Qantas has shrugged off recent problems with wait times, flight delays and cancellations to take fifth place in this year’s World Airline Awards. See top 20 at the bottom of this article.
The Australian airline jumped up the standings from eighth position in 2021, despite finding itself in the news repeatedly of late for passenger dissatisfaction and employee disruptions.
The Airline Awards are a global survey conducted by consultancy firm Skytrax, who questioned participants from 100 countries on roughly 350 airlines.
Qantas managed to bag five category wins this year, including best catering in premium economy class, best airline (APAC), best business class (APAC), best economy class (APAC) and best cabin cleanliness (APAC).
Given the troubles Qantas has faced in the news of late, the positive result is expected to call into question the validity of the Airline Awards, with some aviation experts concerned with the methodology and transparency of the system. Skytrax has reportedly refused to answer questions on what the business actually does or how the survey data is collected and used.
Other noteworthy Australian airlines Virgin and Jetstar both fell down the order from last year’s results, with Virgin dropping nine places to 43rd and Jetstar slumping to 57th.
Qatar Airways ended up winning out the top spot, marking the seventh time the Middle Eastern airline has been top of the pile at the Awards.
Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted described Qatar Airways as the “largest airline to have flown consistently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” and argued “that determination has clearly been well recognised by customers with this award”.
The world’s best airlines 2022
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- Emirates
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Qantas Airways
- Japan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- Air France
- Korean Air
- Swiss Int’l Air Lines
- British Airways
- Etihad Airways
- China Southern
- Hainan Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Cathay Pacific
- KLM
- EVA Air
- Virgin Atlantic
- Vistara
