Practically every traveler has a nightmare story about airports. There are the long queues for security screenings, surly customs and immigration officers, and flight cancellations or lengthy delays. But in Asia, a number of airports have come a long way in making the preflight hours more pleasant for passengers.

Where is the world's best airport? Seoul, according to the annual Airport Service Quality Survey released this month by Geneva-based Airports Council International. Asia practically swept the survey's top honors, winning four -- Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Nagoya, Japan -- of the first five spots in the ranking. Nova Scotia's Halifax was the only non-Asian airport in the top five.

Those flight hubs impressed the more than 200,000 passengers at 126 airports from around the world who took part in the quarterly airport surveys. They rated the passenger experience from a list of more than 30 service-quality factors, including courtesy, cleanliness, and overall ambiance.

"Commitment to Hospitality"

Few U.S. airports rank high in the survey. That's because airports in the U.S. are widely viewed as public facilities, while those in Asia are seen as service-oriented businesses, analysts say. The difference in perceptions explains why Asian countries will splurge on airports, while U.S. operators won't. "Asians have a different philosophy for airports," says Kim Hyo Joon, an independent aviation consultant and ex-chief operating officer of Incheon International Airport Corp., the state-owned company that runs Seoul's airport. "Our focus is to make airports convenient, attractive, and pleasant, even at fairly high costs."

Many of the highest-ranking airports weren't just conceived as multibillion-dollar projects. Asia's top airports also regularly spend big sums on upgrading everything from showers to shops for travelers. But can they retain their lead? Probably, says Nancy Gautier, Airports Council communication director. "There seems to be both a business and cultural commitment to hospitality that...