Air New Zealand has been crowned the best airline in the world in 2023, beating last year’s winner Qatar Airways for the top spot in an annual ranking published by AirlineRatings.com on Wednesday.
Australian airlines Qantas and Virgin ranked sixth and seventh in the world respectively, mirroring their position in the top 25 rankings from last year.
The awards, judged by five experts with decades of industry experience, evaluate factors such as safety, passenger reviews and profitability.
Air New Zealand was the best overall airline and also the best economy-class carrier, while second place Qatar scored the top spot for business class, Airline Ratings editor in chief Geoffrey Thomas said.
“In our objective analysis Air New Zealand came out No.1 in many key areas, although it was a very close scoring for the top five,” he said.
The below table lists the top 25 rankings, though other brands not mentioned in the top carrier list took out sub-categories.
VietJet, for example, won an award for the best ultra low-cost airline and the best low-cost airline catering, “recognising the amazing value of its onboard offering”.
Qantas, meanwhile, managed to skate past widespread criticism about its service standards post-COVID, maintaining its spot on the overall rankings while also picking up top gong for best airport lounges.
In terms of long-haul travel, Qatar took the top spot among airlines in the Middle East, while Korean Air was rated the best airline for North Asia.
Air New Zealand beat Qantas and Virgin to take the top spot as the best long-haul airline for Asia Pacific.
Virgin did manage to win the award for the best cabin crew, however.
Singapore Airlines was rated the best First Class airline, while Emirates won the award for having the best in-flight entertainment and best premium economy seats.
Airfares tipped to fall
Qantas announced an ‘obscene’ profit of $2.4 billion last week, despite the turbulent times it has been through of late.
“We’re seeing the broad trends we expected as the industry recovers and trading conditions remain very positive,” Qantas’ outgoing CEO Alan Joyce told investors at the time.
“More parts of the aviation supply chain are returning to normal, which means we’re able to put some of the spare aircraft and crew we kept in reserve back in the schedule,” he said.
“That’s combining with lower fuel prices to help put downward pressure on fares, which is good news for customers.”
Experts, Qantas and airport chiefs have tipped sky-high, post-pandemic airfares will drop in the near future.
