
- JetBlue
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
- Lufthansa/Switzerland
- Turkish Airlines
- IGA Group (British Airways & Iberia)
- Air Canada
- Delta Air Lines
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
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