LONDON, England – Singapore Airlines has been named the world’s best airline for 2026, taking the top position in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards and moving up from second place last year.
Qatar Airways, which held the top spot in 2025, finished second this year, while Cathay Pacific retained third place.
Thai Airways also made a significant move up the global rankings, climbing from 29th in 2025 to 20th in 2026. Bangkok Airways ranked 29th, improving from 32nd last year. Skytrax announced the 2026 World Airline Awards in London on September 18. The awards are based on a global passenger satisfaction survey and have been held since 1999, becoming one of the best-known international rankings in the aviation industry.
The 2026 results were based on more than 24.8 million passenger responses collected from travellers around the world between September 2025 and August 2026. More than 300 airlines were included in the survey. The awards cover passenger experiences across a broad range of airline services, making the rankings a closely watched benchmark for the global aviation industry. Singapore Airlines rose one place from last year to reclaim the top position, while Qatar Airways moved from first to second. Cathay Pacific remained third.
The top 10 airlines in the 2026 Skytrax global ranking are:
- Singapore Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- Emirates
- Air France
- Hainan Airlines
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
The strong showing by Thailand’s two major full-service carriers puts both airlines among the world’s top 30, with Thai Airways making the largest jump by moving nine places from its 2025 position.
For Thailand’s aviation and tourism sectors, the rankings provide an international measure of passenger perceptions of the country’s airlines, particularly at a time when competition among major Asian carriers remains intense.
