©Suhyeon Choi via Unsplash
A trip is not just about an overnight stay or tourist attractions seeing as the on-board experience can turn a departure into a beautiful memory or, conversely, a stressful moment. To this end, the rankings compiled by AirAdvisor provide a useful overview for those planning a trip, with one point that the platform itself clearly emphasizes: the airlines that is at the bottom of the rankings are neither unsafe nor disorganized. They have their own, clear strengths, but also some weaknesses that nuance the final verdict. In several cases, even carriers with lower scores show solid performance in multiple areas within the assessment criteria used.
The rankings come from the work of a team of five experts, who spent weeks delving into a vast amount of data on European airlines. The end result is a comprehensive rating, broken down into several key categories.
Here are the key elements they relied on:
- The reliability of 7,634,407 flights operated between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
- 831,513 customer reviews collected through June 2025.
- 75,147 specific reviews of airport lounges.
- 46 awards given to airlines in 2024.
- Analysis of company policies related to pets, family travel and in-flight comfort.
- The cost of billions of seat-kilometers in 2024, ranging from €0.0417 to €0.0855 per seat-kilometer.
The goal is to create a ranking of the 15 best European airlines and identify the winner in each theme category, giving travelers practical guidance when choosing their next flight.
The three best European airlines
This is the official stage:
1. Aegean Airlines - score 10.3
For the second year in a row, the Greek airline captures first place. It excels in the quality of its lounges, safety standards and general comfort, both for those traveling with the family and for those bringing pets. In terms of passenger ratings, Aegean finishes second in Europe.
2. Finnair - score 9.89
The Finnish airline achieves excellent results in terms of comfort, customer satisfaction, quality of lounges and operational safety. The only weakness is in reliability, where the score is lower than on other indicators.
3. Iberia - score 9.78
The Spanish airline stands out for safety, attention to family travel and pet needs, combined with a good level of airport lounges. Compared to 2024, Iberia climbs three places in the rankings, although customer reviews remain markedly more critical.
The worst airlines, with the lowest scores
Wizz Air - score 6.33
The Hungarian airline remains the cheapest in Europe. It is also the third most reliable within the European Union when it comes to safety. In 2024, the flight cancellation rate significantly improved, from 5% to 0.5%.
On the other hand, Wizz Air gets the lowest ratings for family travel and travel with pets, finishes second to last for comfort and third in terms of number of professional awards. Still, it remains the best airline in Eastern Europe in 2024.
LOT Polish Airlines - score 6.22
The Polish airline achieves decent results for family travel and middle scores for comfort and passenger ratings. On the safety front, LOT records zero incidents in 2024, while punctuality reaches 76%, a slight improvement over the previous year. In contrast, reliability and professional ratings remain below average, with, moreover, a listing among the last three in terms of airport lounges. In just one year, LOT drops from eighth to fourteenth place.
Air Europa - score 5.33
Those who fly with Air Europa can count on very high safety standards, few cancellations and limited delays. Comfort is in the mid-range, with free snacks and drinks on board. Bottlenecks have to do with professional reviews and various aspects of service, from pricing to lounges to family travel experience, AirAdvisor's report also highlights.
Below are the full rankings:
- Aegean Airlines - 10.3
- Finnair - 9.89
- Iberia - 9.78
- Lufthansa German Airlines - 9.67
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - 8.78 (ex aequo)
- Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) - 8.78 (ex aequo)
- Norwegian Air Shuttle - 8.11
- Air France - 8,00
- TAP Air Portugal - 7.22
- Volotea - 6,78
- Vueling - 6,50
- Ryanair - 6,44
- Wizz Air - 6,33
- LOT Polish Airlines - 6,22
- Air Europe - 5,33
Have a nice trip!
(©airadvisor.com via GreenMe.it 2026/Managing Editor: Julie Morgan - The Press Junction/Picture: ©Suhyeon Choi via Unsplash)