Airline safety and rating site AirlineRatings.com has named Air New Zealand the best airline in the world in its 2020 Airline Excellence Awards, with the kiwis knocking out last year’s winner, Singapore Airlines, as well as other top carriers ANA, Qantas and Cathay Pacific, for the top spot.
The New Zealand national carrier is being honoured for a record-breaking sixth time thanks to its performance, multi-award-winning in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff. These factors have stamped the airline as a clear industry leader, according to the rating site.
The AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards, judged by seven editors with over 200 years’ industry experience, combines major safety and government audits, with 12 key criteria that include: fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings, and staff relations.
“In our analysis, Air New Zealand came out number one in most of our audit criteria, which is an outstanding performance when it’s up against carriers with more resources and scale on this same list of best airlines for 2020,” says Airline Ratings editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas. “Air New Zealand’s commitment to excellence in all facets of its business starts at the top with outstanding governance and one of the best executive teams in aviation through to a workforce that is delivering consistently to the airline’s strategy and customer promise.”
Air New Zealand also took out Best Premium Economy, while Singapore Airlines took out the prestigious First Class award for its impressive Suites product. The six Suites in this stylish cabin at the front of the upper deck of the airline’s flagship Airbus A380s are designed to be the equivalent of small hotel rooms.
Qatar Airways once again picked up Best Catering and Best Business Class for its stunning Qsuites. “The airline’s Qsuite is a first-class experience in business class. It leaves little to chance, and our judges rated it as one of the best overall business-class products they had seen. It sets a standard to which some airlines can only aspire,” says Thomas.
Australia’s Qantas, a regular winner across many categories, won Best Domestic Airline Service and the coveted Best Lounges. “Its customer approval rating is at an all-time high, and it continues to innovate with lie-flat beds being added to its A380s,” says Thomas. “The judges were unanimous on the airline’s lounges which are exceptional and its domestic airline product, particularly on transcontinental A330 flights, is a standout.”
Qantas
Virgin Australia won Best Economy for an extremely spacious cabin that sets it apart from many airlines. It offers passengers the most spacious 777 cabins and best economy both internationally and domestically with the Space X seat. Virgin Australia was also voted Best Cabin Crew, and it was named in the Top Ten rankings.
Emirates is another big winner for the best airlines 2020 with Best Inflight Entertainment, Best Long-Haul Middle East and an appearance in the Airlineratings.com the Top Ten, while Cebu Pacific picked up the Most Improved Airline award and VietJetAir took out Best Ultra Low-Cost airline for the third year running.
Delta Air Lines (Americas), Lufthansa (Europe), Emirates (Middle-East/Africa) and Cathay Pacific Airways (Asia) were recognised for Excellence in Long Haul travel, while JetBlue (Americas), Wizz (Europe) and AirAsia / AirAsia X (Asia/Pacific) and Air Arabia (Middle-East / Africa) made the cut for Best Low-Cost Airline mentions.
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