Air New Zealand has been crowned the world’s best airline for the fifth consecutive year, at least by the website AirlineRatings.com.
To qualify for consideration, carriers must achieve a seven-star safety rating and demonstrate leadership in innovation for passenger comfort.
Air New Zealand operates a fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and was praised for its “continued record-breaking financial performance, in-flight innovations, environmental leadership, young fleet, and motivation of its staff”.
Air New Zealand edged out rivals Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic to claim overall top spot.
British Airways did not feature in the list despite its once much quoted claim to be ‘the world’s favourite airline’. Perhaps less surprisingly Ryanair also failed to feature.
The judges said of their decision: “We are looking for leadership and airlines that innovate to make a real difference to the passenger experience, particularly in economy class.
“In our evaluation, we will also consider the audited website feedback from passengers on our website and other reputable sites such as CNTraveller.com.”
Top 10 Airlines for 2018
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- Virgin Australia
- Virgin Atlantic
- Etihad Airways
- All Nippon Airways
- Korean Air
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Japan Airlines
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin brand took two positions in the top five places on the list. The judges said Virgin Australia’s new business class was “turning heads”, while in Europe, Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight product and service was deemed “a clear leader”.
Singapore Airlines came top in the Best First Class Experience category and also best cabin crew. Virgin Australia was named for offering the outstanding Business Class service.
Norwegian won the award for Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline.
