The world’s best airlines for long-haul travel have been revealed – and the frontrunner not only offers value for money, but excels in customer service, reliability and in-flight meals.
A new study conducted by travel insurance experts at MoneySuperMarket analysed a selection of 19 popular long-haul airlines, from Emirates to Lufthansa, using passenger and performance metrics from the likes of Skytrax, Which? and Trustpilot.
It then looked at factors such as entertainment, staff service, reliability and even seating to ultimately score each airline out of 50 and rank from best to worst.
Leading the top 10 is Singapore Airlines, which scored 36.95 out of 50, and scored four out of five or higher across key areas, such as value for money, in-flight experience, customer ratings, reliability, and food and beverages.
Out of all of the airlines ranked, it was the only carrier to achieve a value-for-money score of four out of 5.
Following closely in second place is Qatar Airways with a total of 36.24. It also scored notably higher than Singapore Airlines in areas such as staff service and seating.
Scoring 33.41 out of 50 and outshining other airlines in reliability, entertainment and staff service, Cathay Pacific falls in third place.
Budget UK carrier, TUI, came fourth thanks to its noteworthy value for money and high Trustpilot score, which earned it a grand total of 32.79 out of 50.
The world’s best airlines for long-haul travel have been revealed by MoneySuperMarket – and claiming the top spot with a score of 36.95 out of 50 is Singapore Airlines (pictured)
With a total score of 36.24, Qatar Airways follows closely in second place
It also ranked the highest out of all listed airlines for reliability, with an impressive score of 4.84 out of five.
Rounding out the top five is Emirates with a total score of 32.20 out of 50. The carrier excelled in key areas such as entertainment, staff service and reliability.
On the flip side, American Airlines scored the lowest overall out of popular airlines, with 25.7 out of 50.
It ranked particularly poorly in seat comfort, entertainment, in-flight meals, and TripAdvisor ratings.
Despite scoring reasonably well for timeliness, weaker passenger experience metrics caused its rank to drop, reflecting the importance of comfort and customer service on long-haul journeys.
United Airlines came second from the bottom, with a score of 25.92 out of 50, while British Airways came third from the bottom, with a score of 27.39.
BA scored particularly badly on Trustpilot, and on its seats.
The findings show that long-haul customer satisfaction is driven by consistency, not just punctuality, and airlines with strong onboard experiences, balanced with reliable operations, clearly surpass carriers that prioritised schedules alone.
TUI, which made the top four, ranked the highest out of all listed airlines for reliability, with an impressive score of 4.84 out of 5
Alicia Hempsted, Travel Insurance Expert at MoneySuperMarket, commented: ‘While cheaper flights may seem appealing, they can come at the cost of comfort and overall experience.
‘For passengers with specific needs, such as health conditions where seat space or comfort is crucial, these factors shouldn’t be overlooked.
‘Long-haul flights can exceed 12 hours, and even budget options can cost in the thousands.
‘So investing time in choosing the right airline can make a huge difference to your journey.’
