Which airlines are the best for long-haul flights?

Key takeaways

• Singapore Airlines ranked as the world’s best long-haul airline, scoring highly for value, reliability, and in-flight experience in MoneySuperMarket’s Long-Haul Flight Index.

• The study shows that overall passenger satisfaction depends on consistent service and comfort, not just punctuality, with American Airlines ranking lowest for onboard experience.

• Experts advise researching airlines before booking long-haul flights and securing travel insurance to protect against delays, cancellations, and unexpected costs.

The top 10 airlines for long-haul flights

The Long-Haul Flight Index analysed passenger reviews and performance metrics from Skytrax, Which?, Airline Quality, Trustpilot, and TripAdvisor, ranking the world’s most popular long-haul airlines from best to worst on a total score out of 50.

The analysis found Singapore Airlines took the top spot, scoring 4/5 or higher across a range of key areas, including value for money, reliability, in-flight experience, customer ratings, and food and beverages.

Notably, It was also the only airline to achieve a value-for-money score of 4/5.

At the bottom of the rankings, American Airlines scored lowest overall out of popular airlines, particularly in seat comfort, in-flight entertainment, food and beverages, and TripAdvisor ratings.

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.

Why preparation matters before you fly

Researching airlines before booking a long-haul trip is a crucial step, especially for flights over 10 hours or when travelling with children or passengers with health concerns.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

It pays to do your homework

Flying can be expensive and easily disrupted, which is why researching airlines beforehand is so important.

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.

Even the best-planned trips can be disrupted. Long-haul flights carry risks from cancellations and delays to medical emergencies far from home.

Travel insurance can cover these eventualities, giving travellers peace of mind and protection against unexpected costs.

^{Methodology
Analysis focused on long-haul airlines identified by Which? as top performers. MoneySuperMarket compiled performance and customer-experience data from several independent sources:}

• ^{Which? provided metrics on timeliness, likelihood of cancellation, and value for money.}

• ^{TrustPilot and TripAdvisor supplied aggregated customer review scores.}

• ^{AirlineQuality and Skytrax contributed ratings on seat comfort, inflight entertainment, staff service, food and beverages, and overall long-haul economy experience.}

^{Because Which? reports timeliness and cancellation as percentages, figures were  converted and normalised to a 5-point scale to make them comparable with other rating formats.
Each airline was then evaluated across ten equally weighted categories, with scores summed to create a total out of 50, allowing for straightforward comparison between carriers.}