The prestigious 2024 Airline Excellence Awards from AirlineRatings.com has unveiled this year’s 25 best premium airlines with the top 10 in a close race for the top spot, coming down to firsthand passenger reviews to reveal the winner.
Qatar Airways was the big winner in the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards, taking out the World’s Best Airline award. The carrier also won Best Business Class cabin for the fifth year in a row and the aviation industry’s Best Catering.
Qatar Airways pipped previous winner Air New Zealand for the top spot in the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards with mostly APAC carriers taking the other top five positions.
Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand and Emirates rounded out the top five in the World’s Best Airline list.
Airline Ratings Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said: “In our objective analysis, Qatar Airways came out number one in many key areas although it was a very close scoring for the top five.”
“The passenger reviews however scored Qatar Airways ahead of all airlines and its consistency and high standard of service delivery came through in the feedback.”
Air France/KLM, All Nippon Airways, Etihad Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia/Atlantic were all recognised in the top 10.
Etihad Airways also picked up Best Environmental Airline for the third year running and recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
The 2024 Airline Excellence Awards recognise major safety and government audits plus key criteria including fleet age, passenger reviews, product rating and innovation.
Best low-cost carriers
The world’s top 25 Best Low-Cost Carriers were also announced along with regional winners.
For the best regional LCCs, the winners are Americas – Southwest, Middle East – FlyDubai, Asia – AirAsia Group, Australia/Pacific – Jetstar Group (for the second year in a row) and Europe – easyJet.
New to the Australian market in 2023, Vietjet picked up two awards in the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards: Best Ultra Low-Cost Airline and Best Low-Cost Airline Onboard Hospitality.
Best cabin classes and experiences
Qatar Airways picked up a Best Business Class gong for the fifth consecutive year and Air New Zealand won Best Economy Class.
Singapore Airlines was once again awarded Best First Class, while Virgin Australia won Best Cabin Crew and Best Regional Airline.
Best-In-Flight Entertainment (for an amazing ninth consecutive year) and Best Premium Economy went to Emirates, while Qantas picked up Best Lounges for the third time.
Read the full list here.
