Qatar Airways Named Best Airline 2024, Surpassing Air NZ

Qatar Airways has been awarded the title of the world's best airline for 2024 by AirlineRatings.com, surpassing last year's top airline, Air New Zealand. The latter dropped to fourth place this year, with Korean Air and Cathay Pacific securing second and third places, respectively.

Despite this ranking change, Air New Zealand was still honoured for having the best economy class in the world.

"Qatar Airways led in numerous key areas in our analysis, though the competition was very close among the top 10," said Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com. "Passenger reviews particularly favoured Qatar Airways, highlighting its consistent and high standard of service."

AirlineRatings.com, an Australia-based aviation safety and product rating agency, bases its annual Airline Excellence Awards on a comprehensive evaluation by five editors. The assessment combines major safety and government audits with 12 key criteria, including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, safety rating, product rating, innovation, and future fleet orders.

Air New Zealand has traditionally fared better in AirlineRatings.com's awards compared to those of Skytrax, where it ranked 19th last year. Skytrax's 2024 awards will be announced in late June.

Other notable winners of the AirlineRatings.com 2024 Airline Excellence Awards include:

• Qatar Airways: Best Business Class and Best Catering
• Emirates: Best Premium Economy and Best In-Flight Entertainment
• Air New Zealand: Best Long-Haul Airline (Australia/Pacific Region)
• Singapore Airlines: Best First Class
• Virgin Australia: Best Cabin Crew
• Qantas: Best Lounges
• Etihad Airways: Best Environmental Airline
• Jetstar: Best Low-Cost Airline (Australia/Pacific Region)

The top 25 premium airlines for 2024 according to AirlineRatings.com are:

1. Qatar Airways
2. Korean Air
3. Cathay Pacific Airways
4. Air New Zealand
5. Emirates
6. Air France/KLM
7. All Nippon Airways
8. Etihad Airways
9. Qantas
10. Virgin Australia/Atlantic
11. Vietnam Airlines
12. Singapore Airlines
13. EVA Air
14. TAP Portugal
15. Japan Airlines
16. Finnair
17. Hawaiian Airlines
18. Alaska Airlines
19. Lufthansa/Swiss
20. Turkish Airlines
21. IGA Group (British Airways & Iberia)
22. Air Canada
23. Delta Air Lines
24. United Airlines
25. American Airlines