Doha-based Qatar Airways has taken the title of ‘Airline of the Year 2024’ in the latest round of accolades handed out by a leading airline ratings website. AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only safety and product rating website, has announced the carrier as its Airline of the Year for 2024, topping a list of 25 carriers that the website highlights as offering the best customer experience overall.
The AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards are judged by five travel/aviation editors with over 100 years of industry experience. The awards combine major safety and government audits, alongside 12 other key criteria including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, safety rating, product rating, innovation, and forward fleet orders.
Qatar Airways nudged out previous winners Air New Zealand as well as Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Emirates to take the top spot for 2024.
The top 25 premium airlines as identified by the ratings website for 2024 are Qatar Airways, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Air France/ KLM, All Nippon Airways, Etihad Airways, Qantas, Virgin Australia/Atlantic, Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, TAP Portugal, JAL, Finnair, Hawaiian, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa/Swiss, Turkish Airlines, IAG Group (British Airways & Iberia) Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.
Note that some airlines are grouped with sister carriers to achieve an overall rating, such as Air France/KLM and Virgin Australia with Virgin Atlantic.
Qatar Airways also picked up Best Business Class for the fifth year running and Best Catering onboard product.
“We, at Qatar Airways, stand for delivering exceptional customer experiences, and it is always reaffirming to be recognized for our relentless pursuit of service excellence,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. “Receiving the ‘Airline of the Year’ accolade by Airline Ratings has reinforced our commitment to innovation and customer care that defines our brand.”
“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,” said Airline Ratings Editor-in-Chief, Geoffrey Thomas. “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.”
Singapore Airlines won ‘Best First Class’, while Virgin Australia won ‘Best Cabin Crew’. ‘Best-In-Flight Entertainment’ and ‘Best Premium Economy’ went to Emirates, while Qantas picked up ‘Best Lounges’. Etihad Airways picked up ‘Best Environmental Airline’ for the third year running. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand won ‘Best Economy Class’.
Other categories
Elsewhere, in other categories, awards were presented to a variety of carriers from a wide range of industry sectors and geographical locations.
The regionally-led ‘Excellence in Long Haul Travel’ awards went to Qatar Airways (Middle East), Korean Air (North Asia), Air France (Europe), Air Canada (North America, LATAM (South America), Turkish Airlines (Southern Europe), Cathay Pacific Airways (South-East Asia) and – Air New Zealand (Australia/Pacific).
In the budget travel sector, the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ awards went to (listed in alphabetical order), AirAsia Group, Air Baltic, Air Canada Rouge, Cebu Pacific, easyjet, Eurowings, flydubai, FlyNAS, GOL, JetBlue, Jet2, Jetstar Group, Jeju air, Norwegian, Peach, Ryanair, Scoot, SpiceJet, Sun Country, Southwest, Transavia, Vietjet, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizz Air.
Regionally, the best low-cost airlines were Southwest (Americas), flydubai (Middle East, AirAsia Group (Asia), Jetstar Group (Australia/Pacific), and easyJet (Europe). Best Regional Airline was Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA).
Vietnam-based Vietjet also picked up the awards for ‘Best Ultra Low-Cost Airline’ and ‘Best Low-Cost Airline Onboard Hospitality’ which recognizes the value of the carrier’s onboard offering.