The Best International Airlines: 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards
All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Unforgettable food. Cutting-edge design. Immersive experiences. These are some of your top criteria for judging what makes a quality hotel—not to mention a worthy resort, cruise, spa, or island. In tallying up the 575,048 votes cast in our 37th annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey, we were struck by both your eagerness to embrace the new and your reverence for tried-and-true classics. Your favorite hotel in the five boroughs is the two-year-old Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, but you also can’t stop returning to storied French Polynesian resort The Brando. You’ve jetted through the sprawling Istanbul International Airport, booked intrepid sailings to Antarctica, and fallen in love with historic yet innovative cities like Copenhagen. Read on to start planning your next round of travels—these are the best international airlines, as voted by our readers.
View the Readers' Choice Award winners for best airlines in the United States here.
This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Mika Baumeister/Unsplash15. KLM
KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is based out of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, one of the best-connected airports in the world, offering flights to 156 destinations. The joint venture partnership between KLM, Air France, Delta Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic first launched in 2020 makes booking interchangeably between the four airlines a breeze, and Flying Blue, the Air France-KLM loyalty rewards program is considered one of the best in the world. This summer, KLM launched service on its first Airbus A321neo aircraft, kicking off a long-term plan to replace its older Boeing 737s with the larger and more fuel-efficient planes. Together with the airline’s new lie-flat World Business Class seats introduced last year, the legacy carrier (one of the oldest in the world) is revamping its customer experience.
Sjo/Getty14. Icelandair
As Iceland’s flag carrier, Icelandair operates over half (58%) of the flights at the country’s main international airport, making it the go-to carrier for international visitors. With Iceland’s popularity as a tourism destination only continuing to grow, the carrier was able to transport a record-breaking number of passengers this July. But not all its passengers are visiting Iceland: thanks to the nation’s central positioning for long-haul layovers, the airline is a convenient and well-priced option for fliers traveling between cities in North America or Europe. Combined with increased connectivity to hard-to-reach destinations like the Faroe Islands and Greenland, a new codeshare agreement with Emirates, and its popular business class offering Saga Premium, Icelandair has well earned its place among the world’s best international airlines.
_yu-H3bT-qLbjCk-unsplash.jpg)
Unsplash13. JAL (Japan Airlines)
With a long history as Japan’s official flag carrier, JAL recently upgraded its fleet with large orders of the cutting-edge Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350s, two passenger-pleasing planes with mood lighting and higher humidity (a jet lag antidote). JAL offers a traditional first and business class, and its premium economy class wins high marks for its above-average legroom and cuisine that honors both Japanese and western tastes. Traveling with children? JAL has made that notoriously stressful situation a bit easier thanks to special menus that include cute branded bibs and bottled baby food for infants and bento-style meals with adorable animal-shaped dishes for older kids.
JOHN D PARKER/Air Tahiti Nui12. Air Tahiti Nui
If you're looking to travel to French Polynesia—Bora Bora, Tahiti, the list of fabulous potential destinations goes on—Air Tahiti Nui is the best way to get there. Passengers sing the airline's praises for its comfortable planes, good value, and properly Parisian service—the latter, in particular, is beloved for its immersive qualities. Air Tahiti Nui lives and dies by the islands to and from which it delivers passengers, and as such dedicates the flight experience (through the in-flight entertainment, cuisine, and magazine Reva Tahiti) to Polynesian culture.
_norikio-yamamoto-SA88Jzmy19A-unsplash.jpg)
Norikio Yamamoto/Unsplash11. ANA (All Nippon Airways)
ANA gets high marks for friendly customer service, seat comfort, and an above average premium economy product on wide-body jetliners that ply transpacific routes out of Tokyo. A member of Star Alliance, the largest in the world, the carrier is also known for a top-notch business class product in a staggered layout—alternating between front and rear-facing seats—that affords greater privacy. Fliers also appreciate their amenities at Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda airports, like well-appointed lounges and sleep rooms near boarding gates.
David Maunsell/Unsplash10. Air New Zealand
With some of the longest flights in the world, the Kiwi carrier pays close attention to seat comfort; legroom is ample on its wide-body planes, and they even offer a "Skycouch" in several rows of coach, which can be booked by families, couples, or solo travelers who simply want extra room to stretch out. Business travelers on a budget can opt for a seat in the expanded premium economy section, and all classes get that famed New Zealand wine. Those perks can now be appreciated on even more routes to the United States, including a recently introduced direct flight between JFK and Auckland that debuted in September.
Courtesy EVA Air9. EVA
Tied for largest airline in Taiwan with China Airlines, EVA gets points more than anything for its impeccable service. It starts with booking your seat—premium economy comes cheaper than at most other airlines, while EVA's business class trumps what you'll find in its competitors' first. But it's really the people that make the planes shine, with flight attendants praised for their warmth and efficiency. In a world where these two qualities seems to have become mutually exclusive, the frequency of their concurrent use is not something to be discounted.
Anthony Wallace/Getty8. Cathay Pacific
Just how detail-oriented is Hong Kong’s flag carrier? The airline actually concocted its own craft beer—a mandarin-orange-infused pale ale called Betsy, named after the carrier’s first plane—that’s specifically designed to taste better at 35,000 feet. That perfectionism extends to the spacious first class suites, which feature the widest fully flat beds in the industry, 600-thread-count organic linens from Bamford, and a relaxing pillow mist. But even travelers in economy will enjoy perks like a reimagined dinner service that places emphasis on intense flavors: Think soy-braised chicken with Chinese sausage, Hong Kong–style beef curry, or braised pork ribs with chu hou sauce. First class ups the ante with dishes like braised abalone, smoked duck, and caviar with blinis.
Kevin Ortiz/Unsplash7. Korean Air
“It was remarkable, creative, and entertaining to have [South Korea's] most famous boy group, BTS, educate the customers with safety features on the plane,” writes one Condé Nast Traveler reader of their recent experience flying with Korean Air. Anyone familiar with the airline, renowned and beloved for its attention to detail, knows that such a choice is emblematic of a larger buoyancy of spirit that benefits not only the safety programming but also the service and cuisine (the bibimbap enjoys a few favorable mentions.)
Courtesy Virgin Atlantic6. Virgin Atlantic
Ever since Richard Branson founded Virgin Atlantic 40 years ago, the maverick carrier has been wooing travelers with perks like in-flight manicures and cocktail lounges, along with cutting-edge seat-back entertainment. Readers also praise its premium economy section, which has pleasing touches like hot towels and a welcome drink, and its iconic Upper Class that boasts fully flat beds. The airline is also now more visible in the states: It recently launched new direct routes between London and Austin, and its close relationship with Delta gives it access to a vast network of domestic cities.
Getty5. La Compagnie
Once a niche secret for in-the-know travelers, this all-business class airline celebrated its 10th anniversary this year—and the world is finally catching up to how great it is. The French boutique airline based out of Paris's Orly Airport offers daily flights between Newark and Paris, and flies between Newark and Milan an average of six times per week (it also operates seasonal flights to Nice from April through September). The small fleet’s two Airbus A321neo aircraft feature 76 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration, advertised at rates 30 to 50% less expensive than business class on major carriers. La Compagnie also stands out for its unique inflight programming, which have included champagne tastings and book signings. With free unlimited WiFi, Michelin-starred meals, airport lounge access, and TSA PreCheck eligibility just added this March, the small carrier offers big value for travelers who want to fly in style for less.
Courtesy Boeing4. Turkish Airlines
Now that it’s firmly ensconced in its flashy new airport hub in Istanbul, Turkey’s flagship airline has the digs to match its ambitions: to become the connecting gateway of choice for transatlantic travelers. The carrier wins kudos for its popular stopover program in the capital, where fliers can take advantage of vouchers for four- or five-star hotels en route to hundreds of cities in Europe and Asia. Readers also rave about its excellent cuisine, comfortable seats, and attentive in-flight service. After recent expansions to Newark, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Seattle, the airline announced this summer that it would soon add nonstop service to Istanbul from Detroit and Denver.
Courtesy Emirates3. Emirates
Emirates's posh perks for first and business class fliers—cocktail lounges, in-flight showers—may get all the attention, but that’s only one reason it scores so high among travelers. With its fleet of Airbus A380s, Wi-Fi connectivity, and state-of-the-art seat-back entertainment system with up to 5,000 channels of TV, movies, music, and news, the Dubai-based airline gets kudos for service and amenities in all classes of service. And those classes recently expanded: In 2021, the carrier debuted its long-planned premium economy cabin, with an emphasis on the “premium” side of that hybrid class. Think dedicated check-in areas, luxurious leather seating, sustainable blankets made from recycled plastic bottles, and linen napkins and china come mealtime.
Mayer Tawfik/Uunsplash2. Qatar Airways
Qatar has one of the industry’s youngest fleets of ultra-long-haul wide-bodies, flying both the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the newest Airbus counterpart, the Airbus A350-1000. Both jets’ composite structure allows lower cabin pressure and higher humidity, which can lessen the effects of jet lag, especially if you’re connecting through Qatar’s hub in Doha to points beyond. Its QSuite business class, which can be configured with double beds and four-person dining suites, has won rave reviews from fliers with pleasing touches like hot towels and a welcome drink.
Goh Rhy Yan/Unsplash1. Singapore Airlines
Singapore is known for setting records, from holding the number one spot on our Readers' Choice Awards for more than three decades, to winning the title for world’s longest flight, a 19-hour nonstop between New York and its Changi Airport hub via its fleet of all-premium Airbus A350s. Now that service has resumed on that and other super-long routes, fliers will again savor what makes this airline a perennial favorite: It’s an industry leader in seat comfort, in-flight service, and reliability. It also gets praise for continually upgrading its product in all classes, including a farm-to-plane catering concept and a wellness partnership with California’s Golden Door Spa that involves in-flight stretching, exercise, meditation, and sleep comfort programming.
