World’s best airline for 2022 revealed by airlineratings.com
The wait is over – the winner of the 2022 world’s best airline has been revealed, along with the airline that’s got the best first class lounge.
And the winner is, Qatar Airways.
The Doha-based airline has been named the best by AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only safety, product, and Covid rating website.
The carrier managed to nudge out Air New Zealand, which secured second place, followed by Etihad Airways, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines for the 2022 awards.
However, Singapore Airlines, which took out fifth place, won Best First Class and Best Lounges.
Meanwhile, Qantas and Virgin Australia nabbed sixth and seventh place respectively.
The editors of AirlineRatings.com look for a consistent level of service, innovation and staff engagement.
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According to the website, Qatar Airways secured the top spot for its cabin innovation, passenger service and commitment to continue to operate throughout the pandemic.
This resulted in the airline posting a record profit of 5.6 billion Qatari rials ($A2.28 billion) for the 2021-2022 financial year, despite losing money on many capped flights.
The state-owned airline said the profit result was “200 per cent above its highest annual historical profit” and achieved on the back of more than QA52 billion ($A21 billion) in overall income.
“[Qatar Airways CEO Akbar] Al Baker’s drive for perfection has led to many improvements in aircraft and travellers across the world are better off because of the pursuit of excellence of Qatar Airways,” AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said.
“The airline has a host of industry firsts: First to complete IATA’s important IOSA safety audit and first to be fully Covid audited and compliant by both AirlineRatings and Skytrax.”
Mr Al Baker said the award is reflective of everything the airline stands for in “providing an unrivalled customer experience”.
“Our goal is to deliver excellence and once again securing the Airline of the Year, Best Airline in the Middle East and Best Business Class demonstrates that we continue to lead the industry as passengers return to the skies.”
The AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards, which honour the Best Airlines, are compiled by global editors with over 100 years of industry experience using an objective value-based methodology. The criteria include safety and product ratings, passenger reviews, fleet age, profitability and environmental commitment.
Air New Zealand won Best Airline in the Pacific, Best Premium Economy and Best Economy.
It comes after the airline unveiled its world-first sleep pods for economy passengers.
As for the Best First Class award, that went to Singapore Airlines for its unique Suites product and also Best Lounges.
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia won Best Cabin Crew, QantasLink won Best Regional Airline and Emirates was awarded Best Inflight Entertainment.
AirlineRatings.com top 20 airlines
1. Qatar Airways
2. Air New Zealand
3. Etihad Airways
4. Korean Air
5. Singapore Airlines
6. Qantas
7. Virgin Australia
8. EVA Air
9. Turkish Airlines
10. All Nippon Airways
11. Cathay Pacific Airways
12. Virgin Atlantic
13. Japan Air Lines
14. JetBlue
15. Finnair
16. Emirates
17. Hawaiian
18. Air France/KLM
19. Alaska Airlines
20. British Airways
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