Singapore Airlines held onto the top spot in the Skytrax World Airline Rankings for 2026, edging out Qatar Airways for the second straight year.  

The two airlines have been playing musical chairs for the world's best airline for years, trading places every year or two for the top spot. Meanwhile, U.S. airlines were … nowhere near the podium, placing outside the top 20 yet again. Delta was the highest-rated among American carriers, coming in at number 25 – and only United joined Delta in the top 50 (at No. 45).

While airlines celebrate and publicize their Skytrax rankings, you should take them with a grain of salt. The company doesn't provide much detail on its methodology for picking winners – plus, it's a major consulting firm for the same airlines it ranks, leading to concern that its high-paying clients get a boost in the final results.

That said, the Thrifty Traveler team has flown every airline in the top 10. While we might disagree with where certain top-ranked airlines are slotted, we think this year's rankings generally pass the smell test.

 

Top 10 Airlines in the World

Here's how the top 10 shook out in the 2026 Skytrax rankings:

  1. Singapore Airlines
  2. Qatar Airways
  3. Cathay Pacific Airways
  4. ANA All Nippon Airways
  5. Turkish Airlines
  6. Emirates
  7. Air France
  8. Hainan Airlines
  9. Japan Airlines
  10. Korean Air

 

Delta Loses Top Spot in North America

While it's finished far from the top 10, Delta Air Lines has routinely been named the best airline in North America. 

It lost that distinction in 2026, ceding the top spot to Air Canada. Here are the top 10 North American Airlines for 2026, according to Skytrax:

  1. Air Canada
  2. Delta Air Lines
  3. Porter Airlines
  4. United Airlines
  5. Alaska Airlines
  6. JetBlue Airways
  7. Air Transat
  8. Allegiant Air
  9. American Airlines
  10. Breeze Airways

Air Canada Plane flying through sky

But let's consider some context with these rankings, because not one of these North American carriers finishes inside the top 10 globally. 

Here's how all of these airlines rank in the top 100 worldwide, according to Skytrax:

  • #17: Air Canada
  • #25: Delta
  • #34: Porter
  • #45: United
  • #51: Alaska
  • #54: JetBlue
  • #59: Air Transat
  • #63: Allegiant
  • #65: American
  • #74: Breeze

 

Allegiant Named Best Low-Cost Carrier in North America

For the third straight year, Allegiant Air has claimed the top spot among North American low-cost carriers.

Interestingly, its stiffest competition over the past three years has been Sun Country Airlines – the carrier Allegiant just acquired. The two airlines are still operating separately, so they're ranked individually here.

Sun Country won the top spot in 2023, but the Minneapolis-based airline slid to number two to make way for Allegiant Air over the past few years. The ultra-low cost carrier flies point-to-point all over the United States, focusing on small-to-medium sized cities. 

Other popular low-cost carriers like Southwest and Frontier also jumped into the top 10 among North American low-cost carriers. Here are the rankings of low-cost carriers North America for 2026: 

  1. Allegiant Air
  2. Sun Country Airlines
  3. Southwest Airlines
  4. Air Canada Rouge
  5. Frontier Airlines

Allegiant Airlines seats

Among low-cost carriers worldwide, Allegiant came in at number 10 and Sun Country finished 18th. 

 

World's Best By Cabin, Economy to First

Skytrax also ranks each airline's individual cabins, too. 

 

World's Best Economy Class

Singapore Airlines took the economy class title this year after Cathay Pacific won last year – Japan Airlines held the crown for several years before that. Delta also managed to creep into the top 10 of this category for 2026.

  1. Singapore Airlines
  2. Cathay Pacific Airways
  3. Qatar Airways
  4. EVA Air
  5. ANA All Nippon Airways
  6. Japan Airlines
  7. Hainan Airlines
  8. Turkish Airlines
  9. Starlux Airlines
  10. Delta Air Lines

Delta A220 Main Cabin 1 e1544626663945 1

World's Best Premium Economy Class

Right in between economy and business class is premium economy, where you can find a little extra comfort at a price point most travelers find more palatable. But not all  premium economy cabins are created equal. 

Here's how Skytrax ranked the top 10 for premium economy worldwide:

  1. EVA Air
  2. Emirates
  3. Singapore Airlines
  4. Cathay Pacific Airways
  5. Virgin Atlantic
  6. Japan Airlines
  7. Delta Air Lines
  8. Air New Zealand
  9. Air France
  10. Lufthansa

Delta Premium Select

Among this list, our team has flown Delta's Premium Select, Singapore Airlines Premium Economy, and Japan Airlines Premium Economy. 

Frankly, we're surprised Delta was rated so high in this year's list. The airline slashed its budget for catering in Premium Select at the start of the pandemic – the food and drinks in those seats are still far closer to the likes of a standard economy ticket.

United's premium economy was ranked 19th internationally, with its partner Air Canada joining them in the top 20 at number 18.

 

World's Best Business Class

There are no surprises in the top business class seats on earth: The list closely mirrors the top 10 overall airlines.

And while we'd quibble with a few positions here and there, these rankings square with our experience flying business class on many of them.

  1. Qatar Airways
  2. Singapore Airlines
  3. Cathay Pacific
  4. All Nippon Airways (ANA)
  5. Hainan Airlines
  6. Turkish Airlines
  7. Starlux Airlines
  8. Air France
  9. Japan Airlines
  10. EVA Air

Qatar qsuites

The likes of Qatar Airways QSuites, Singapore Airlines business class, ANA's The Room, Air France's business class suites, EVA Air business class, and Turkish Airlines business class are some of our favorite ways to fly in the world and are all deserving of top 10 spots. Notably absent from this year's top 10 are Emirates and Delta Air Lines.

No other North American carriers, including United's Polaris business class, cracked the top 20. 

World's Best Business Class Lounge

Surprise, surprise: Qatar Airways' swanky pair of business class lounges in Doha (DOH) took home the distinction of best business class lounges in the world in 2026, too. 

  1. Qatar: Doha (DOH)
  2. Air Canada: Toronto (YYZ)
  3. Cathay Pacific: Hong Kong (HKG)
  4. Virgin Atlantic: Upper Class Lounge in London-Heathrow (LHR)
  5. Singapore Airlines: Singapore (SIN)
  6. Iberia: Madrid (MAD)
  7. Delta One Lounge: New York City (JFK)
  8. Turkish Airlines: Istanbul (IST)
  9. Air France: Paris (CDG)
  10. United Polaris Lounge: Chicago (ORD)

qatar airways al mourjan business lounge

In addition to its Al Mourjan Business Class lounge, Qatar further cemented its number one ranking with another business class lounge called “The Garden” that opened a few years back.

Some of the other entries on this list are surprising. Cathay's business class experience in Hong Kong is certainly deserving of the number three spot, but we found Iberia's business class lounge in Madrid (MAD) to be rather ordinary, making its sixth place finish here a shock. 

I think Turkish's business class lounge in Istanbul deserves a higher spot and I have no problem with United's Polaris Lounge in Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) jumping into the top 10 after a renovation last year. 

 

World's Best First Class

Many airlines have been ditching a true first class cabin in favor of expanding business class. But a few airlines stand out.

  1. Air France
  2. Singapore Airlines
  3. Lufthansa
  4. Emirates
  5. Cathay Pacific Airways
  6. SWISS 
  7. Japan Airlines
  8. All Nippon Airways (ANA)
  9. Qantas
  10. Qatar Airways

The Singapore Suites, Emirates Gamechanger Suites, ANA's the Suite, Air France's legendary first class cabins, and Lufthansa's famous first class are all worthy of the top 10. Putting Lufthansa above Emirates seems questionable at best.

Interestingly, Etihad's Apartment on the A380 did not make the top 10.

singapore airlines first class

A Word of Warning About Skytrax

Skytrax’s rankings are just one of many in the travel world. Don't consider them definitive.

The company says its rankings are the result of online customer satisfaction surveys collected over 11 months (from September 2025 to August 2026). Read more about SkyTrax's scoring methodology here.

But there’s plenty of reason to doubt certain aspects of the Skytrax rankings – and many do. Skytrax is a big airline consulting firm, and many (rightfully) question whether their clients get preferential treatment in their award classifications.

 

Bottom Line

Singapore Airlines is still on top of the SkyTrax rankings as the #1 airline in the world, edging out Qatar Airways for the second year in a row. 

As for U.S.-based carriers, Delta remains #1 – though nowhere near the top 20 airlines in the world.