A new ranking shared by Travel + Leisure analyzes 26 airlines to reveal which carriers deliver the best long-haul flight experience—and which fall short.
Long-haul flights tend to amplify differences in seat comfort, service consistency, and in-flight amenities compared with shorter routes. When planning a long-haul flight, flyers tend to be a little more careful about which airline they ultimately choose. Obviously, cost and frequent flyer miles “in the bank” count. But when you’re going to be on a plane for 6, 8, 10, or even more hours, you’re probably going to be a little more choosy than if you were just flying from, say, BOS to JFK.
That being said, some airlines that offer long-haul flights can still be more desirable than others. They may have better seats or pods. Maybe their food tastes better or their bar offerings are more interesting. Or it might be as simple as the airline having better on-time performance, which makes it outperform its competitors.
To help travelers with the decision of “which airline should I use?”, iconic travel publication Travel + Leisure recently shared a new analysis of 26 airlines in order of best to worst for long-haul flights.
The study was conducted by travel insurance provider MoneySuperMarket. It made its list by analyzing passenger reviews and performance metrics across 26 carriers. These touchstones of performance included timeliness, likelihood of cancellation, and price value, along with ratings for seat comfort, in-flight entertainment, and food and beverages. An airline could get a maximum score of 5 for each metric, for a maximum total of 50. All scores were pulled from sites such as TrustPilot, TripAdvisor, AirlineQuality, and Skytrax.
Spoilers: Singapore Airlines was the overall winner
Singapore Airlines took the overall No. 1 position — it scored at least 4 out of 5 (with one 5/5) for reliability, price value, IFE, customer ratings, and food and beverages.
Also, of the U.S.-based airlines, Delta scored the highest (ranked No. 9), and American was at the bottom of the list, only outranked (by one position) by United.
The top 19
MoneySuperMarket said they studied 26 carriers. They didn’t say why, but only 19 of them made the list they printed. Here are those 19, from best to worst, based on their findings:
- Singapore Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Tui
- Emirates
- Qantas
- Malaysia Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Delta Air Lines
- Air France
- Etihad
- Turkish Airlines
- KLM
- Air Canada
- Aer Lingus
- Lufthansa
- British Airways
- United Airlines
- American Airlines
You can see the entire list (of 19), including their respective individualized score for each metric, here.
What do these rankings mean?
From MoneySuperMarket:
Despite scoring reasonably well for timeliness, weaker passenger experience metrics pulled the airline’s overall ranking down, showing the importance of comfort and customer service on long-haul routes.
The findings show that long-haul satisfaction is driven by consistency, not just punctuality. Airlines that balance reliable operations with strong onboard experiences tend to outperform those that prioritise schedules alone.
From Travel + Leisure:
“It’s perhaps no surprise that Singapore Airlines tops the list, given its reputation for luxury and five-star service,” Alicia Hempsted, a travel insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, shared with T+L.
“These rankings matter because they give travelers a clear picture of the overall long-haul experience, not just punctuality,” Hempsted added. “They highlight comfort, service, and value for money—factors that can make or break flights longer than 10 hours. For passengers with specific needs, like being pregnant, traveling for business, or being a nervous flyer, choosing the right airline can significantly improve the journey.”
Our take on it
Although we’ve written about what it’s like to fly first class on an Emirates A380, we were sharing someone else’s experience, not our own. We considered flying on Emirates when we went to Vietnam a few years ago, but the choice was that or Singapore Airlines, and we chose the latter (business class on an A350-900 from LAX to SIN). Based on this list, I guess that’s a good thing!
Our flights on Aer Lingus happened before we started writing a travel blog, so we don’t have any posts about the experience. But as I recall, they were nothing extraordinary (full disclosure: we sat in business class). In fact, our layover was the most exciting part of the trip.
We’ve also flown Virgin Atlantic Upper Class a handful of times, with another planned for this spring.
Although we’ve flown Delta, United, and American many times each, it’s all been domestic. Americans who prefer international carriers over American ones? Guilty as charged!
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1 comment
From check in to inflight services, arrival services and on the ground facilities, you can’t beat majority of the foreign carriers. It out shines all of the US domestic airlines offerings.