Eleven Southeast Asian carriers have secured positions among the world’s top 100 airlines, according to the prestigious 2024 World Airline Awards announced by Skytrax on Monday.
The awards, widely regarded as the aviation industry’s premier recognition, were unveiled at a ceremony near London’s Heathrow Airport.
Qatar Airways clinched the title of World’s Best Airline for the eighth time in the awards’ 25-year history, narrowly edging out Singapore Airlines, which dropped to second place after its victory last year.
Emirates rounded out the top three. Skytrax, the UK-based aviation rating organization, reported that this year’s voting was the closest in the awards’ history, necessitating a recount.
In the budget travel segment, AirAsia maintained its stronghold, securing the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline award for an unprecedented fourteenth consecutive year.
Singapore’s Scoot emerged as the leader in the long-haul, low-cost category, further underscoring the region’s competitive edge in affordable air travel.
The comprehensive survey, conducted over nine months from September 2023 to May 2024, gathered input from more than 21 million customers across 100 countries. Respondents evaluated over 350 airlines on various criteria, providing a broad-based assessment of the global aviation landscape.
This strong performance by Southeast Asian airlines reflects the region’s growing influence in the global aviation market, driven by robust economic growth, expanding middle-class populations, and strategic investments in aviation infrastructure and service quality.
Industry analysts suggest that the success of these carriers could lead to increased competition and potentially lower fares for consumers, while also putting pressure on established legacy airlines to enhance their offerings.
As the global aviation industry continues to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, these rankings provide valuable insights into shifting consumer preferences and the evolving competitive landscape in international air travel.
