Airline review site Skytrax has announced its list of best airlines of the year based on their surveys of passengers and their feedback at the Paris Air Show. According to their list that holds a lot of credibility, Qatar Airways moved ahead of Singapore Airlines to first place in the 2011 rankings. Asiana, which headed the list last year, dropped to third place, replacing Qatar Airways in that position. The rankings which were announced on June 22 placed Cathay Pacific on the fourth place. Thai Airways was placed fifth and Etihad was next on the sixth spot.
This year’s list of the top ten airlines is remarkable as it has no names from Europe or Americas. four winners hail from Asia, four from the Middle East/Africa and two from Oceania. The Chinese airlines have begun to impact the world stage. China Southern was voted the most-improved airline by the passengers surveyed. AirAsia was declared the world’s best low-cost airline. Hainan Airlines which is rather new to the exclusive club of the five star airlines of the world was voted the best Chinese airline.
British Airways edged into the awards for comfort at the airport in the business class category. In the first class category the award was cornered by Qatar Airways. Asiana Airlines which was declared the best airlines last year continued to be considered the best for in-flight comfort and services as it received the best cabin staff award. Emirates which brought up the rear of the top ten best airlines list was awarded for best in-flight entertainment for its ICE in-flight entertainment system. 18.8 million Airline passengers from 100 different countries voted to decide the awards in different categories.
