It’s been somewhat of a turbulent year for the airline industry. We won’t point fingers, but Australia’s largest airline has certainly hit some rough skies, with the country’s newest low-cost airline already going bust just a year after taking off. Buckle up, because the highs and lows keep rolling in – a new batch of winners and losers have been announced in this year’s Skytrax World Airline Awards, AKA the ‘Oscars of aviation’.
For more than 25 years, Skytrax has been handing out trophies to the world’s very best airlines, with the results based on thousands of passenger surveys covering 350 airlines and 100 customer nationalities. Beyond the big ticket title of ‘world’s best airline’, Skytrax also award prizes for the best cabin crew, cleanest airline, best airline staff, best inflight entertainment, best low-cost and regional carriers, most improved and best by cabin class.
Qatar Airways claimed the title of the world’s best airline for 2024, marking an unprecedented eighth win since 2011. Meanwhile, Qantas held on to the title of Australia’s best airline, but slipped out of the global top 20, now ranking 24th worldwide. This is a huge drop from its 5th place standing only two years ago in 2022. On a brighter note, Qantas earned recognition in the top 20 rankings for the cleanest airline (13th), best cabin crew (16th), best airport service (18th), best first class (13th) and best business class (18th).
Virgin Australia also took a dive in the rankings, falling from 46th place in 2023 to 54th in 2024. Australia’s top budget airline, Jetstar, also dropped from 69th to 75th place, but managed to secure the title of the 15th best low-cost airline worldwide.
Things are looking up for one surprising Aussie airline, which was the sole carrier to rise the ranks in this year’s global best airline rankings. Regional operator, Rex Airlines, cracked the top 50, jumping six spots from its 56th place ranking in 2023. It was also named the fourth-best regional airline worldwide and the top performer in the Asia Pacific region in 2024.
You can see the full list of winners on the Skytrax website here.
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