Skytrax World’s Top 100 Airlines of 2025 has been revealed and there is something that has caught many people’s attention: no airline in the United States appears among the 20 best in the world. The classification of the airlines can be a topic to debate since everything depends on the person who makes the survey and the criteria used like passengers’ opinions, safety records, ticket prices, punctuality, or on board-service quality.
However, the Skytrax ranking is one of the most popular and most respected in the airline industry. So, let’s see why no airline from the U.S. is in the top 20.
Who is leading the Skytrax ranking?
The results show that Asian airlines are dominating this year. Out of the 10 first positions, 8 belong to Central and East Asia airlines, which reflects the reputation these companies have built around comfort, service, and reliability.
What about European airlines? Only Turkish Airlines and Air France reached the top 10, which proves that Europe keeps its presence in the Skytrax list. However, it makes clear that Asian airlines are leading the current industry.
No airlines from the U.S.
The most striking thing is to find there is no airline from the U.S. in the first 20 positions of the ranking. In spite of having one of the largest airline markets in the world, the U.S. companies didn’t get to be in the elite group ranked by Skytrax in 2025. This shows passengers’ view on airline quality from different parts of the world.
Top 20 best airlines in the world
According to Skytrax official ranking, these are the 20 best airlines in the entire world of 2025:
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Japan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- EVA Air
- Air France
- Korean Air
- Swiss International Air Lines
- Hainan Airlines
- British Airways
- Fiji Airways
- Iberia
- Vistara
- Virgin Atlantic
- Lufthansa
- Etihad Airways
- Saudia
This list confirms Asian dominance on the airline industry with an important presence of European and Middle East too.
Why are Skytrax rankings important?
Skytrax rankings are of many passengers and airlines’ interest. For passengers, they are like a reliable guide to identify the best flight experiences around the globe. For companies, being in the ranking means prestige and international recognition.
The fact that Asian airlines are in the first positions of the list reflects their goal to offer a high level of service, innovation and customer service. Also, Europe has several airlines among the best, whereas the United States is out of this group which creates many doubts about users’ perception about their service.
So…
As you can see this Skytrax ranking shows information about the best and worst airlines of every year in a very clear way. Without these types of rankings we would have to look for this information by ourselves searching on a lot of websites trying to find passengers’ opinions.
So, next time you plan a flight and want to know which is the best experience possible, we recommend you check the Skytrax ranking. This way you will have less possibilities of having a negative experience on your flight, but have in mind that everything can happen and not all days are the same.
What do you think about the lack of airlines from the U.S. in the top 20? This was very shocking for many people, but was it surprising for you? Let us know in the comments if you agree with the top 20 best airlines according to Skytrax ranking of 2025, who knows… maybe you can contribute positively to other people reading this article. Let’s help each other!