Widely regarded as ‘the Oscars of the aviation industry’, the World Airline Awards began in 1999, and remain totally independent and impartial with all of the customer survey costs and awards event paid by the organisers, Skytrax.
Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, received the World’s Best Airline award on behalf of the Airline in Paris on 20th June 2023. “This award is a testament to the indomitable spirit of our people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure that SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel. That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic as a leading international airline,” said Mr Goh. “We are very grateful to our customers for their enduring loyalty to and affection for Singapore Airlines. During the pandemic, their support and encouragement gave us the strength and determination to overcome the unprecedented challenges. Today, as we recover from the pandemic, we are firmly committed to innovating and investing in industry-leading products and services, and ensuring that SIA continues to offer our customers a world-class travel experience.”
The seven times winner of the prestigious Airline of the Year award, Qatar Airways, was ranked No 2 in the world for 2023, with ANA All Nippon Airways in third place, Emirates fourth, and Japan Airlines in fifth position, out of more than 325 airlines included in the survey results.
Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: “It is a fabulous achievement for Singapore Airlines to achieve this World’s Best Airline title for 2023. Singapore Airlines achieved excellent results in many of the award categories, with the highlight being recognition of their First Class cabin as the World’s Best First Class. We congratulate Singapore Airlines on this success which should be a source of great pride and satisfaction for the airline management and staff.”
Big winners at the awards included Qatar Airways who scooped nine award wins, with Singapore Airlines also receiving nine awards. In North America, Delta Air Lines was the success in North America, winning six awards. In Europe, Turkish Airlines was dominant, receiving four awards including the highly competitive Best Airline in Europe title.
Qatar Airways continued its domination in business class, winning the awards for World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best Business Class Seat, the World’s Best Business Class Lounge (the Al Mourjan lounge at Hamad International Airport), the World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining and the Best Airline in the Middle East.
Singapore Airlines dominated the First Class travel awards, winning the awards for the World’s Best First Class, the World’s Best First Class Seat, the World’s Best First Class Comfort Amenities and took top position as the Best Airline in Asia.
ANA All Nippon Airways claimed third place in the global ranking, and repeats its earlier successes by winning awards for the World’s Best Airport Services and the World’s Cleanest Airline.
Kuwait Airways wins the 2023 award as the World’s Most Improved Airline, ahead of StarLux in 2nd place and PLAY in 3rd position. This is award reflects an airline’s Quality improvement across the entire Awards programme, evaluating an airline’s change in the global rating, and their performance in different award categories.
AirAsia was the repeat winner of the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline award, a title it has won each year since 2010. Scoot won the award as the World’s Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airline.
Volotea was named the Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe, this being one of the most competitive low-cost airline markets in the world.
A new award was introduced in 2023, for the World’s Most Family Friendly Airline, this being won by Air Canada. This award includes family seating policies, dedicated family check-in facilities, priority boarding, children’s meals, children’s amenities / toys / activity packs, child specific onboard entertainment, free checked luggage and policies for carrycot / pushchairs, and the standard of service assistance from ground staff and cabin crew during the travel experience.
Garuda Indonesia was recognised with a top prize after being voted as having the World’s Best Cabin Staff – the sixth time it has achieved success in this category.
Plaza Premium maintains its winning status by collecting the award as the World’s Best Independent Airport Lounge operator. The Plaza Premium lounge at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport which ranked No 1 in 2023, and Plaza Premium also had two other lounges featured in the Top 10 ranking.
Cathay Pacific had a notable achievement for 2023 as they were judged as providing the World’s Best Inflight Entertainment for the very first time.
EVA Air won the award for the World’s Best Premium Economy Class (the travel cabin that EVA invented more than 30 years ago). EVA Air also won the award for the Best Premium Economy Class Catering.
Japan Airlines ranks No 1 in Economy Class, winning the award for the World’s Best Economy Class as well as the award for the World’s Best Economy Class Seat.
The Best Regional Airline Awards are for full service carriers that primarily operate domestic and / or International flights up to approx. 6 hours. Topping the global ratings as the World’s Best Regional Airline is the repeat winner Bangkok Airways, a true customer favourite.
Rising up the rankings in 2023 is Australia’s Rex Airlines winning the Best Regional Airline in Australia / Pacific award.
Fiji Airways secured the Best Airline in Australia / Pacific for the first time, and in a double success also won the award as the Best Airline Staff Service in Australia / Pacific for the third time.
In the India / South Asia region, Vistara reigns supreme and was again named winner of the Best Airline in India / South Asia award, in addition to Best Airline Staff Service for the region.
IndiGo maintains its winning No 1 position as the Best Low-Cost Airline in India / South Asia.
Delta Air Lines was the Best Airline in North America, in addition to Best Airline Staff Service for the region. Sun Country Airlines wins the Best Low-Cost Airline in North America title for the first time.
Alaska Airlines was the Best Regional Airline in North America in this very competitive market. Air Transat were another big winner from North America after being named as the World’s Best Leisure Airline – an award the Canadian airline has won on four previous occasions.
A relative newcomer to the market is Kazakhstan’s FlyArystan that picked up the award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in Central Asia / CIS region.
For the sixth time, Ethiopian Airlines has won the Best Airline in Africa award.
In China, Hainan Airlines was named the Best Airline in China for the 12th time, as well as receiving the Best Airline Staff in China award.
The World’s Top 20 Airlines in 2023
- Singapore Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- Air France
- Cathay Pacific
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
- Hainan Airlines
- Swiss Int’l Air Lines
- Etihad Airways
- Iberia
- Fiji Airways
- Vistara
- Qantas Airways
- British Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Delta Air Lines
The World’s Best Cabin Staff in 2023
- Garuda Indonesia
- Singapore Airlines
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- EVA Air
- Hainan Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Thai Airways
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
The World’s Cleanest Airlines in 2023
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
- EVA Air
- Cathay Pacific
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- China Airlines
The World’s Best Independent Airport Lounges in 2023
- Plaza Premium – Rome Fiumicino
- The Pearl – Bahrain Airport
- IGA Lounge – Istanbul
- Primeclass – Muscat
- American Express Centurion – Dallas Fort Worth
The World’s Best Leisure Airlines in 2023
- Air Transat
- SunExpress
- TUI Airways
- Condor
- TUIfly
The World’s Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airlines in 2023
- Scoot
- Jetstar Airways
- Air Canada rouge
- LEVEL
- ZIPAIR
A number of Best Airline Staff Service awards were presented, these being important awards that recognise the combined airline staff service standards across both the airport and the onboard experience. Austrian Airlines was the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service in Europe, Kenya Airways was the winner of the Best Airline Staff Service in Africa, and Oman Air triumphed by winning the Best Airline Staff Service in the Middle East region award.
The World Airline Awards cover all types of travel classes, with an overall Best by Cabin award, Best Seats by Cabin, Best Lounges and Best Onboard Catering by cabin. The overall winners for these awards are:
- The World Best First Class Airline: Singapore Airlines
- The World’s Best Business Class Airline: Qatar Airways
- The World’s Best Premium Economy Class Airline: EVA Air
- The World’s Best Economy Class Airline: Japan Airlines
The World Airline Awards are independent and impartial, introduced in 1999 to provide a customer satisfaction study that was truly global. Travellers across the world vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to determine the award winners.
All costs of the Survey and Awards event are paid by Skytrax, and airlines do not pay any entry or registration fee. There are no charges for use of the Award logos and results.
The online customer survey operated from September 2022 to May 2023. The customer survey is provided in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. Over 100 customer nationalities participated in the 2022/2023 survey. Survey entries are screened to identify IP and user information, with all duplicate, suspect or ineligible entries deleted. More than 325 airlines are featured in the final Award results.
Tags: 2023 World Airline Awards, Goh Choon Phong, Singapore Airlines, Paris Air Show
