Since this blog is all about reviewing flights, I thought I’d make a ranking of the best and worst airlines I’ve flown. I’ll break it down into long haul and short haul as well as economy and business class. I don’t tend to be an overly negative person so most of the list will be postive, but I will include a few dishonourable mentions at the end for my least favourite airlines. I’ve only reviewed a few airlines on this blog so far so a review won’t be available for some airlines. However, I hope as time goes by and I write more reviews I’ll be able to have some sort of review for each airline in place.

3. British Airways – I suspect this airline won’t stay on this list for long as I’ll soon be reviewing Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines which almost certainly offer a better economy product. However, unlike some terrible short haul flights with British Airways, I’ve never been let down by a long haul flight. Over the years British Airways is my most flown airline all over the world so I probably have a soft spot for them. But I genuinely think they are a solid choice for economy. Nothing stands out as amazing but everything is average to above average.

2. Oman Air – This small Middle Eastern carrier is often overshadowed by the likes of Emirates and Qatar, but I think they are highly underated. Great seats (for economy), generous amenities kits and tasty Omanian food make this a great choice if you’re connecting through the Middle East. It is a relatively small airline though so they don’t offer a very diverse route network. They’re also due to join the Oneworld Alliance soon.

1. Japan Airlines (JAL) – For hands down the best economy experience I’ve ever had. I flew on a Boeing 787 on a 12h 30m flight from London to Tokyo. Staff and service were first class, food was great for economy and most importantly, JAL’s 787s have a very special feature. It may seem small but the economy cabin is in a 2-4-2 configuration instead of the typical 3-3-3 on many other airlines. Especially for people who always sit by the window this is a god send as you only have to climb over 1 person when getting up.

3. British Airways – In the past British Airways business class has been nothing special, but in recent years I think it’s really improved. Their new Club Suites are some of the best business seats on the market. And in my experience service and food has always been good. I’ve only flown on their older seats though which were a bit tatty, hence why I haven’t put them higher on this list.

2. Virgin Atlantic – Virgin Atlantic are similar to British Airways but with a slightly quirkier twist. Their Upper Class is very good in my opinion. Starting on the ground they have some brilliant lounges. In the air the service is incredibly friendly, seats and food are good, not great. They even have lounge areas on the planes if you fancy a drink in the sky. If only they flew to more destinations.

1. Cathay Pacific – I had the opportunity to fly on one of Cathay’s Airbus A350s in business class from London to Hong Kong and back. I really can’t think of anything bad to say about the entire experience. Even at the airport they have brilliant lounges with a la carte menus and showers, which is a god send on a long layover. Most impressively, throughout the flight they would refer to me by name (without me telling it to them). And cabin crew were incredibly attentive, without being annoying. This level of attention to detail is something I haven’t experienced on any other airline.

3. Ryanair – This is my potential dark horse pick of this list. When many people think of Ryanair their first thought is terrible. However, all of my experiences have been pretty good. Prices are dirt cheap, the seats actually have quite a lot of room and they’re much more likely to be on time than competitors such as easyJet.

2. Luxair – Luxair are another solid short haul airline. I flew one of their Dash 8s from London City to Luxembourg and it was great. No delays to be seen and it even included a snack and drink, which many airlines don’t do these days, especially on a 1 hour flight.

1. Norwegian Air Shuttle – I think Norwegian is the best budget airline in Europe. Comfy seats, free wifi, often on time and reasonable prices. Check out my full review here.

2. British Airways – For Europe you’ll struggle to find a better business product, especially when it comes to food. I recently reviewed a British Airways Club Europe flight from Geneva to London Heathrow and besides a short delay it was pretty great. They do use standard economy seats but considering this is the norm in Europe I won’t deduct points because of that. However, it does mean that it can’t compare to the likes of Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines who offer proper lay flat seats on their equivalent short haul flights.

1. Cathay Pacific – Much like their fabulous long haul offering, Cathay Pacific also have a very solid short haul business class product. I flew one of their Airbus A330s from Hong Kong to Tokyo, which you can see in this review from Point Hacks here. Whilst inferior to long haul routes, it is still miles ahead than pretty much any European short haul business seat. As I’ve come to expect with Cathay Pacific, service and food were excellent. It would be nice to see a fully lay flat seat of course and a bit more privacy but for a 3 hour flight I don’t think it’s necessary.

3. TAP Portugal – Essentially a budget airline charging full service prices, for short haul at least. My main issue with them lies with how they lost my bag once. I wrote about it here in my list of best travel accessories. Basically, they took my bag off me before boarding saying it would have to go in the hold and to collect from baggage reclaim. Instead, without telling me, they put it back on the plane. I waited at baggage reclaim, but it never showed. In the end a flight attendant must have dumped it in a corner of the reclaim hall. If not for my AirTag pointing me towards it I never would have found it.

2. Iberia – My only experience flying Iberia has been in business class, and it was very substandard. Obviously any form of business class is a privilege, but compared to competitors, Iberia are shoddy at best. Slow & innatentive service, worn-out feeling seats and bad food make for a very outdated business class product. I do have an upcoming review in their new A350 though so maybe that can redeem them.

1. easyJet – I recently had a pretty poor experience with easyJet (review here). But that’s not the only reason I don’t recommend them. I’ve found prices to be noticeably more expensive than Ryanair and Wizzair for essentially the same experience. I’ve also found the planes to be dirty and service to be unfriendly.