World’s Best Airline 2024: Air New Zealand knocked off top spot in AirlinesRatings rankings

Qatar Airways has been named the ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the Australian-based AirlinesRatings.com.

The Gulf State airline dethroned Air NZ, last year’s winner, pushing the Kiwi carrier into fourth place, although it was a close-run thing, according to editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas.

“In our objective analysis Qatar Airways came out number one in many key areas, although it was a very close scoring for the top 10,” he said.

Scoring airlines across 12 key areas – including age of aircraft, safety rating and passenger satisfaction – Korean Air and Cathay Pacific took second and third place – meaning Air NZ landed short of the podium.

Although the scores for airline hardware, innovation and future fleet upgrades saw the top 10 neck and neck, it was passenger sentiment that saw Qatar Airways soar to the top of the league.

“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,” said Thomas.

The closest Aussie airlines, Qantas and Virgin Australia rounded out the top 10, at ninth and tenth place respectively.

Also receiving individual accolades for best in class – the Doha-based airline was named Best Business Class for a fifth consecutive year.

As a consolation, Air NZ was recognised for Best Airline Catering and Best Premium Economy Class.

Thomas praised Air NZ’s ingenuity as “one of the few airlines in the world to have an investment grade credit rating,” and as a “staunch supporter of its home country”.

In the regional tables, Air NZ was top airline in Australia Pacific, with Cathay Pacific topping the table in South-East Asia and Korean Air named best in North Asia.

Airline Ratings also reviewed budget airlines. Vietjet was recognised as the Best Ultra Low-Cost Airline for its onboard hospitality and onboard offering.

Meanwhile, the Jetstar Group appeared in the top 25 Low-Cost Airlines.

After two decades of reviewing the world’s top airlines, the AirlineRatings runs an annual review of the 230 largest airlines, which carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers.

This year’s panel of judges and experts who set the scoring criteria had more than 200 years of combined experience in aviation.

The World’s Best Airlines 2024: AirlinesRatings.com

Source: airlineratings.com