List of the best airlines in the world in 2025 has been revealed and some might surprise you

If you’re planning out your summer vacation, then you might want to consider traveling with one of these airlines after they were put at the top of the best to travel on in 2025.

Don’t let your time away be ruined by a bad airport experience and choose yourself a wise airline.

From the second you step foot on the plane, you’re going to want to feel like you’re going to have the best time possible. But if you end up having a negative experience up in the air, it’s not going to set the tone for the rest of your stay.

So, let’s take a peek at which ones are rated the top airlines of this year.

There's no doubting that some airlines provide a much nicer travel experience than others (Getty Stock Images)

How were the airlines chosen?

International air transport ranking website Skytrax has listed the best airlines in the world, which includes a few surprising entries.

After the 2025 World Airline Awards on June 17, passenger satisfaction ratings determined who was the winner, and who needed some serious improvement.

All in all, the surveys polled travelers from September 2024 to September 2025, and out of 325 airlines, 100 were listed as the best to choose from.

“We welcomed back a large number of previous winners and were also delighted to see new faces and airlines represented here today,” said Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax. “As is indicated by so many former winning airlines being awarded again, quality consistency is clearly well recognized by customers when they vote for these airlines.”

The best airlines were ranked for 2025 (Getty Stock Image)

Who scored the highest?

Qatar Airways plane was named the best airline you could hope to travel with for the ninth consecutive year in a row.

The airline also bagged the awards for world’s best business class and its Al Mourjan Garden Lounge at Doha Airport in Doha, Qatar was given the award for the world’s best business class airline lounge.

“We congratulate Qatar Airways on these successes which should be a source of great pride and satisfaction for the airline management and staff,” said Plaisted.

Singapore Airlines placed second in the rankings thanks to its World’s Best Cabin Crew and World’s Best First Class.

It’s First Class suites are 50 square feet and also have a double bed for guests, as well as a 32-inch television, and a menu with 12 options of luxury meals.

And in third place came Cathay Pacific, Emirates and ANA All Nippon Airways.

Qatar Airways bagged the top spot (Getty Stock Images)

All in all, the top ten of the best airlines to travel with this year are:

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

Singapore Airlines came in second (GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images)

Who weren’t as highly regarded?

Sadly, the US airlines didn’t rank as well as Delta Air Lines placed 22^nd, and United ranked 51^st on the list.

Air Canada did quite well on North America’s top airlines, topping the list for 2025 and Delta came in second.

However, another Canadian carrier Porter Airlines placed third, meaning that overall, Canada seems to be doing very well in the flight department.