SkyTrax releases 2025 rankings showing ranks for the world’s best airlines. They even go so far to rank different regions like Asia, The Middle East, North America, and Europe.
The 2025 SkyTrax World Airline Awards have revealed some surprising results for North American carriers, with a familiar winner claiming the top regional spot and U.S. airlines falling short of global recognition despite massive investments in premium services.
The results, based on customer satisfaction surveys from approximately 22.3 million global travelers across over 100 nationalities, paint a complex picture of North American aviation excellence one where size doesn’t necessarily translate to passenger satisfaction.
The Surprising Champion: Air Canada Takes the Crown
Air Canada was named the Best Airline in North America at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards, marking an impressive ninth time since 2010 that Air Canada has claimed this prestigious title.
For travelers expecting a U.S. carrier to dominate, this Canadian victory might come as a shock. But Air Canada’s success stems from a commitment to consistency and passenger experience that goes beyond flashy marketing campaigns.
Air Canada also took home additional honours for the Best Low-Cost Airline in Canada for its Rouge subsidiary, Most Family Friendly Airline in North America, Best Premium Economy Class Onboard Catering in North America, Best Business Class Onboard Catering in North America, and Best Business Class Lounge in North America.
What sets Air Canada apart isn’t just one exceptional service—it’s the breadth of categories where they excel. Air Canada’s signature suite in Toronto received the World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining award for the second time, while their flight attendants earned recognition as Best Cabin Crew in Canada and North America.
Global Context: Air Canada Stands Alone in Top 20
While Air Canada dominates North America, the global picture tells a different story. Air Canada ranks 19th globally, making it the only North American carrier to crack the top 20 worldwide.
The global top 10 is dominated by Asian and Middle Eastern carriers:
- Qatar Airways is named the World’s Best Airline at the 2025 World Airline Awards
- Singapore Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Korean Air
- Air France
- Japan Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
This international dominance highlights just how competitive the aviation industry has become globally, with North American carriers facing stiff competition from airlines that have invested heavily in premium experiences.
The U.S. Airline Hierarchy: Delta Leads the Pack
Among U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines maintains its position as the premium leader. Skytrax ranks Delta as the 22nd best airline worldwide, slightly behind Air Canada, which holds the 19th position.
Delta’s strength lies in its comprehensive approach to the passenger experience. Nearly all of its aircraft are equipped with in-flight entertainment, and the Delta Studio system ranks as one of the best worldwide. The airline’s new DeltaOne Suites aboard its Airbus A350 and A330neo aircraft have earned particular praise for offering luxury and privacy that rivals international competitors.
United Airlines: The Comeback Story
United Airlines is ranked as North America’s fourth-best airline, the US’s second-best airline, but still only the world’s 51st-best airline. This ranking reflects United’s significant post-pandemic transformation.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago-based United Airlines’ strategy has been to upgauge domestic routes and become more premium. The implementation of United Next, which retrofitted narrowbodies with seatback screens on every seat, and the rollout of free Starlink WiFi represent major improvements in the passenger experience.
While United’s global ranking of 51st might seem modest, it represents substantial progress for an airline that has worked hard to shed its reputation for poor service.
The Regional Surprise: Porter Airlines
Perhaps the most surprising entry in North America’s top rankings is Porter Airlines, claiming the third spot regionally. Porter markets itself as an airline that focuses on improving the economy experience.
How can an all-economy airline with only Q400s and Embraer E2s be so good that it’s ranked alongside worldwide carriers like Air Canada and Delta by SkyTrax?
The answer lies in exceptional soft service. Porter Airlines is the only Canadian airline to offer free, high-speed WiFi, which is available across its entire Embraer E195-E2 fleet. Snacks and drinks are complimentary, while passengers looking to liven up their flight enjoy alcoholic beverages on the house served in real glassware.
Porter proves that passengers value genuine service improvements over flashy amenities, ranking as the world’s third-best regional airline, behind only Virgin Australia and Bangkok Airlines, while taking 44th place in the grand list of all carriers.
JetBlue: The Fading Premium Experience
JetBlue is still one of America’s best airlines, but this ranking as third in the country and fifth in North America does show that it isn’t quite as special as it was before.
JetBlue’s challenges reflect broader industry trends. While the airline pioneered many passenger-friendly innovations, competitors have caught up. WiFi is also offered by just about every US airline, and United is rolling out its free Starlink WiFi, so this is no longer a strong differentiator.
The airline’s signature extra legroom advantage has also diminished as the company has gradually reduced seat pitch to improve profitability.
Alaska Airlines: Consistency Over Flash
Alaska Airlines is ranked by SkyTrax as America’s fourth-best airline, and the sixth-best in North America. While Alaska may lack the premium amenities of larger carriers, it compensates with reliability and genuine customer service.
Though it lacks in-flight screens on many aircraft, Alaska compensates with industry-leading first-class legroom and a reliable in-flight experience. The airline’s operational reliability and straightforward approach to customer service resonate with travelers who value consistency over luxury.
The Complete North American Rankings
Based on the SkyTrax results, the top five airlines in the United States are Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska, and Breeze, according to SkyTrax. In North America, Air Canada takes the top position and Porter takes third, while the rest of the list is rounded out by Air Transat, Breeze, WestJet, and Allegiant Air.
What This Means for Travelers
The 2025 SkyTrax rankings reveal several important trends for North American air travel:
Service Trumps Size: Air Canada’s victory demonstrates that consistent, high-quality service across all touchpoints matters more than fleet size or route networks.
Regional Carriers Can Excel: Porter’s third-place ranking shows that smaller airlines with focused service strategies can compete effectively with major carriers.
U.S. Carriers Face Global Competition: While American airlines lead in revenue and technology, they struggle to match the service standards set by international competitors.
Consistency Matters: Air Canada’s multiple category wins suggest that passengers value airlines that deliver quality experiences across all aspects of travel, from check-in to arrival.
The Global Perspective
The broader SkyTrax results highlight a challenging reality for North American carriers. While U.S. airlines consistently lead in revenue and fleet size, none cracked the Top 20 overall, showing that bigger isn’t always better.
This gap suggests that North American airlines, despite massive investments in new aircraft and premium products, still have work to do in matching the service culture and attention to detail that characterizes the world’s top-rated carriers.
Looking Forward
As the aviation industry continues to evolve, the 2025 SkyTrax results serve as both recognition of progress and a roadmap for improvement. Air Canada’s success demonstrates that North American carriers can compete on the global stage when they prioritize passenger experience over operational metrics.
For travelers, these rankings provide valuable insights into which carriers are truly delivering on their promises of improved service. In an era where airline marketing often outpaces actual improvements, passenger-voted awards like SkyTrax offer a reality check on which airlines are genuinely earning customer loyalty.
The message is clear: in 2025, passengers reward consistency, genuine service improvements, and attention to detail qualities that transcend marketing budgets and fleet modernization programs.
The SkyTrax World Airline Awards are based on customer satisfaction surveys conducted between September 2024 and May 2025, with over 22.3 million passenger responses from more than 100 nationalities.