AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES: THE GOOD, AND, BAD, AND THE BEST TO AVOID

A few years after the pandemic, tourism is booming again, with everyone in the world eager to travel and discover new places. But before you book your post-pandemic trip, be sure to choose your flight carefully. Travel is stressful enough—with the long lines, connecting flights, and security checks, who wants the added stress of a bad airport or airline during their trip?

I've looked at some of the most common airports and airlines you are likely to encounter in your international travel planning. Let's see what some of the best and worst airports and airlines are. Choose the best airline and best airport for your journey, and beware of the worst Airports and Airlines for 2023.

AIRPORTS

The journey to your vacation destination starts with your airport experience. A bad airport will start off your vacation with a stressful experience and saps your energy for the remainder of your travel—neither of which will give you a good memory to talk about. So here are the worst airports in the world—avoid these airports as much as you can, and pick some of the best airports for a far more relaxing experience!

Worst Airport: Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada

In summer 2022, Toronto Pearson delayed more than half of its flights. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Air Canada rolled out special policies for ticket changes because of the delays at this airport. It’s the lowest-ranked airport in the world. If you're a traveler on a tight schedule, Toronto Pearson International Airport is your number one airport to avoid.

Dishonorable mentions: More Bad Airports to Avoid

Shenzhen Bao'An International Airport, China

A delay almost sounds bearable compared to a cancellation. This Chinese airport cancelled nearly 8% of its flights last summer. Although its poor performance was partially attributed to China's covid policies, other airports in China faced the same restrictions without the same cancellation rates.

Frankfurt International Airport

Frankfurt International Airport did poorly on AirHelp ratings, due to the traveler experience there. People frequently complain about the difficulty of getting around in the airport, and there were strikes and flight cancellations in the airport this year.

Lombok International Airport

Lombok International Airport also did badly in the same ranking, which was based on on-time performance, customer opinion, and the food and shopping experience inside the airports. Lombok International airport has a poor track record of on-time flights, which gave it a poor ranking overall.

Best Airport: Singapore Changi

It’s not just a pretty building that made Changi Airport this successful. They didn’t cut any corners when building this airport—it has everything imaginable that a bored passenger could want, from movie theatres, to koi ponds, spas, and wedding packages. With fast check-in, luxury shopping, entertainment, and efficient operations, you will have a highly comfortable passenger experience in Changi Airport no matter what.

Honorable mentions: More Good Airports

Tokyo Haneda International Airport

Despite being one of the busiest airports in the world, Tokyo Haneda is also one of the most punctual. Customers also report good experiences with the food and shops there, and the high standards of cleanliness have made people dub Tokyo Haneda Airport as the world’s cleanest airport.

Hamad International Airport

Hamad International Airport is another great option to fly through, as its strategically located to help you reach 80% of the world’s population within a 6-hour flight. So this is a good airport if you need to reach two very different destinations within a short amount of time. With the capacity for handling a large volume of planes and passengers, and a high-tech self-service airport, your transit time here will be a streamlined experience.

Incheon International Airport

Incheon International Airport is also another great airport. The experiences, cleanliness, and customer service are top-notch, and it was declared one of the top airports in Asia for 2022 by Skytrax.

Now that we’ve looked at the airports, let’s have a look at some of the best and worst airlines to fly with this year.

AIRLINES

Airlines are notorious these days for being a little...well...not very good places to be. But fear not, there are plenty of airlines where you won’t get dragged out by police because of a misunderstanding. Here are some of the worst airlines in the world, so that you can avoid them— and also some of the best airlines in the world—so that you know who to fly with on your next journey!

Worst Airline: Southwest Airlines, US

Southwest Airlines was celebrated as the worst airline in America this April, 2023. Southwest recently had a very public incident, dubbed the Southwest Airlines Holiday Meltdown, where over 16,700 flights were cancelled when their outdated booking system crashed during the holidays. It's also under government investigation, had to ground 1,750 flights briefly in April, and its flight attendants went on strike. Who knows when the next unfortunate event may grace this airline, but right now, it's definitely best to avoid this airline as much as you can.

Dishonorable mentions: More Bad Airlines to Avoid

Lufthansa Airlines

In Europe, Lufthansa was chosen as the worst Airline for long haul flights. This was based on criteria such as value for money, customer service, and boarding experience. Lufthansa additionally experienced a large-scale IT failure, employee strikes, and thousands of flight cancellations just within the last year. US travelers also listed Lufthansa as the most unreliable European airline they experienced.

TAP Air Portugal

According to researchers who studied airline-related hate tweets, TAP Air Portugal was the most hated airline of 2022 in Europe. This is due to their frequent delays, which caused much frustration among customers, as well as a precarious internal situation involving the Portuguese government and TAP executives.

Go Fast India

Go Fast India, meanwhile, was found to be the most hated airline in the world. In fact, the company just filed for bankruptcy a few days ago, citing poor quality of engines from Pratt & Whitney, but claim they have no plans to exit the market. Considering this strange situation, let’s let the company sort itself out before stepping foot on their planes.

Best Airline: Singapore Airlines

According to Aviation Week Network, Singapore Airlines was the best airline of 2023. It already had a positive impression on customers, and by acting decisively during the pandemic, Singapore Airlines was one step ahead of competition when the restrictions finally eased.

Honorable mentions: More Good Airlines

Qatar Airways

As Skytrax’s Airline of the Year in 2022 for the seventh year, Qatar Airways is another great option. Qatar Airways also flew to 30 or more destinations all throughout the pandemic, which made a good impression on people who needed to fly during that time. Their modern fleet, excellent service, and great dining options make them stand out over and over again throughout their 25 years of operations.

Qantas

Qantas is once again proclaimed as the safest airline in the world by the airline safety website AirlineRatings.com. Seats, amenities, and service are also of high quality in this airline, and it was declared the best airline in the Australia-Pacific region by Skytrax.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is the number one airline in Europe, providing the best air travel with great food, comfortable seating, and excellent customer service. Besides this, they are the airline that flies to the most countries in the world—so if you want an airline with a large international network, this is a great pick.

Your choice of airport and airline can significantly affect your entire experience of a trip. Choosing the best airline or airport will give you an amazing start to your travels. Now that we’ve seen all these options, you’re much better informed about the air travel situation in 2023. Take your pick of some of the best performers, and book that flight! Are you ready to explore the world again? Where are you going for your next trip?

Stay tuned for a special review on British Airways which in my opinion takes the cake for all time worst by any standard