Sunita Somvanshi
Sonali Tiwary
Qatar Airways has claimed the title of world’s best airline for 2025 in the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards, securing the honor for the second consecutive year and the ninth time overall. This continued dominance highlights Qatar’s consistent service excellence in the global aviation landscape.
The rankings saw significant movement among major carriers, with Singapore Airlines maintaining its strong second-place position. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific made an impressive leap to third place, showcasing its recovery after pandemic challenges. Emirates secured fourth position, while Japan’s All Nippon Airways rounded out the top five. Turkish Airlines, which ranked sixth, is reportedly planning to expand its Australian market presence with daily Sydney-Istanbul flights from 2026.
Qantas has staged a remarkable comeback, climbing 10 positions to 14th place after hitting a record low of 24th in 2024. This improvement comes as the airline continues to rebuild its reputation following several controversies, including the illegal dismissal of over 1,800 baggage handlers that resulted in a $120 million compensation payout and a $100 million federal court fine for selling tickets on already-canceled flights.
“This reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering for customers and is testament to the exceptional work of our people,” said Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson about the improved ranking. The national carrier also performed well regionally, winning eight awards for Australia/Pacific-based airlines, including best business class, best economy class, and best cabin crew.
Marketing expert Dr. Andrew Hughes from the Australian National University attributed Qantas’s recovery to a massive customer experience investment program estimated at just under $1 billion. This initiative includes fleet upgrades, lounge refurbishments, and a new boarding process that divides passengers into groups for smoother boarding.
“They really had focused on a lot of publicity announcements about things like Project Sunrise,” Hughes noted, referring to Qantas’s plans for ultra-long-haul flights from eastern Australia to Europe and New York. “The overall experience offering is still better than Virgin,” he added, though he believes Virgin will become “a lot more competitive” over the next five years.
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Virgin Australia has also improved its standing, moving up from 43rd to 34th place. The airline recently launched long-haul international routes using “wet leased” Qatar Airways planes and crew, with the first flight departing from Sydney to Doha last Thursday. Qatar Airways now owns a 25% stake in Virgin Australia.
At the other end of the scale, Qantas’s budget subsidiary Jetstar continued its downward trend, falling from 75th last year to 88th in this year’s top 100. In the low-cost carrier category, AirAsia won for the 16th consecutive year, while Singapore-based Scoot was named the world’s best long-haul low-cost airline.
The Skytrax rankings, based on surveys from more than 22 million customers across more than 325 airlines, have become an important benchmark in the aviation industry, evaluating airlines on factors including in-flight experience, value for money, and service standards.
