In a tremendous vote of confidence for the domestic airline, Skytrax has ranked Qantas as the fifth-best airline in the world and the best in APAC in its annual awards.
The Flying Kangaroo increased its ranking from eighth place last year to eighth this year, while Virgin fell from 34th to 43rd and Jetstar rose from 56th to 57th.
It does so despite recent data showing that Australian airlines currently have some of the highest cancellation rates worldwide.
Additionally, it comes at a time when Qantas has had a year to forget in 2022, dealing with a number of issues such as significant Easter delays, hours-long call wait times, and even the admission that the cabin staff of an A330 was forced to sleep across passengers’ seats.
However, Qantas was also recognized as having the best business class, best economy class, and best cabin hygiene at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, which are regarded as the Oscars of international aviation.
Overall, Qatar Airways was declared the greatest airline in the world, followed by Singapore and Emirates.
Qatar has already won the highest prize seven years in a row, and despite the recent controversy, its airport earned a comparable accolade earlier this year.
Women from up to 10 flights departing from Doha’s Hamad International Airport were instructed to exit the aircraft in October 2020 before being escorted to ambulances for a non-consensual genital check, which was ostensibly conducted as staff members looked for the mother of a baby left at the airport.
Despite Human Rights Watch calling the previous victory in 2021 “ridiculous,” Australian Aviation decided to give Hamad another go at winning the prestigious prize.
Both Hamad Airport and the national airline, Qatar Airways, are in fact owned by the state of Qatar.
