Yesterday, the prestigious Langham Hotel in London hosted the World Airline Awards, organized each year by Skytrax, the world benchmark for assessing the quality of air transport.
At the end of a survey carried out among more than 24.8 million travelers from more than 100 nationalities, having rated more than 300 airlines between September 2025 and August 2026, the Skytrax verdict is in: Singapore Airlines regains first place in the world ranking.
This coronation takes on a particular dimension since it is the sixth time that the Singaporean carrier has won this title since the creation of the Skytrax Awards in 1999, alongside its previous victories in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2018 and 2023.
The Singaporean airline thus dethrones Qatar Airways, which occupied the top step of the podium last year.
The complete Skytrax ranking of the 10 best airlines in 2026
Here is the list of the ten highest rated carriers this year according to Skytrax, out of a total of more than 300 companies evaluated:
1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. Cathay Pacific Airways
4. ANA All Nippon Airways
5. Turkish Airlines
6. Emirates
7. Air France
8. Hainan Airlines
9. Japan Airlines
10. Korean Air.
Singapore Airlines, big winner of the 2026 Skytrax Awards
Beyond the supreme title, Singapore Airlines has multiplied the awards during this 2026 edition, confirming its domination in several key segments of the passenger experience:
World’s Best Airline 2026: the title of best airline in the world
World’s Best Economy Class: best economy class in the world
World’s Best Economy Class Onboard Catering: best on-board economy class catering.
The CEO of Skytrax, Edward Plaisted, praised a performance which “underlines the level of product and service excellence offered by the company to its customers, specifying that this sixth coronation is all the more significant as it constitutes a record in the history of the awards”.
The success does not stop at the parent company: Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of the Singapore Airlines group, was also distinguished by retaining for the sixth consecutive year its title of best long-haul low-cost airline in the world, while ranking second in the general category of low-cost airlines, just behind AirAsia.