Korean Air has been announced as the AirlineRatings.com’s Airline of the Year, taking Qatar’s crown.
AirlineRatings.com CEO, Sharon Peterson said Korean Airlines won the award due to its “exceptional” Economy Class service offering more space to customers.
“While many airlines have added a 10th seat per row on 777 aircraft and reduced seat pitch in economy to 31–32 inches (down from the previous 32–33 inches), Korean Air has chosen not to follow this trend,” Peterson said.
“They have maintained their original seat configuration and a generous 33-34 inch seat pitch, offering passengers a more comfortable experience.”
The highest-ranking full-service Australian airline was Qantas in eighth place.
Australian airlines did find success in other areas. This includes Virgin Australia Regional (VARA) being awarded World’s Best Regional Airline for their excellent service, reliability and passenger experience.
“VARA has consistently delivered an outstanding travel experience, combining efficiency and customer focus to meet the needs of regional and Fly in Fly Out (FiFo) travellers,” Peterson said.
Qantas also found success in being awarded for having the World’s Best Premium Economy alongside Emirates.
“In trying to pick a winner, we started looking at relatively small, seemingly insignificant details like dedicated cabins, toilets, blanket quality, and cabin location,” Petersen said.
“However, for every advantage one airline had, the other excelled in a different area. It quite simply became impossible to separate the two.”
For the top 20 hybrid airlines, Jetblue took out the top spot and Virgin Australia was the top-ranking Australian airline in third place.
As for low cost airlines, AirAsia was in first place and Jetstar was second.
