The World's Best Airports: Travel in Comfort

Does departing from or having a layover at a top-ranked airport make your journey better? Of course it does, especially for international travel, and certainly for those of us more accustomed to sitting in the back of the plane than the front. Even ordinary passengers — those without club passes — can take advantage of Munich International Airport’s T2 terminal, ranked the best in the world in 2017 by Skytrax, a researcher and tracker of airline and airport performance. In the terminal, passengers can recharge between flights by using the easily accessible showers, nap cabs (sleep pods), and quiet areas with lounge chairs.

Arrive early at the Munich airport for some good food. Airbräu, the indoor beer garden, is fun and T2 offers many other options. Skytrax rated the Munich airport as the fourth best airport in the world for 2017, and as the tenth best in the world for dining. Houston International Airport received ninth place for world’s best airport dining. No other U.S. airport made the top 10 best dining list.

The Skytrax World Airport Awards are often called the “Oscars of the aviation industry.” The award for top-rated airport in the world went to Singapore’s Changi Airport, ranked best by travelers for the fifth consecutive year.

For the 2017 ratings, Skytrax analyzed 13.82 million airport survey questionnaires completed by 105 different nationalities of airline customers. The survey covered 550 airports worldwide and included analyses of check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to gate departure.

With seats getting smaller, legroom shrinking and charges for everything from food to luggage to overhead bin space increasing, consider treating yourself to a top-ranked airport when it fits into your flight plans.

RELATED: More Dentist’s Money Digest® Lifestyle Coverage

· Look Before You Book: The World’s Best Airlines

· The World’s Best Airports and Airport Hotels

· 4 Fabulous Eco-Adventures in Costa Rica

Top 10 Airports in the World

1. Singapore Changi

2. Tokyo International Haneda

3. Incheon International Airport

4. Munich Airport

5. Hong Kong International Airport

6. Hamad International Airport

7. Chubu Centrair Nagoya

8. Zurich Airport

9. London Heathrow

10. Frankfurt Airport

Click to the next page to see which U.S. airports made the top 100 list.

The indoor beer garden at Munich airport. Image credit: Candyce Stapen

U.S. Airports on the Top 100 List

· Cincinnati/Kentucky, ranked 26^th

· Denver International, ranked 28^th

· San Francisco International, 39^th

· Dallas/Fort Worth International, 46^th

· Houston International, 54^th

· Seattle-Tacoma Airport, 58^th

· Minneapolis-Saint Paul, 72^nd

· Los Angeles International, 86^th

· Phoenix, 88^th

· Boston Logan, 89^th

· Detroit Metropolitan, 94th

Click to the next page to see the top 10 regional airports in North America.

Denver features the second-best regional airport in North America.

Top 10 Regional Airports: North America

1. Cincinnati

2. Denver

3. Seattle

4. Halifax

5. Minneapolis-Saint Paul

6. Phoenix

7. Detroit

8. Raleigh-Durham

9. Billy Bishop Toronto

10. Philadelphia

You'll find the best shopping at London Heathrow airport.

World’s Best Airport Shopping

1. London Heathrow

2. Seoul Incheon

3. Hong Kong

4. Singapore Changi

5. Doha Hamad

6. Dubai

7. Amsterdam Schiphol

8. Paris CDG

9. Frankfurt

10. Zurich

Discover Dentist’s Money Digest® lifestyle coverage here.

Follow Candyce H. Stapen on Twitter: @FamilyiTrips