Best and Worst Airline Rankings

If you’re about to book a seat on a new airline you’re unfamiliar with, it’s normal to wonder if they’re any good, or not!  Airline ratings or rankings are very subjective of course.  For example, some airlines are flying nice new planes with good prices, but their delay and cancellation record is appalling.  On the other hand, there are airlines that are great with safety and on-time departures, but they’re overpriced, with service that just makes you go “meh”.

I’ve created 3 groups that I think will give you a basic understanding of what to expect on your next flight, and whether you need to be worried or not!

My rankings are based on a complex algorithm which takes the sum of 23 unique factors, divided by the common integer, using the function f (x) = √x in the standard coordinate plane.  Just kidding.  I simply looked at the overall flying experience, from booking tickets through to luggage delivery, in both economy and business class.  Simple really.

TOP OF THE PACK:

NORTH AMERICA: Delta, American, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada
EUROPE: Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines
MIDDLE EAST: Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Oman Air
ASIA: Singapore Airlines, JAL, ANA, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Thai Airways, Japan Airlines
AUSTRALIA / PACIFIC: Qantas, Virgin Australia
REST OF THE WORLD: TAM, South African Airways, Copa Airlines, LAN

MERELY MEDIOCRE:

NORTH AMERICA: United, Hawaiian, Southwest
EUROPE: British Airways, Air France, Finnair, Austrian, Iberia, Alitalia, Air Malta, SAS, Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish
MIDDLE EAST: Gulf Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, flyDubai
ASIA: China Southern, China Eastern
AUSTRALIA / PACIFIC: Air New Zealand, JetStar
REST OF THE WORLD: Cayman Airways, Avianca, Aerolineas Argentinas, Easyfly

NO THANKS:

NORTH AMERICA: Spirit, Frontier
EUROPE: Ryanair, easyJet, Bulgarian Air, Iceland Air, Norwegian, Air Europa, WOW Air
MIDDLE EAST: Middle East Airlines, Air Arabia
ASIA: Air China, El Al, Air India, Philippine Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines,
AUSTRALIA / PACIFIC:
REST OF THE WORLD: Cubana, Insel Air, Gol, Aeroflot, Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines