LONDON, 30 September 2021: Skytrax named Qatar Airways the world’s top airline of 2021 for the sixth time, based on customer surveys covering 23 months from September 2019 to July 2021.
Singapore Airlines ranked second and ANA All Nippon Airways third out of more than 350 airlines that figured in the survey results announced during a ceremony Tuesday, 28 September.
Qatar Airways also receives the awards for the World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best Business Class Seat and the Best Airline in the Middle East.
Singapore Airlines ranked second worldwide, won the top accolade for the World’s Best Cabin Crew, and was also honoured with awards for the World’s Best First Class, the Best Airline in Asia and the World’s Best First Class Seat.
ANA All Nippon Airways maintained its third global ranking and repeated its earlier success by winning the World’s Best Airport Services award. Winning the 2021 award as the World’s Cleanest Airline was an exceptionally high profile success during the global pandemic.
Saudi Arabian Airlines gained recognition as the World’s Most Improved Airline, ahead of runner up Rwandair and JetSmart in the third slot.
Skytrax’s announcement includes some notable firsts, such as Scoot being named the World’s Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airline and Vueling Airlines winning the award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe, one of the most competitive low-cost airline markets in the world.
In the Best Airlines of Asia 2021 category, three Southeast Asian airlines figured in the top 10 – Singapore Airlines (first place) Garuda Indonesia, the country national airline (8th) and Bangkok Airways, a privately owned airline in Thailand (9th).
Best Airlines in Asia 2021
1 Singapore Airlines
2 ANA All Nippon Airways
3 Japan Airlines
4 Cathay Pacific Airways
5 EVA Air
6 Hainan Airlines
7 China Southern Airlines
8 Garuda Indonesia
9 Bangkok Airways
10 Korean Air
World’s Top 10 Airlines of 2021
1 Qatar Airways
2 Singapore Airlines
3 ANA All Nippon Airways
4 Emirates
5 Japan Airlines
6 Cathay Pacific Airways
7 EVA Air
8 Qantas Airways
9 Hainan Airlines
10 Air France
World’s Best Cabin Staff 2021
1 Singapore Airlines
2 ANA All Nippon Airways
3 Thai Airways International
4 Garuda Indonesia
5 Japan Airlines
6 Hainan Airlines
7 EVA Air
8 Asiana Airlines
9 Cathay Pacific Airways
10 Qatar Airways
World’s Best Low-Cost Airlines 2021
1 AirAsia
2 Southwest Airlines
3 Scoot
4 Vueling Airlines
5 IndiGo
6 EasyJet
7 Jetstar Airways
8 Ryanair
9 Jetstar Asia
10 Flynas
World’s Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airlines 2021
1 Scoot
2 Jetstar Airways
3 Air Canada rouge
4 LEVEL
5 French Bee
Best Airline Inflight Entertainment 2021
1 Emirates
2 Singapore Airlines
3 Qatar Airways
4 Delta Air Lines
5 Virgin Atlantic
6 Qantas Airways
7 Turkish Airlines
8 United Airlines
9 Etihad Airways
10 Air France
Check the full results:
View the full 2021 Airline Awards results
To view the full A to Z list of the 2021 World Airline Awards results, visit the A-Z Award Winners page.
The World Airline Awards began in 1999 when Skytrax launched its first global, annual airline customer satisfaction survey.
The latest customer survey covered 23 months (September 2019 to July 2021), and the 2021 Awards comprise a mix of more normal travel times combined with some travel during the global pandemic.
