The World’s Best Airlines for 2023
Published by FareCompare on July 3, 2023
The results are in, and the best airlines for 2023 have been announced in the prestigious World Airline Awards ranking. For the fifth time in the awards' 23-year history, Singapore Airlines took the top spot.
Qatar Airways – a seven-time Airline of the Year winner – ranked in the number 2 spot this year, followed by Japan’s ANA All Nippon Airways in third position, Emirates in fourth, and Japan Airlines in fifth place.
The roundup of the best airlines in the world includes several other categories, including most family-friendly airline, best cabin crew, most improved airline, and more.
Qatar Airways won big in the business class realm, with wins for World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Seat, World’s Best Business Class Lounge (the Al Mourjan lounge at Hamad International Airport), World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining, and Best Airline in the Middle East.
ANA cleaned up with the award for the highest hygiene standards: It was named World’s Cleanest Airline for the third year in a row, as well as scooping the award for World’s Best Airport Services.
Kuwait Airways, which just launched a complimentary chauffeur service for first and business class passengers, was named the World’s Most Improved Airline, while AirAsia was named the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline. There were no surprises there, as it’s won the award every single year since 2010.
"Singapore Airlines achieved excellent results in many of the award categories, with the highlight being recognition of their First Class cabin as the World’s Best First Class," said Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax. To gather this year’s results, the UK-based aviation consultancy conducted independent self-funded customer surveys across more than 325 airlines worldwide between September 2022 and May 2023.
The World’s Top Airlines of 2023
4. Emirates
7. Air France
9. EVA Air
10. Korean Air
11. Hainan Airlines
12. Swiss International Air Lines
13. Etihad Airways
14. Iberia
15. Fiji Airways
16. Vistara
17. Qantas Airways
18. British Airways
19. Air New Zealand
20. Delta Air Lines
Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, received the World’s Best Airline award in Paris on June 20, 2023. "This award is a testament to the indomitable spirit of our people, who worked tirelessly and made many sacrifices to ensure that SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel. That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic as a leading international airline," he said. "We are very grateful to our customers for their enduring loyalty to and affection for Singapore Airlines.
"During the pandemic, their support and encouragement gave us the strength and determination to overcome the unprecedented challenges. Today, as we recover from the pandemic, we are firmly committed to innovating and investing in industry-leading products and services, and ensuring that SIA continues to offer our customers a world-class travel experience."
