Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand, Air Asia: rating of top airlines in 2024

The Top 25 premium airlines 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, IGA Group (British Airways & Iberia) Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines.

Qatar Airways has claimed the top spot in the AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards, surpassing previous winners Air New Zealand, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Emirates. Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-Chief of AirlineRatings.com, noted Qatar Airways excelled in key areas, particularly in passenger reviews for its consistent, high standard of service.

Qatar Airways also secured Best Business Class for the fifth consecutive year and Best Catering. Air New Zealand won Best Economy Class, Singapore Airlines took Best First Class, and Virgin Australia earned Best Cabin Crew. Emirates was recognized for Best In-Flight Entertainment and Best Premium Economy and Qantas won Best Lounges and Etihad Airways was named Best Environmental Airline.

Top 25 Low-Cost Airlines, presented 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, Suncountry, Southwest, Transavia, Vietjet, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizz Air.

The regional winners for Best Low-Cost Airlines are: Southwest in the Americas, FlyDubai in the Middle East, AirAsia Group in Asia, Jetstar Group in Australia/Pacific, and easyJet in Europe. Vietjet notably received two awards: Best Ultra Low-Cost Airline and Best Low-Cost Airline Onboard Hospitality, highlighting the exceptional value of its onboard services.

The AirAsia Group, including its medium-haul affiliates AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia X, has been named the Top Low-Cost Carrier in Asia for 2024 by AirlineRatings.com. Founded in 2002 by Tony Fernandes, AirAsia has seen remarkable growth, becoming a leading force in the Asian aviation market. AirAsia is now operating 255 aircraft to 165 destinations.

“It has been an incredible journey of recovery, post the worst commercial aviation crisis the world has ever seen. We are thankful and humbled by this award which goes out to all of my airline CEOs and senior team members as well as to the many thousands of ‘Allstars”, commented Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A and Strategic Advisor to the AirAsia Aviation Group.

Top Safest airlines of 2024: Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, Cathay Pacific Airways, Alaska Airlines, SAS, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Lufthansa/Swiss Group, KLM, Japan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, Air France, Air Canada Group and United Airlines.

Air New Zealand narrowly edged out Qantas by 1.50 points, with fleet age playing a decisive role. Despite this, Qantas is undergoing its largest fleet renewal, with significant orders for A220, A320, A321, A350, and 787 models over the next three years.

Geoffrey Thomas explained that the airline safety rankings consider crash data over five years, serious incidents over two years, and audits from aviation authorities and associations, emphasizing that incident management is key to airline safety. The top 25 safest airlines for 2024 lead in safety, operational excellence, and adopting advanced aircraft like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. Emirates, noted for operating the 777-300ER, 777-9, and A380, exemplifies this.

Etihad Airways has been awarded Environmental Airline of the Year for 2024 and placed 8th in the agency’s Top Twenty airlines, marking the third consecutive year it has won this prestigious award.