Singapore Airlines has just launched a new brand campaign. Photo / Supplied
Singapore Airlines has just launched a new brand campaign. Photo / Supplied
Singapore Airlines has been named World’s Best Airline in the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, the fifth time it has taken the top place.
The airline, which operates 14 flights a week to New Zealand, also took the top spot in four categories at this year’s Skytrax awards, including bestfirst class, best first class comfort amenities, and best airline in Asia. Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary Scoot was named best long-haul low-cost airline.
The Skytrax awards are based on online surveys of more than 20 million travellers from over 100 nationalities, who rated more than 325 airlines between September 2022 and May 2023. The big airlines with large numbers of passengers who make the effort to vote are favoured by the survey, but it does provide a useful guide to which is performing best among them.
Singapore Airlines’ Skytrax award adds to the prestigious Air Transport World title, judged by industry experts, which it won earlier this year and acknowledges the rapid recovery the airline has made while still retaining high product and service standards. It was ranked second in last year’s Skytrax awards.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong said the award was a testament to the “indomitable spirit” of the airline’s people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel. “That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic.”
The airline has roared back into profit as passengers return.
Qatar Airways is a seven-time winner of the airline of the year title, but was pipped for top spot in this year’s awards, announced at the Paris Air Show.
Fiji Airways was voted best airline in Australia/Pacific for the first time. Photo / Supplied
Air New Zealand has raced up the rankings from 30th last year to 19th, but Qantas has slipped from fifth to 17th.
The big mover in this market is Fiji Airways, which has punched above its weight and moved from 36th spot to 15th.
The airline also won the best airline in Australia/Pacific for the first time, and in a double success, took home the award for the best airline staff service in Australia/Pacificfor the third time.
Fiji Airways is operating daily flights from Auckland to Nadi and recently increased services from Christchurch to Nadi to up to four flights a week, as well as increasing services from Wellington to up to three flights a week from last month. Through Nadi, it can also connect Kiwis to North America (LA, San Francisco and Honolulu, and Vancouver, Canada).
United States-based airlines don’t feature high up the overall list but Delta, which will start services from Los Angeles to Auckland this year, was voted 20th best.
Other airlines in the top 20 which serve New Zealand are Qatar, which will resume non-stop daily Auckland-Doha services this year instead of the flight through Adelaide, Emirates (out of Christchurch via Sydney to Dubai and Auckland-Dubai non-stop ) at number four spot, Cathay Pacific (Auckland to Hong Kong and over summer, Christchurch-Hong Kong) at eight, Korean Air (Auckland-Seoul) at 10th, and Hainan Airlines, which has just returned to Auckland with two flights a week from Shenzhen at 11th on the list.
A new category introduced this year is the most family-friendly airline, whcih was won by Air Canada, which flies between Auckland and Vancouver during summer.
This award covers: family seating policies; dedicated family check-in facilities; priority boarding; children’s meals; children’s amenities, toys and activity packs; child-specific onboard entertainment; free checked luggage; policies for carrycots/pushchairs, and the standard of service assistance from ground staff and cabin crew during travel.
Air Canada has won the title of being most family-friendly in the Skytrax airline awards. Photo / Supplied
Japan Airlines was voted best for economy class followed by Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, ANA and Hainan Airlines (in order) in the top 10. Fiji Airways is 11th, while Qantas (13), Korean Air (18) and Delta Air Lines (20) are the others serving or about to serve New Zealand that make the top 20 for economy.
AirAsia, which flies Kuala Lumpur to Auckland via Sydney, was the repeat winner of the world’s best low-cost airline award, a title it has won each year since 2010.
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.
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
Kuwait Airways wins the 2023 award as the World’s Most Improved Airline, reflecting a quality improvement across the entire programme, evaluating an airline’s change in the global rating and their performance in different award categories.
The awards were introduced in 1999 to provide a global customer satisfaction study.
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 customer survey is provided in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. Survey entries are screened to identify IP and user information, with all duplicate, suspect or ineligible entries deleted.
