Japan Airlines rated as the world's best airline – dethroning Singapore Airlines

With many people going on holiday during the summer months, there are many factors to consider in order for the ideal trip to be planned out. One major aspect for travellers to consider is the flight experience they have, particularly if it is a lengthy one, so that makes what airline you fly on very important.

The world's best airline in 2023 has been revealed as Japan Airlines, from the annual Airline Index by luggage storage company, Bounce. The research from Bounce gathered its findings by analysing 52 of the world's most popular airlines, based on the total number of flight departures.

The index was split into various categories to determine the overall experience that passengers had on the airlines with it all contributing to an overall index score out of 10. The categories included on-time flight arrivals, flight cancellations, food, in-flight entertainment, seat comfort, staff service, carry-on luggage allowance, checked domestic luggage allowance and checked international luggage allowance.

Japan Airlines came out on top in the 2023 Airline Index with an impressive score of 8.28 and is now regarded as the world's best airline. Out of 278,940 flights, the airline had an impressive on-time arrival record of 88.36 per cent and just 1.56 per cent of flights were cancelled.

Also, Japan Airlines scored four out of five for food, in-flight entertainment, seat comfort and staff service, with the rest of the top five airlines also achieving this exact feat. In terms of how much luggage passengers are allowed to carry on their flights, the amount was the joint-highest figure among the top five airlines with an allowance of 10kg.

The amount of checked luggage passengers are allowed was also instrumental in naming Japan Airlines the world's best airline as it has the highest allowance out of all 52 airlines for luggage on domestic flights with 46kg. This allowance is 14kg higher than the next best airline for domestic carry-on luggage which is Ethiopian Airlines with 32kg allowed.

46 kg is also the amount permitted on Japan Airlines' international flights with no other airline allowing more, although Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways, Air India and Azul Airlines match this luggage allowance amount.

Behind Japan Airlines ranked as the second-best airline in the world currently with an index score of 7.63 is Singapore Airlines, which was last year's best-rated airline. Out of 75,606 flights, Singapore Airlines registered a relatively good on-time arrival score of 77.39 per cent but it was its cancellation rate of 0.03 per cent which was very influential in its high ranking.

This extremely low cancellation figure is by far the best among the top five airlines whilst only three airlines from all 52 have a lower cancellation score. This includes Emirates, Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia, all with a cancellation score of 0.02 per cent.

Whilst Singapore Airlines' carry-on allowance for flights is not largely high at 7kg, the airline has the third-best luggage allowance for domestic and international flights with 30kg permitted for both.

Following in third place among the world's best airlines is Qatar Airways, with a score of 7.50 which is an improvement on last year's fourth-place ranking. Out of 155,707 flights, Qatar Airways had on-time arrivals for 77.51 per cent of them and 0.33 per cent were cancelled, with only Singapore Airlines having a lower cancellation figure among the top five airlines.

As previously mentioned, Qatar Airways was among the airlines that permitted the most checked luggage for international flights at 46kg and that was key in securing its high ranking for Bounce's 2023 index.

Rounding out the top five with overall scores of 7.19 and 6.43 respectively was Korean Air and Indian airline, Vistara. Korean Air's fourth-place finish is a one-place drop from last year whilst Vistara maintains its fifth-position ranking.

Helping both Korean Air and Vistara secure top-five rankings were both airlines' on-time arrival records. Out of 65,964 flights, Korean Air was on time with 79.61 per cent of them and Vistara had an 80.88 per cent score out of 87,690 flights.

Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, just missed out on the top five spots despite its very impressive score for on-time arrivals of 89.03 per cent, which was out of a mammoth 388,084 flights.

The best-performing airline from Europe on the index was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, coming in 12th place with a relatively average score of 5.12. Jet2 was the best British airline on the index coming in at 26th place, scoring 3.62 overall whilst British Airways and easyJet were ranked in 31st and 34th spots respectively.

The worst-ranked airlines in the world, all with an overall score below one, are Australian Airlines, Jetstar Airways, Indonesian Airlines, Lion Air and Wings Air. Both Lion Air and Wings Air scored one out of five regarding food and in-flight entertainment whilst both have on-time arrival scores below 50 per cent.