These Are the World’s Best Airlines

Airline ranking site Skytrax recently announced the winners of its 2023 World Airline Awards.

Wing of plane above clouds

Did your favorite carriers make the list?

Photo by BABAROGA/Shutterstock

During the past nine months, more than 20 million passengers from over 100 countries cast their ballots for their favorite airlines for the Skytrax 2023 World Airline Awards.

The result was that Singapore Airlines walked away with the world’s best airline title for the fifth time in 23 years.

“This award is a testament to the indomitable spirit of our people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure that Singapore Airlines was ready for the recovery in air travel,” said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer, Singapore Airlines, in an acceptance speech during Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show on June 20. “That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic as a leading international airline.”

Singapore also won top marks for Best First Class, Best First Class Seat, Best Business Class in Asia, Best Business Class Lounge in Asia, and Best Premium Economy Seat in Asia. Second place went to Qatar Airways, the carrier that had won the seven previous consecutive years, followed by ANA All Nippon Airways.

There were no U.S. carriers in the top spots for world’s best airlines, but Delta Air Lines ranked No. 1 for best North American airline (it was the highest ranking U.S. carrier on the world’s best airlines list at No. 20). For low-cost carriers, Sun Country Airlines was voted the best in North America. In Europe, Turkish Airlines topped the list.

The 2023 World Airline Awards were compiled based on results of an online survey conducted from September 2022 to May 2023, featuring more than 325 airlines and offered in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.

The 2023 results for the world’s best airlines are as follows:

The world’s 10 best airlines

  1. Singapore Airlines
  2. Qatar Airways
  3. ANA All Nippon Airways
  4. Emirates
  5. Japan Airlines
  6. Turkish Airlines
  7. Air France
  8. Cathay Pacific
  9. EVA Air
  10. Korean Air

The world’s top low-cost airlines

  1. AirAsia
  2. Scoot
  3. Indigo
  4. Flynas
  5. Volotea
  6. Transavia France
  7. Sun Country Airlines
  8. Southwest Airlines
  9. airBaltic
  10. Jet2.com

The world’s best cabin staff

  1. Garuda Indonesia
  2. Singapore Airlines
  3. ANA All Nippon Airways
  4. EVA Air
  5. Hainan Airlines
  6. Qatar Airways
  7. Cathay Pacific
  8. Thai Airways
  9. Emirates
  10. Japan Airlines

The world’s cleanest airlines

  1. Air Canada
  2. Singapore Airlines
  3. Emirates
  4. Qatar Airways
  5. ANA All Nippon Airways
  6. Japan Airlines
  7. Virgin Atlantic
  8. Etihad Airways
  9. EVA Air
  10. British Airways

Winners in other categories included Cathay Pacific, which won for best inflight entertainment; Japan Airways, which topped the list for best economy class; and Qatar Airways, which got best for business class. You can find the full lineup of winners at worldairlineawards.com.

Michelle Baran is a deputy editor at AFAR where she oversees breaking news, travel intel, airline, cruise, and consumer travel news. Baran joined AFAR in August 2018 after an 11-year run as a senior editor and reporter at leading travel industry newspaper Travel Weekly.
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