Airlines are notoriously difficult to run successfully. In the 40 years to 2010 the airline industry generated a cumulative profit margin of only 0.1 per cent. Airlines are complex and heavily regulated entities which makes like for like comparisons difficult. This makes the identification of ‘best practice’ challenging and as a result airlines, while performing the same basic function, do so very differently. This study set out to identify the best performing airlines in Europe in an attempt to rank airlines in terms of company performance. Previous empirical work in this area was reviewed and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was identified as a suitable performance measurement and ranking technique. The analysis was further developed through the application of sensitivity analyses and robustness measurement methodologies. This study identifies Ryanair as one of Europe’s most efficient airlines and KLM as one of Europe’s least efficient airlines. As a result of further analysis various financial, operational and strategic elements of airlines were selected for further investigation. This in turn led to the identification of various ‘best practices’ and exemplars that poorer performing airlines may wish to emulate.