Singapore Airlines has unseated rival Qatar Airways as the world’s best airline in 2023, according to an annual poll of fliers.
The Middle Eastern carrier slipped into second place, with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, Emirates and Japan Airlines rounding out the top five, in the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2023.
Qatar did, however, have an ace up its sleeve. It dominated categories for best business class offerings, including best business class airline, seat and lounge.
In the budget arena, AirAsia was named world’s best low-cost airline, while Scoot was the best low-cost long-haul carrier.
“This award is a testament to the indomitable spirit of our people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure that SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel,” said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines. “That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic as a leading international airline.”
The highest ranked North American airline was Delta, which landed in 20th position — up four spots on last year. European carriers fared a little better, with Turkish Airlines in sixth spot and Air France taking seventh place. The award for best cabin crew went to Garuda Indonesia, while the cleanest airline award went to ANA.
The World Airline Awards were determined by an online customer survey, covering fliers from more than 100 countries. It ran from September 2022 until May 2023, with more than 325 airlines featured in the final results.
These are the top 20 airlines for 2023:
- Singapore Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- Air France
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Eva Air
- Korean Air
- Hainan Airlines
- Swiss International Air Lines
- Etihad Airways
- Iberia
- Fiji Airways
- Vistara
- Qantas Airways
- British Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Delta Air Lines
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.