Air Canada Beat Delta and United to Best Airline in North America Again in 2026. No US Airline Made the World’s Top 20

Delta swept the cabin awards. Air Canada still took the title that matters, and the best US airline finished 25th in the world.

Air Canada is the best airline in North America for 2026, according to the Skytrax World Airline Awards presented in London on September 18, 2026. It is the second year in a row and, the airline says, the 10th time it has won the title since 2010.

Delta Air Lines finished second, Canada’s Porter Airlines third and United Airlines fourth. Air Canada also rose two places to 17th in the Skytrax World’s Top 100, the only North American airline in the top 20.

Delta won the cabins, Air Canada won the title

Look at the class awards and Delta should have won. Skytrax named it North America’s best for economy class, premium economy, business class, cabin crew and airline staff.

Delta’s economy class even placed 10th in the world, and its crew topped the US list as well. Air Canada came second to Delta for cabin crew in North America.

Air Canada’s own haul was smaller and more specific. It won Best Cabin Crew in Canada, Best Economy Class Onboard Catering in North America and Best Business Class Lounge in North America, for its Toronto Pearson lounge.

Its Signature Suite at Toronto also won the World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining for the third straight year, according to Air Canada.

The airline credits the overall win to the basics it has added in recent years. Those include free Wi-Fi sponsored by Bell, complimentary snacks, beer and wine on all flights, new lounges and its Aeroplan loyalty program.

The title is a passenger vote. Skytrax’s online survey ran from September 2025 to August 2026 and counted 24.8 million eligible responses from more than 100 customer nationalities.

It is also a reversal. Delta won Best Airline in North America four years running through 2024, before Air Canada took it back in 2025.

The 10 best airlines in North America, by the numbers

This is Skytrax’s “Best Airlines in North America 2026” list in its own order, with each airline’s place in the Skytrax World’s Top 100 for 2026 and 2025.

Rank	Airline	Country	Skytrax world rank 2026 (2025)
1	Air Canada	Canada	17 (19)
2	Delta Air Lines	US	25 (22)
3	Porter Airlines	Canada	34 (44)
4	United Airlines	US	45 (51)
5	Alaska Airlines	US	51 (57)
6	jetBlue Airways	US	54 (52)
7	Air Transat	Canada	59 (62)
8	Allegiant Air	US	63 (76)
9	American Airlines	US	65 (83)
10	Breeze Airways	US	74 (73)

Canada has three airlines in the top 10, and two of them in the top three. Porter made the biggest jump of the three, from 44th to 34th in the world.

Porter was also named Best Regional Airline in North America for the third year running, and Skytrax ranked it second in the world among regional airlines, behind Bangkok Airways. Air Transat won the World’s Best Leisure Airline, the eighth time it has taken that title.

American Airlines climbed 18 places, from 83rd to 65th, the biggest rise in the top 10. Skytrax named it the Most Improved Airline in North America.

Allegiant rose 13 places to 63rd and won Best Low-Cost Airline in North America and in the USA. Three of the top 10 slipped: Delta from 22nd to 25th, jetBlue by two places and Breeze by one.

Mexico is missing entirely. No Mexican airline appears in the North American top 10 or anywhere in the Skytrax World’s Top 100 for 2026.

Why America’s airlines rank so low on the world list

The top of the world list belongs to Asia and the Gulf. Singapore Airlines won the World’s Best Airline for 2026, ahead of Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and ANA.

The best airlines in Asia took six of the world’s top 10 places. The best airlines in the Middle East put Qatar Airways and Emirates there, and the best airlines in Europe added Turkish Airlines and Air France.

Further down, Southwest sits 89th. WestJet fell 10 places to 85th, and Air Canada’s leisure arm, Air Canada rouge, closes the top 100.

There is one category where US airlines lead the world. In Skytrax’s first World’s Best Onboard Wi-Fi award, Qatar Airways came first, followed by Delta, United, Alaska, jetBlue and Hawaiian.

Other rankings read North America very differently. AirlineRatings put WestJet second among the world’s hybrid airlines for 2026, with Delta fourth, United fifth, American sixth and Air Canada only 12th.

Our ranking of the best airlines in the world sets the two global lists side by side. For a US-only view built on how the big domestic carriers actually perform, see our guide to the best US airlines to fly.

What Air Canada and Porter are flying next

Air Canada will defend its title with a new cabin. In 2026 it put the Airbus A321XLR into service, which introduced its new “Glowing Hearted” cabin design.

Porter flies two fleets: the Embraer E195-E2, with no middle seats and free Wi-Fi, and the turboprop Dash 8-400. It is expanding across the US, the Caribbean and Latin America.

“From day one, we set out to prove that flying economy doesn’t mean compromising on comfort or care,” Porter CEO Michael Deluce said of the award.

Delta goes into 2027 as North America’s best economy, premium economy and business class, and second overall. Air Canada goes in as the best airline on the continent and the only one in the world top 20, the second year it has held both.