The results are in, and the world’s best airline in 2024 is not what you may be expecting. While many of us are familiar with companies like Singapore Airlines taking the coveted crown of “best of,” according to AirHelp, a leading E.U.-based compensation calculator and redemption platform, the best airline in customer service, passenger rights, and fair flight compensation is actually Brussels Airlines.
In AirHelp’s calculations, Brussels Airlines beats the likes of most luxury carriers, with famously service-oriented Emirates landing in 55th place on their list, while Singapore sits at 37th.
With some, and yet surprising, familiar names gracing the top 10 in AirHelp’s 2024 list, we explored how the company arrived at these results. How did Brussels Airlines top this list, and which airlines can we feel safe flying knowing they take care of their passengers in the event of unfortunate delays or cancelations?
Related
Southwest Airlines Is Upgrading In 2025, But Reactions Are Mixed
Southwest Airlines might be straying away from its identity with the latest upgrades in 2025.
AirHelp’s “Best Of 2024”
Legacy and flag carriers from Belgium, the U.S., and Qatar have something to celebrate
As a company that specializes in optimizing customer compensation in the event of airline mishaps, AirHelp incorporated data for this list about each airline’s on-time performance, real-life customer feedback, and customer service standards to evaluate how well each company, in essence, treats their customers.
Customer feedback, in particular, was an extensive metric that covered the quality of cabin crew, the state of the aircraft, available onboard entertainment, and in-flight dining menus, among other things. AirHelp also focused on how well each airline worked with customers who processed any valid sort of claim for compensation.
Each category, therefore, received an individual score, with an average, composite score determining the top takeaway. Evaluating hundreds of airlines overall, the result for this year was one that may surprise many travelers.
Coming in at the top spot, Brussels Airlines, the flag carrier of Belgium, is a network airline of the German Lufthansa Group. It services 90 destinations from its home base in Brussels and has 44 aircraft in its fleet.
Scoring an average of 8.12/10 from an “On-Time Performance” score, a “Customer Opinion” score, and a “Claim processing” score, Brussels Airlines just barely edged out Qatar Airways for 2024’s best.
Related
(According To Passenger Reviews) These Airlines Serve The Best Food
Travelers should always do research before buying a plane ticket, including looking into what the food situation is going to be like.
Qatar Airways, an airline who has received top accolades in the past, just barely missed out on AirHelp’s top spot, however, coming in with an 8.11 score. While its individual customer performance score outranked Brussels by a significant margin, Qatar could not compete with Brussels’ major lead in claims processing. The Belgian flag carrier boasted a full 1.5 point advantage in that category.
Meanwhile, United Airlines took the third spot, scoring a solid 8.04 composite score. In terms of claims processing, United outranked even Qatar, scoring an 8.5 in that category.
American Airlines also received an 8.04 overall score, and the same 8.5 claims processing score, but lagged behind its domestic rival United in on-time performance.
Rounding out the top five, the surprising awardee, Play — Iceland’s budget airline that rivals Icelandair’s stopover program — received a 7.89 overall score.
Airline |
AirHelp Score |
On-Time Performance Score |
Customer Opinion Score |
Claim Processing Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brussels Airline |
8.12 |
7.8 |
7.9 |
8.7 |
Qatar Airways |
8.11 |
8.2 |
8.9 |
7.3 |
United Airlines |
8.04 |
7.8 |
7.8 |
8.5 |
American Airlines |
8.04 |
7.5 |
8.1 |
8.5 |
Play (Iceland) |
7.89 |
9 |
7.5 |
7.3 |
Related
Bucket-List In Bruges: The Most Enchanting City Of Belgium
Bruges has everything from beautiful buildings to world-class beer, and decadent chocolate abounds in Belgium.
Brussels Airlines, What You Need To Know
The ins and outs of this relatively unknown player in the U.S.
Though a sleeper entry to many of us in the North American market, Brussels Airlines is Belgium’s largest carrier. It’s still a relatively new brand, founded in 2006, but now employs almost 4,000 people, and flies to 90 destinations using their exclusively Airbus fleet.
Focused on travel between North America, Europe, and Africa, Brussels provides some unique routes, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Born from an airline merger which included Richard Branson’s Virgin Express airlines, Brussels has now grown tremendously.
In 2008, after its acquisition by Lufthansa Group, the airline officially joined the Star Alliance network, the world’s first and largest inter-airline cooperative of companies. As a member of the Lufthansa Group, frequent fliers accrue miles in the airline’s “Miles and Smiles” scheme, which, of course, are transferable to many Star Alliance partners.
At its Lufthansa Group acquisition, Brussels Airlines was supporting some 4.5 million passengers a year; since then, that figure has grown to an impressive 8 million passengers annually. With that kind of growth, it is no wonder the airline has perfected the passenger compensation and customer service game.
Can You Fly With Brussels Airlines In The US?
A consumer favorite in Europe, Brussels Airlines is only starting to enter the US market
Flying to and from the U.S. with Brussels Airlines can be a little tricky, however. Currently, the carrier only flies out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. But as their passenger loads and fleet keep increasing, our hope is that they expand more into the American market, so more passengers can experience the benefits of those high-ranking scores.
In the meantime, though, these are the best airlines to fly this year that you can try out from various other American cities as we pine for 2024’s best in more places in the U.S.