Singapore Airlines Named World’s Best Airline

Singapore Airlines has been named the world’s best airline in the 2018 Skytrax rankings. The title was stolen from Qatar Airways, which dropped to second place. No Australian airlines made it into the top ten.

Singapore Airlines also won the 2018 Skytrax award for the world’s best First Class. Qatar Airways has the best Business Class and Air New Zealand won best Premium Economy, while Thai Airways was awarded best Economy Class. The award for the best cabin crew went to Garuda Indonesia, and China Southern received a nod for being the world’s “most improved” airline. All of these airlines fly to Australia.

Qantas was ranked in 11^th place, up from 15^th in the 2017 Skytrax rankings. But Virgin Australia dropped nine spots to 22^nd. Jetstar somehow made it into 45^th place – well ahead of American Airlines, United Airlines, Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines.

It’s not hard to see why Singapore Airlines was rated the world’s best airline. The airline has a great product in every class of travel. And the service – both in the air and on the ground – is second-to-none. This was demonstrated in a recent case where the Singapore Airlines staff could not have done more for an AFF member with a damaged suitcase.

As it happens, Singapore Airlines also has one of the world’s best frequent flyer programs. Most award flights are great value, and Singapore Airlines has great award availability while not charging any fuel surcharges.

While they create an interesting discussion point, some AFF members believe the Skytrax rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt. The results are based on the opinions of survey respondents, rather than objective criteria. There could also be a bias towards airlines from certain parts of the world, given surveys were only provided in six languages.

Do you agree with the 2018 Skytrax rankings? Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Skytrax 2018 Awards

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.