World's best airline named as Qantas plummets in rankings
 

World's best airlines 2012:
Previous year's ranking in brackets.

1. Qatar Airways (1)

2. Asiana Airlines (3)

3. Singapore Airlines (2)

4. Cathay Pacific Airways (4)

5. ANA All Nippon Airways (11)

6. Etihad Airways (6)

7. Turkish Airlines (9)

8. Emirates (10)

9. Thai Airways International (5)

10. Malaysia Airlines (12)

11. Garuda Indonesia (19)

12. Virgin Australia (32)

13. EVA Air (16)

14. Lufthansa (15)

15. Qantas Airways (8)

16. Korean Air (24)

17. Air New Zealand (7)

18. Swiss Int'l Air Lines (13)

19. Air Canada (21)

20. Hainan Airlines (23)

Other awards

Best first class - Etihad Airways

Best business class - Cathay Pacific

Best premium economy - Qantas

Best economy class - Singapore Airlines

Best inflight entertainment - Emirates

Best low-cost airline - AirAsia

Best cabin staff - Malaysia Airlines

Best economy class meals - Singapore Airlines

Best first class lounge - Qantas (Sydney Airport)

World's best airlines 2012 | Skytrax awards | Qantas plummets

Qantas has plunged while rival Virgin Australia has surged in the annual awards ranking the world's best airlines.

For the second year in a row, Qatar Airways took out the Airline of the Year award for best airline in the world.

Qantas fell out of the World Airline Awards' top 10 for the first time, dropping to number 15 from number eight last year. The airline's ranking has sunk every year since 2008, when it peaked at number three. This year's drop comes in the wake of last year's industrial dispute that saw CEO Alan Joyce ground the airline's entire fleet in October, affecting about 68,000 passengers worldwide.

Virgin Australia, conversely, has surged up the rankings 20 places, up to 12th spot from 32nd last year.

Virgin Australia also took out the awards for best airline and best airline staff service in the Australia-Pacific region.

Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said the awards were "something of a victory over the more established legacy carriers that have previously taken the top prizes in these categories”.

Virgin Australia's Mark Hassell said that the new products the airline has introduced over the past 18 months were "making a real difference".

Virgin Australia is locked in a heated battle with Qantas for business class passengers, increasing capacity and bringing lie-flat seating on to domestic flights. The war has resulted in business class fares hitting a 20-year low.

A Qantas spokesman said the airline anticipated its ranking might slip "following the industrial campaign by several unions which disrupted thousands of passengers".

"Our employees have worked hard to rebuild loyalty from our customers and we have recently reached the highest level of customer satisfaction in Australia for over three years," he said.

In better news for the airline, Qantas received three top rankings in this year's awards for best first class lounge (at Sydney Airport), best premium economy class and best premium economy class catering.

Among local budget airlines, Jetstar was named best low-cost carrier for Australia-Pacific.

Still in our region, Air New Zealand had a worse showing than Qantas, dropping to number 17 in the worldwide rankings after reaching 7th last year.

The World Airline Awards are determined by passenger surveys conducted by research firm Skytrax, who surveyed more than 18 million passengers.

The awards were announced yesterday at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

Plaisted congratulated Qatar Airways on the airline's second consecutive win, pointing out that the carrier had rapidly climbed the rankings from its number eight spot six years ago.

"The award reflects opinions of passengers around the world, and is based on every customer type across all cabins - be they business or leisure, frequent or first-time flyers," Plaisted said.

Several other awards were announced, including best first-class (Etihad), best business-class (Cathay Pacific), best inflight entertainment (Emirates) and best low cost carrier (AirAsia).

Virgin soars above Qantas in global airline rankings

Pffft Skytrax survey, who cares about that ... if that pack of Arab gangsters QR is the world's best airline, then I'm a Dutchman. And if Garuda & Turkish are better airlines than DJ, QF and NZ, then I'm a purple polka dotted flying Dutchman.

Presumably "risk of ending up a smoking hole in the ground" is factored somewhere below the quality of the in flight cappuccino, when they make these surveys :hmm:

As a frequent long haul traveller not loyal to any network in particular, I can say that these are the airlines I've been most impressed with during the last two years:

Air New Zealand
Turkish Airlines

One I had expected more of, but got slightly disappointed in was Emirates. It's still better than most US and Euro carriers, but I had maybe built up a bit too much expectation. British Airways being the one that has disappointed the most. See my rant from a couple of months ago:

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airpo...-carriers.html

Virgin Atlantic has kind of stayed the same, but in relation to aforementioned Air New Zealand and Turkish, they've taken a slide in comparison. It's become a bit too Essex, footballers wives-style. Virgin America for domestic US flights is very good, though. Crisp and clean. But then again, your competition from American, United, Delta, AirTran is atrocious, so don't have to achieve great heights to impress....

Qantas Rates Well
 

Just not in the air.
Joyce spends money in all the wrong places and on the wrong infrastructure.
Its now come home to roost.
Big deal if you have the best airport lounge.You dont fly the lounge to NYC

This will be like music to their ears because it is not an accident but a plan. I can hear the Board and Execs back slapping now as the bonuses get ramped up.

Pity about the poor staff who do actually care about the tings (yes that is what I meant) that are important to a successful business.

What ohallen.... like industrial action that caused my company to move to Virgin because there was no certainty that we could get to meetings?

Have to agree with OHallen. Its a plan of self destruction. Anyday now i expect to hear the little Irish man (trying) to speak at a news conference, announcing that the whole of Qantas mainline is unviable/not making money/a basket case/ insert what you want, and it will have to be sold off/shutdown/given to Michael OLeary to allow JokeStar to prosper as the new Australian Flag carrier.

Big bonus and back slaps for all.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

So you moved your bussiness because the MANAGEMENT shut down the airline. Hmmm which bussiness is it that your involved with,......just so I know not to have anything to do with it.:ugh:

Yeah, good one Arnie. Nothing to do with you. Always someone else's fault.

Could it be the first company where the CEO's had a dummy spit, and gone on strike?

Yep, certainly was nothing to do with me, answer the question.

I refuse to patronise Jokestar, the last time I had to back about 2006?? There was Domino Pizza advertising on the overhead lockers:yuk::yuk::yuk:is it still like that? Cos I have not been back since that BS!!!....Ok SURE, I came from a time when a full first class breakfast service OOL - SYD was offered, and it was magical! So sad to see it all go.....:{

No surprise here
 

WHAT A PACK OF NUMB-NUTZ !!!

.....'might slip ???.... are you kidding me.... this has been a belly flop of dugong proportions.
I would like to know WHO the Clown was who said the above -'cause he or she is exactly whats wrong with the joint.

"Oh.... blame the several Unions"

NO....IT SHOULD READ......... "the airline expected to be smashed in the latest Skytrax rankings because of the ineptitude ,incompetence and stupidity of the Chairman, Board, CEO and Executive"

GAME ,SET MATCH:ugh::ugh:

AJ should be punted ......first thing Monday.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Only the people (general public) who are likely to buy tickets and maintain the viability of the airline and your job....

Look at the names of the airlines in the list who have killed customers in the last few years...
This 'award' is a joke.

Exactly.

There's at least four airlines in that top 20 (Qatar, Garuda, Turkish and Korean) who I would ban my family from paxing on without any question. Not sure about Hainan , EVA or Asiana either to be honest, but benefit of the doubt I guess.

Off the top of my head, Korean was statistically the most dangerous airline on earth in the '90s and Garuda was in the '00s. How can you even mention them in the same sentence as Cathay / Qantas / Air NZ / all the other serious operators, who have long established and hugely respected safety cultures.

Yes I know Skytrax is based on customer surveys and essentially it's only what the punters see in the cabin, but half the newspaper articles you read don't make that clear at all. Good cabin service isn't hard to do when you're only paying Filipino and Indo salaries, like most of the mid east and asian operators on that list. Good flight safety on the other hand doesn't come cheap at all, and generally requires that top dollar is paid to get the good guys.

And even then I have my doubts ... if QR can "win" :rolleyes: the football world cup then I'm sure something like a Skytrax survey doesn't represent too much of a problem for them, if they want to win it they will.

You mean: if they want it, they will buy it.

To be honest the turkish airline crews are some of the easiest to deal with in europe. I'd fly with them way before qatar, korean and indonesia. Not only that, they are not flying around in clapped out 747s that blow bits out the back of the donks or 767 that should be used as freighters. All the same people are doing the maintenance since Q out source, so it is likely that they are all maintained to the same standard. Only difference is fleet age.

No hiding behind the "We still have a strong brand" mantra now Mr Joyce...