Singapore Airlines has been named the world's best airline at the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards.
This marks the 4th time Singapore has taken top place, also managing to win this year’s awards for best first class, best first class seat, and best airline in Asia.
This is in addition to already having been named best airline earlier in the year by TripAdvisor, and snagging its 23rd consecutive win for best international airline in an annual survey by Travel + Leisure.
Just what makes Singapore such a hit with travelers year after year? Passengers give the carrier high scores for comfort and service.
“A key ‘wow' factor for customers is consistency and this proved to a real asset for Singapore Airlines who scored highly across both product and service," said Skytrax spokesperson Edward Plaisted.
The upper decks of Singapore’s A380s were recently spruced up to include six private passenger suites with flat double beds, lux bedding, and roomy closets. Impressive? Yes. Cheap? Not so much. For those less interested in private suites and more concerned with value, Thai Airways was voted Best Economy Class, followed by Singapore in second place.
U.S. carriers didn’t fare so well, with Delta cracking the list at 37th place, followed by Alaska at 38th, JetBlue at 42nd, Southwest at 57th, Hawaiian at 77th, American at 79th, and United at 88th place. To put that in perspective, even Ryanair beat out Hawaiian, American, and United, coming in at number 64 on the list. Oof.
The complete ranking of the Top 10 World’s Best Airlines includes:
- Singapore Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Emirates
- EVA Air
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Lufthansa
- Hainan Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Thai Airways
If you’re eager to see what all the fuss is about, Singapore often has excellent sale fares from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston. Nonstops between Los Angeles and Tokyo offer particularly good value, often available for as little as $550 roundtrip.
Above image by e*m company / H. Goussé via Singapore Airlines
